I AM MAKING A SHOW ABOUT SPORT IT IS EXCITING.

This is a long overdue update because most of the updating on this has been via a new subdomain I set up for Ironman especially. And all my new writing is going in Zines or on tumblr blogs. But basically I am currently in Newcastle in the first week of making (provisional title, and probably not the final one because it’s a trademark and stuff) IRONMAN. Which is my latest bit of work about the physiology and psychology of endurance sport. IT FEATURES ME ACTUALLY DOING A REALLY BIG BIT OF ENDURANCE SPORT.

Here’s what I’ve written about the show in that way where you write things before you know what the thing will actually be:

Ironman is about our bodies in a world that transports our minds places bodies can’t follow. Ironman is about the physiology of endurance – when our brains tell our bodies to stop – and the psychology of carrying on. A 2.4k swim, 112 miles of cycling, then running a marathon. It is about how the thing that shocks people the most is when you tell them you’re not allowed headphones. Just you, alone, body and mind, and the next moment. For 12 hours (or more) It’s also about things like my friend who died, John. About the marathon I ran in his memory. It’s about the reasons I cycle, swim, and run.

I’m working with a documentary maker Niall Coffey, Alex Kelly as designer and dramaturg, 3 whole scientists/psychologists, a coach, at 4 theatres, and with support from 3 different funders. I’m EXCITED.

If that’s interesting sounding to you, you can COME TO A WORK IN PROGRESS SHOWING. There are two next week in Newcastle on the 12th (6pm) and 13th (3pm) of Feb showing very early days two weeks of R&D. It’s totally free to attend, but you do need to book. I’ll also let you know when it’ll be in Sheffield, Stockton, and London further down the line.

And you can follow my training/making process as I blog it at ironman.hannahnicklin.com

172 days until the event. Eek.

Also I did some other things recently, which you might find interesting:

Other things! Since I last blogged (blimey this was a long time ago), Fun Palaces came and went and was a great big bit of fun. I’m really proud of the work I did as ‘Digital Champion’ on the project

I did an interview with Eleanor Turney at The Space about that work, and generally things I think about how we think about ‘digital’. Said article saw the coining of the nickname ‘Digital Grinch’ for me which I am totally down with.

I’ve also been trying to get better at poetry still, by putting things up on xpoemxday.tumblr.com as and when I write them. I’m quite proud of this poem about my mum.

I performed Songs For Breaking Britain as part of the All Change Festival and it got a lovely write up on Exeunt: “the voices that Nicklin has collected speak of unemployment, of despair, of fear and lack of inspiration. But there is also joy and hope and huge generosity.” – Catherine Love

I made a new thing – a durational performance game called ‘Games We Have Known And Loved’ which collects stories of games and play that debuted at GameCity 9 in October, and which also went to Dialogue Festival in November.

I also wrote a 20 minute piece of spoken word out of all of the stories I collected for the closing party of GameCity – It had a lovely write up in Rock Paper Shotgun and you can buy it in Zine form on my new exciting ‘shop’ (I’m going to put up a first zine of collected poems soon* too!). It’s cheap. You should buy it and then wait ages for me to post it because I’m in Newcastle right now, come on, pay attention.

*at some point.

And finally, I’m enjoying working more in and around games, particularly advocating for games in culture/arts/funding spheres – I’m currently doing some associate producing with The Space and have written an article on the bits of games that cross over with art/performance in the UK.

Great things that my friends are doing that you should check out too.

The Lifes & Loves of a Nobody by Third Angel (half of whom I’m working with in Newcastle right now!) is at The Albany in Deptford until Saturday
Everything Harry Giles does, generally, most recently FarmForm and this lovely Twine gamepoem
And check out these two gamepoems from @v21 and Holly Gramazio
Plus the Pornography For Beginners blockpushing game that Holly made in reaction to the UK’s porn updated (outdated) legislation.
Adam Dixon‘s frankly cavalier promise to make a new game a week this year is throwing up some lovely stuff.
Jack Bennett is currently touring with Too Much Too Young which I’m excited to see next week.
Unfolding Theatre‘s Lands of Glass is touring too, which looks much fun.
I’ve played The Quiet Year recently and found it totally mesmerising (only $8 all you need is 6 dice, some counters, and a pack of cards to play).
Also, lots of new stuff coming up at Sprint Festival at CPT, including a new work in progress from Action Hero, and My Mate Pat Ashe‘s night of games and performance Beta Public. Which will probably be OK (it always sells out).
Finally, Olympians have a new record coming out SOME TIME. Like, it’s taking ages, but just before the end of the year they released a single from it. Why not round your evening/morning/afternoon off with Brunch Cannon?

Well, I did it. I’m sitting on the train back from what feels like 6 months of quite substantial things. Moving to London, having never really lived in a city. Running a marathon across a mountain. Passing my PhD viva. Making a solo show. Sustaining/scraping a living as a freelancer. And learning and performing 65-70 minutes worth of material for a 10 day run at Edinburgh Festival. I should feel proud, I expect. And in ways I am. But really all these are difficult in the anticipation, but once you get there, it’s just a case of putting one foot in front of the other, one word, or one line in front of the other, and trying to mean them.

The show itself was reasonably well received critically. A really intelligent 4 star review from Broadway Baby, 4 stars and a ‘hot show’ feature in the Scotsman, and a couple of lovely mentions from Lyn Gardner in the Guardian. Some very generous lovely tweets from people who saw it (some screencapped below). People who grasped my hand, who cried and hugged me, who said ‘we baby boomers are retiring, now, we who got our education for free, well we’ve got time on our hands now, and we’re fighting for you’, people who sent me messages talking about how talking about being allowed to be afraid is ok was very important to them, that made them think about the Troubles in Ireland, about a couple who lived between two police officers in during the Steel strikes – one who was up for the fight the other “the kind of police officer that was more like a social worker”, the older woman who told me about how her family had been victimised by the far right for years “actually, they are scum” she told me in reaction to a scene in the show where I talk about my difficulty with slogans. An senior arts council officer who told me afterwards he couldn’t work out why it was moving, that the quote of my flyer ‘unexpectedly moving’ was just it.

Some people didn’t like it. Some walked out with hardly a glance as I handed them something to take away with them. Others fidgeted, sighed in frustration, fell asleep. sat in stony silence when I show a funny picture of a funny jumper, and spent the whole time tapping into their mobile phone. I have become a much better behaved audience member after seeing how much you see and hear from that side.

And the show? I’m proud of it, I think. It does what I wanted it to. It fits together right and is as finely balanced as I could make it. I’d like to get it out to people who might more naturally side with the police if they were asked who ‘us’ and ‘them’ is for them. I did a lot of learning about performing. A lot about how each night is different, about when an audience doesn’t know you think you did it better last night, I started getting stubborn, not hurt, by people who demonstrably weren’t engaged, and that was a useful energy in that moment. I learnt about how tired I get, how much else I can sensibly do in a day, and that actually, things that engage my body and not my mind are fundamental to my being able to work well. Also the nerves of the first night make it feel like the best thing you ever did, and you won’t hit that again, but it’s ok. I felt like that anyway. Also, next show, make one that doesn’t require writing a thing out for every individual audience member. (spoiler).

And finally – massively supported again by Alex Kelly, technically, theatrically, and emotionally, throughout the two weeks. Thanks, Alex.

Where next? The lovely Gloria of Little Mighty is going to be booking me a tour for Autumn/Spring ’13/’14 (mostly the latter), and there’s been some other interest in it that might give it a life in other ways. More info if it actually happens.

Otherwise, I go into a couple of new interesting projects in October – as well as the Digital R&D project, I’m going to be working alongside an artist to help make a show about teenage girls and the internet (I’m sort of a digital/arts consultant artist), might get to work as producer on an exciting thing I can’t name yet, and am going to be making over at least a week and a half a NEW SHOW. One that this time is angry. And that will contain punk music. Stay tuned. And in the meantime here’s a screen cap of a section of the tweets about ACW on Twitter. I only know Jamie in real life, and Catherine as a brill thoughtful reviewer, the rest are genuine audience members. Imagine! People who paid to see me say things.

Tag: northern stage

Ironman is go!

I AM MAKING A SHOW ABOUT SPORT IT IS EXCITING.

Also I did some other things recently, which you might find interesting:

Great things that my friends are doing that you should check out too.

A Conversation With My Father, post Edinburgh Festival 2013.