Olivia Plender & Unnar Örn
Table Read

Whitstable Library

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10:00-18:00

Saturday 10:00-17:00 and Sunday 10:00-16:00

Through the use of the absurd and emotional vocabulary of dreams the piece addresses anxieties about democracy, both in relation to the political system and the production of the art work itself. The scenario that takes place in the video is a 'script read through' in which a group of people are invited to sit round a table together and develop scenes from a play. The fragmentary script that they have to work with is based on actual dreams about democracy, power, social hierarchies and the narration of history gathered in the aftermath of the recent financial crisis. The aim of the ‘table read’ is not to write a play for the stage, but rather the situation becomes a performance in itself; a self-reflexive exercise exploring the hierarchies between the authors and the audience, which emerge as the participants act out sections, criticise and explore alternate endings.