upfront
EXPERIMENTICA
HAS bad luck and trouble been your only friend? Or even if you’ve been having
quite a lovely time thus far, Chapter Arts’ Experimentica arts festival of film,
video, sound art, dance and theatre will be filling willing brains with a feast of
performances from Cardiff and other locations.
The weird and wonderful line-up is purposely very vague, inviting audiences to come
in and be surprised by what’s being presented to them. Mark Gubb will be setting
things on fire and exploring the practise of burning objects that are thought to bring
about sin in Bonfire Of The Vanities, Roy Brown will be delving into the made-up
folklore of Cardiff and Radio Cardiff presenters John Rowley and Richard Huw
Morgan, known as good cop bad cop, will be doing something. Despite reading the
poetic description of their performance, I am still none the wiser.
One performance which sounds both clear and captivating is a dance by Nick
McArthur and Robert Molly Vaughan. The piece, Dancing Plague Of 1518, depicts
the story of a plague that hit Strasbourg in the 16th century and resulted in
400 people dancing constantly for weeks on end, some to their death. In this
performance, “the last remaining carriers of the dancing plague react violently
against contemporary life.”
“The route to the Dancing Plague Of 1518 began with the realisation that:
dancing in the street with a big stereo is (a) cheaper and (b) more fun than
dancing in crowded, beer-soaked heavy metal and indie clubs,” explain Nick and
Robert. “Over time we have complicated this beautifully simple concept with fancy
dress and storytelling.
“There’ll be thrashing around, grabbing, filthy skin, writhing, neomedievalism,
pounding music, and a storyline that somehow shines through the murk. Much
more varied than ballet or breakdancing.”
With the festival now 13 years old the unlucky theme has even more significance,
and aims to celebrate failure, chance and luck. NIA STRONG
Experimentica 2013: Born Under A Bad Sign, Chapter Arts Centre,
Cardiff. Tickets: £5-£25. Info: 029 2030 4400 / www.chapter.org
ABERTOIR
ABERYSTWYTH, or Wales in general for that matter, is not particularly famed
for its culture of horror films. However, from Tue 5, Aberystwyth sets to redress
that balance with six days of screenings, book signings, Q&As and many other
delectable events that should satiate even the most hardened of horror fans.
Initially beginning life as a three-day schedule, The Abertoir International Horror
Festival has become a firm annual fixture on Aber’s cultural calendar since its
initial inception eight years ago.
Situated at the prestigious Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Abertoir will play host
to five UK film premieres and 37 exclusive events, including talks, screenings,
quizzes, theatre and even the odd bit of live music. Meeting with the approval of
the Godfather Of Gore himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and The Toxic Avenger’s
Lloyd Kaufman, Abertoir has some nasty treats in store for its audience this year.
Chanthaly, the first film in Laos to be directed by a woman and the country’s first
horror film, gets its UK premiere at the festival, as do the David Lynch-inspired
Across The River and the German ghost story Forgotten. This year Abertoir are
also overtly proud to introduce UK audiences to Milo, the pint-sized homicidal
ass-demon that lives, not in a donkey as the name would suggest, but rather in his
master’s botty. Fortunately, Milo is a fictional character and appears in Bad Milo,
another festival premier.
In addition to new and short films premiering at the festival, Abertoir will also
be screening old classics and cult favourites from the decrepit, aging vault of
the Hammer House Of Horror to choice cuts from Italian horror maestro Lucio
Fulci. The events on show include talks from renowned film scholars, discussions
with artists and filmakers and a book signing with David Towsey, whose much
anticipated debut novel, Your Brother’s Blood, sees it launch at the festival.
So in the post-Halloween lull, drag your living corpse to Aberystwyth and satisfy
your blood lust with six days of amazing films and events. MATHEW ROBSON
Abertoir International Horror Festival, Aberystwyth Arts Centre,
Tue 5 -Sun 10 Nov. Tickets: individual events vary; full festival
pass £58. Info: 01970 623232 / www.abertoir.co.uk
BUZZ 22
pic: RHYS FOWLER
pic: RHYS FOWLER