Magickal Realism (2009-2010)

‘Magickal Realism’ is a performance lecture (like Nowhere Plains) that uses live video, performance and audience participation to recreate the life and work of the Elizabethan magician John Dee and his scryer, the fraudster Edward Kelley. Together they spent many years communicating with ethereal realms and predicting the future during their “Angelic Actions.” This show revives some old tricks and techniques of historical fortune tellers and occultists, combining them with 21st century digital video to recreate the strangeness, paranoia and wonder of an England where witches were completely real, anybody who was anybody had somebody else plotting to kill them, and magical dolls could threaten a person’s life.

The work is probably not suitable for young children, but it should appeal to anyone aged 12 or above with an interest in English history (especially the Tudors, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare and the dawn of English colonialism), in occult history and Forteana, in fiction, readings and storytelling, in experimental theatre and performance art, or all of the above.

The first performance was on Wednesday 24th February 2010 at Colchester Arts Centre. See some images from the performance here. It is available for further exhibition and touring throughout 2010, and several more dates will be announced anon.

Part 1: John Dee draws the magic circle, and astounding astrological insights with Dee (audience participation).

Part 2: The lives of Dee and Kelley, and Elizabethan intrigue (performance and readings with live video mix).

Part 3: Visions of other worlds via radio with the mummified head of Edward Kelley (performance and audience participation. Kelley’s head contains a UK-legal FM radio broadcast unit. Radios receivers within about 5 metres pick up his “voice”)

Part 4: Hunting for terrorists with magical Elizabethan dolls (performance and audience participation).

Part 5: The ends of Kelley and Dee, the end of the show (performance and stories with live video mix).

Technical and space requirements:

The whole thing lasts about ninety minutes, with no interval.

Space for desk, chair and seated audience, performance space roughly 4m x 4m or more. All performance and technical operations by the artist from laptop. Other small pieces of equipment / props include: masks and costumes, prop head of Kelley, video camera, radio receivers.

A plain white or pale projection surface is required. Domestic sockets. Partial or full blackout. Video projector is usually brought with me.

You can contact me directly here.

Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, 2009. Additional support by ArtSway’s Associates programme.

Read about the background, research and stories behind ‘Magickal Realism’ on the previous page.