200% and Bloody Thirsty

"S: A fine goodnite to perfect things, and broken things and things to make the heart beat fast.

M: A sweet goodnite to pointless things, and stupid stupid foolish things.

S: A sad goodnite to half-things. Like half-light. Half-naked. Half-covered in snow.”

In 200% & Bloody Thirsty, three drunks in bad wigs and jumble-sale clothes enact endlessly the events surrounding the supposed or imagined death of one of their friends, as if by replaying the events, their truth or otherwise might be revealed.  In a stage set reminiscent of a homemade kitsch snow shaker, the piece repeats a chaotic nativity play in various versions, including one done blindfolded and at breakneck speed.  Several other versions are enacted amidst a wild party in which copious amounts of canned lager are thrown about and dummies (crude boiler suits stuffed with foam) are used as extra revelers.

The protagonists of 200%… speak a language that lies somewhere between the gibberish of the earlier performance (Let the Water Run its Course) to the Sea that Made the Promise (1986) and a blunt and broken contemporary slang.  Their onstage enactments are further framed with a poetic narration/dialogue by angels on video monitors who observe the protagonists throughout the piece.

© Forced Entertainment 1987. Theatre performance.

Credits:

Conceived and devised by the company.

Performers: Robin Arthur, Richard Lowdon, Cathy Naden
Video Performers: Mark Etchells, Sarah Singleton

Direction: Tim Etchells, Terry O'Connor
Text: Tim Etchells
Design / Lighting Design: Richard Lowdon
Soundtrack: John Avery
Video Technicians: Jo Cammack, Terry O’Connor