Signals of the Real
“Signals of the Real” has been performed at the National Gallery of Australia (1994, 2007), Wollongong Regional Gallery (2007), the Sydney Fringe (1995) the National Gallery of Victoria (1994), as part of the James Gleeson retrospective at the National Gallery of Australia (2005), and at the “E-motional” Dances Festival, George Apostu Cultural Centre, Bacau Romania, in September 2014.
Until his death in 2008, James Gleeson was a keynote Australian surrealist painter, and one of the Australia’s prominent painters of the twentieth century. He was also a prominent art critic, poet and foundation board member of the Australian National Gallery.
“Signals of the Real” is a performance work in its own right, yet is also to a large extent a homage to Gleeson’s work. Gleeson was distinct in Australia for his accomplished intellectual and European style. All performances have been done with cooperation of the painter, and permission for ongoing use of his images in the show has been obtained.
Review: “a fusion of, poetry, song, music and dance. … what is commendable is writer- director Geoffrey Sykes’ passionate engagement with Gleeson’s writings and imagery. …. It achieves a certain beguilement, enticing the audience into the labyrinthine world of an artist, consumed by the philosopher’s quest for revelation, possessed with a fervor for the revolution of the imagination and a determination to challenge conventional reality.” The Canberra Times May 2005
Review: “In Signals of the Real, it’s remarkable the playright’s power to build atmosphere, move the spectator somewhere else – within an imprecise and apparently exotic space, one which “who knows”, we “have all already seen in our dreams”, as the text says. Here, even sadness becomes luminous and anguish is healed through the power of the imagination, inner freedom that enables us to regain control of our lives and ourselves.” Nicoleta Blanariu, Bacau 2014 – full review link below
“Signals of the Real” is a distinct innovative multi form work involving movement, acting, song, video and music. It is set at a beachside café late at night, and celebrates in its setting and reference the importance of the sea as a source of unconscious inspiration in Gleeson’s work. A dancer, poet, philosopher and musician gather. The beginning seaside late night euphoric gathering is broke by a newspaper announcement. The imagination has been declared illegal. The show captures some of the disturbed fragmentary images of classical surrealism, as well as Gleeson’s fear of war. The characters are trapped in insomnia and fear. Finally dawn brings good news. The imagination has been liberated. The show concludes with the sense of personal liberation present in Gleeson’s later image.
REVIEW OF “SIGNALS OF THE REAL” BACAU 2014
The 2014 production had a new score. It involved three dancers (two Romanian and one Australian), and three Romanian singers/musicians. Video projection includes startling talking head and voice of the poet, plus vivid key Gleeson images. The text includes poems by Gleeson plus original script by Geoffrey Sykes.