Say It Like You Mean It
Deep in the heart of an imaginary forest, the world ends and the remaining survivors have to build a new future out of sellotape and cardboard.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,
Elvis once asked “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
But how many of us here can honestly answer
“Yes. Yes I am lonesome tonight,
thank you very much for asking Mr. Presley”
without a tinge of embarrassment?
Tonight we’re going to claim back our emotions.
You see, I woke up this morning and I thought:
“Today I’m going to live life to the max”
and I felt a bit cheesy because “live life to the max” is a slogan for Pepsi.
But now that the world has ended, that doesn’t matter anymore!
Because there are no more adverts and there is no more Pepsi!
Please raise your glasses and let’s drink to the new world”
Where: A large white marquee deep within a fictional forest populated by wolves and bears …well, ok…a theatre
Who: 5 post-apocalypse survivalists, dressed in wellies and white suits, a photographer.
How Long: 90-120 minutes
Say It Like You Mean It creates a make-believe environment in a tent set deep in an imaginary forest. Gob Squad announce the end of the world and ask the remaining survivors to build a new future out of sellotape and cardboard. Protective clothing, new schools, a transport system and the internet are made. Gob Squad make rousing speeches throughout the evening and people are invited to ‘let go’ in order to be ‘in the moment’. Some people make guns, while others make an incubator for a baby which will be born imminently. At the same time, participants are invited to step out and view the situation from outside the marquee through special eyeholes while listening to a commentary on the event. Finally a commemorative ceremony is held to celebrate the first day of the new world. The evening is re-played back to them from the start in digital images.
First Performance: 15. March 2000 (Kampnagel, Hamburg)