performance – Robbie Thomson http://robbiethomson.co.uk Tue, 02 Jun 2026 22:10:22 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.3.21 http://robbiethomson.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-favicon-32x32.png performance – Robbie Thomson http://robbiethomson.co.uk 32 32 Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner http://robbiethomson.co.uk/portfolio-item/paul-brights-confessions-of-a-justified-sinner/ Sun, 15 Nov 2020 00:55:00 +0000 http://robbiethomson.co.uk/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=3533 The post Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner appeared first on Robbie Thomson.

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Co-production by Untitled Projects, National Theatre of Scotland, Tramway and Summerhall



		

	



	




Tour Dates

	

		

			
2015

Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh International Festival


2014

Dublin Theatre Festival, Ireland

Ystad Theatre Festival, Sweden


2013

Summerhall, Edinburgh

Tramway, Glasgow


		

	


Press

	

		

			
James Hogg’s cult classic novel Confessions of a Justified Sinner is a rare treat, a fusion of rich characters, structural sophistication and narrative grace responsible for bewitching readers for generations. ***** – Exeunt Magazine


This new theatre event at Tramway is as intriguing in its execution as it is an artistic concept: on one level ‘a multi-layered, multi-media solo performance and exhibition’ and on another, ‘a theatrical experiment in collective memory and in the creation of fiction – The Public Reviews


Coupled with Anton’s relaxed and natural performance there is no doubt they have given us something of an event which manages to blur the division between reality and imagination. **** – What’s On Stage


At its heart, then, here is a play that reclaims a radical past to give it voice again. **** – The Herald


These words by this unknown reviewer so accurately reflect the present production I can only add that the experience, if less gripping than the book, is, at times, vivid and thought-provoking. – The Observer


As you enter Tramway’s main performance space, you are confronted with an extraordinary exhibition which excavates a strangely forgotten, but highly ambitious, theatre project from the 1980s. – The Sunday Herald


I may, for example, be like Keith Bruce of the Glasgow Herald, who wrote a review, seemingly published in the late 1980s, of an all-night performance in which a “few hardy souls … were rewarded with an experience none of us will forget”. Except, everyone did forget. **** – The Guardian


Laing and Carter’s work achieves a thrllling poetic intensity; and touches on something wild and self-destructive in Scotland, and in the human spirit, that links the story of the haunted Wringhim to that of Paul Bright, driven by his own demons all the way to the snow-blasted Borders summit, where the two stories seem to rest together, at last. **** – The Scotsman


Whatever one decides it is, there is no denying that these assiduously non-confessional Confessions provide an often witty, occasionally hilarious, and always excellently acted (if slightly self-satisfied) evening’s theatre. **** – The Telegraph


Part lecture, part exhibit this is an exploration of one man’s attempt to bring James Hogg’s masterpiece to a stage without a theatre. – The Fringe Review Scotland


		

	


Credits

	

		

			
Creative Team


Emilia Weber — Researcher

Jack Wrigley — Artist / Animator

Mike Brookes — Lighting Designer

Nick Millar — Technical Director

Pamela Carter — Writer

Robbie Thomson — Artist / Animator

Steve Slater — Producer

Stewart Laing — Director


Photography: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan


		

	



	

					

				Paul Bright's Confessions of a Justified Sinner
			

		        			



	




	

		

			
2013


With Untitled Projects


Between 1987 and 1989, in the run up to Glasgow’s tenure as European City of Culture, a young Scottish Director, Paul Bright created a series of radical performances based on James Hogg’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Mapping the original locations from the classic novel, a series of individual episodes were staged in urban sites and landscapes across Scotland. This visionary project became a cult hit, expanding its budgets and audiences as it progressed before eventually imploding publicly in its insanely ambitious final instalment.


Now in 2013 we at Untitled Projects have been immersing ourselves in the traces of this influential production in an attempt to understand how it all came together and ultimately fell apart. We wish to share our fascination with this Scottish theatrical phenomenon by creating a new piece of documentary theatre that reconstructs Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner.


Using material from the original production such as models and archival video, as well as script readings and personal reminiscence, we aspire to engage a new audience with this historical live performance that, by the very nature of the ephemeral art form we work in, can no longer be experienced directly.


		

	



	





	






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		The Eye
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/portfolio-item/the-eye/
				Thu, 10 Sep 2020 11:18:50 +0000
		
		
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=3331
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Supported by Untitled Projects, Glasgow Sculpture Studios and Creative Scotland.

Research Tumblr


		

	



	




Exhibitions

	

		

			
2014


Glasgow Sculpture Studios, The Whisky Bond, Glasgow


		

	


Credits

	

		

			
Untitled Projects presents


The Eye – Research and Development


With Selina Boyack as Simone


Conceived, Designed and Directed by Jack Wrigley and Robbie Thomson

Direction and Robot Head Text – Emilia Weber

Simone Text – Alan McKendrick

Introductory Texts – Fabienne Collignon & Calum Rodger


Photography: Spudd Connor and Tor Johnston


Presented at Glasgow Sculpture Studios, 6th and 7th December 2014


This work in progress is a first attempt at synthesising ideas drawn from George Bataille’s cult novella The Story of the Eye – formed during a year long investigation conducted with academics Fabienne Collignon and Calum Rodger.


…………………………..


Thank you


Craig Bayne, Dav Bernard, Tom Betteridge, Nick Carlin, Jamie Clements, Spudd Connor, Josh Duncan, Sinead Hargan, Claire Healy, Alice Jacobs, Markus Kroner, Heather Lander, Jenny Maclaren, Barbara Natalie Nagel, Reign in Pain, Jonny Poole at Innerbreed FX, Gabriella at Risotto, Kim Selwood, Karen Starr, George Thompson, Tommy Ga-Ken Wan, all the staff at The Glasgow Sculpture Studios, The Citizens Theatre, 100 Borron Street, Cryptic, the hundreds of Cam4 viewers, Lord Auch


and most of all to


Stewart Laing and all at Untitled Projects (Louise Irwin, Pamela Carter, Nick Millar and Rhea Lewis) for 3 years of inspiration, encouragement & friendship – it’s been a blast. X


Supported by Creative Scotland Quality Production Fund


		

	



	

					

				The Eye
			

		        			



	




	

		

			
2014


In collaboration with Jack Wrigley and Emilia Weber


Taking George Bataille’s pornographic novella The Story of the Eye as its starting point, this initial presentation follows a year long creative investigation with academics Fabienne Collignon and Calum Rodger and writer Alan McKendrick.


The work-in-progress utilises robotics, silicone prosthetics, kinetic sculpture, technic poetic text and performance to investigate technological transgressions – focusing in particular on the role of the camera in eroticism, personal computers in modern sexual relationships and how a machine’s motions can simulate erotic acts. Using adult web streaming channels this work explores pornography in the context of live theatre and live theatre in the context of pornography.


		

	



	





	






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		Projek 2-tak
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/portfolio-item/projek-2-tak/
				Fri, 10 Apr 2020 18:02:59 +0000
		
		
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=3432
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Supported by British Council Indonesia



		

	



	




Exhibitions

	

		

			
ongoing: multiple venues throughout Indonesia


2018


UK/ID – The Other Festival, Hotel Monopoli, Jakarta


		

	


Press

	

		

			
UK/ID Festival returns with highlights on Indonesian diversity – Jakarta Post


Machine for the Masses – British Council


		

	



	

					

				Projekt 2-Tak
			

		        			



	




	

		

			
2018


In collaboration with WAFT-Lab and Halaman Garage


A 1990 Mitsubishi Delica converted into a social vehicle for touring workshops, performances and skill shares. The truck featured custom sound, lighting, storage and exhibition systems as well as a drift-trike built from recycled parts.


Constructed on residency in Surabaya, Java, Indonesia.


		

	



	





	






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		YAYAYA AYAYAY
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/portfolio-item/yayayaayayay/
				Fri, 10 Apr 2020 17:18:53 +0000
		
		
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=3402
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Supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland and ‘AMPS’ - a commission from Jerwood Charitable Foundation / Nick Anderson. Further support from: Tramway, The Work Room, Gessnerallee Zurich, Dance Base Edinburgh, Movement Research New York and Live Collision International Festival. 



		

	



	




Tour Dates

	

		

			
2019


Submerge Festival, Arnolfini, Bristol


2018


Southbank Centre, London

Experimentica Festival, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff


2017


Dance International Glasgow, Tramway

Gessnerallee, Zurich

Live Collision, Projects Arts Centre, Dublin


		

	


Press

	

		

			
Ahl’s idiosyncratic ability to tease our imagination and heighten our awareness of what’s around us is seriously remarkable – The Herald


a choreography of sensation. Of vibration. Of sound. Of light. Of dark. It’s all material. And all laced up with a muted humour – Rosanna Irvine


I found the work both healing and magic; amongst sonic architectures and reverberating voices, I became part of a ritual that did not settle – Exeunt Magazine


 primal body materialising from the shimmering gloom and fading back into darkness. The effect is mind-altering, magical, cathartic – The Sick of he Fringe


		

	


Credits

	

		

			
Choreography/Concept/Performance: Louise Ahl/Ultimate Dancer

Sound/Light/Performance: Robbie Thomson

Costume: Zephyr Liddell

Dramaturgy: Jo Bannon


Photography: Jack Wrigley, Jana Rumley


		

	



	

					

				YAYAYA AYAYAY
			

		        			



	




	

		

			
2017


In collaboration with Ultimate Dancer


Ultra-terrestrial temporary dance proclaiming the historic chant: tnahc cirotsih eht gnimialcorp ecnad yraropmet lairtserret-artlU


A vision of a giant or an alien with a message; Ultimate Dancer and Robbie Thomson bring discoveries from the dark places. Expect a neo-ancient display of natural-high inducing lights, sounds and trippy ritual dances.


In 2015, Ultimate Dancer went into a darkness retreat for five days – a purpose-built room isolated from all light and sound. Ceremonial darkness is a classical method for accessing vibrant unconscious and super-conscious states. The experience was deeply transformative; at times hallucinogenic, emotionally moving, physically painful and has thoroughly inspired the creation of YAYAYA AYAYAY.


		

	



	





	






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		Rottinghuis
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/portfolio-item/rottinghuis/
				Fri, 10 Apr 2020 12:42:01 +0000
		
		
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=3343
				The post Rottinghuis appeared first on Robbie Thomson.

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Developed and premiered in 2018 at a Grand Theatre Groningen Residency, supported by Cryptic & The Hugh Fraser Foundation
Photography: Neil Jarvie


		

	



	




Tour Dates

	

		

			
2019

Sonica Festival, Tramway, Glasgow

Up is a Relative Concept, Fold, London


2018

Grand Theatre, Groningen


		

	


Press

	

		

			
preview – The Skinny


		

	



	

					

				Rottinghuis
			

		        			



	




	

		

			
2018


In collaboration with Alicia Matthews


Rottinghuis is a nightmarish creature-feature, an investigation into the dark side of the web and an unnerving depiction of disintegration.


Drawing on research into hauntology and psycho-physical online habits, this work languishes in the interstitial world of our phantasies and projected digital selves. Collected audio fragments from messageboards and anonymous platforms such as Zello provide real-time source material that forms the narrative of the piece. Disjointed conversations, casual threats of violence and dark humour are injected into 3D visualisations of familiar domestic environments and insidious routines.


		

	



	





	






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		Infinite Lives
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/portfolio-item/infinite-lives/
				Fri, 10 Apr 2020 11:08:40 +0000
		
		
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=3320
				The post Infinite Lives appeared first on Robbie Thomson.

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A Cryptic commission in partnership with the Grand Theatre, Groningen & CMMAS (Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras), Mexico, in association with Cove Park.


Initial development supported by Puppet Animation Scotland – Creative Fund, PRIM (Productions Réalisations Indépendantes de Montréal) Montreal and SAT (Société des arts technologiques) Montreal.


Photography: Louise Mather


		

	



	




Tour Dates

	

		

			
2018


Sonica, King’s Place, London


2017


Digial Design Weekend, Lawangwangi Creative Space, Bandung, Indonesia

Sonica, Tramway, Glasgow

CMMAS (Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras), Morelia

CENART (Centro Nacional de las Artes), Mexico City

Grand Theatre, Groningen


		

	


Press

	

		

			
seems to push at the boundaries of your brain – Exeunt Magazine


a sensory delight and a product of copious craftsmanship     
                                
    
                                
    
                                
    
                                
 – The Skinny


a psychedelic, hallucinatory atmosphere… you can leave the LSD at home – Dagblad van het Noorden


		

	



	

					

				Infinite Lives
			

		        			



	




	

		

			
2017


Inspired by scales at the limits of perception this work draws on influences ranging from neuroscience to psychedelia, electron microscopy to nuclear paranoia and manifests in a collision of scientific specimens and esoteric machines.


		

	



	





	






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		XFRMR
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/portfolio-item/xfrmr/
				http://robbiethomson.co.uk/portfolio-item/xfrmr/#respond
				Thu, 09 Apr 2020 11:37:34 +0000
		
		
		http://robbiethomson.co.uk/?post_type=portfolio-item&p=3070
				The post XFRMR appeared first on Robbie Thomson.

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A Cryptic commission in association with Cove Park For touring enquiries, please contact claire@cryptic.org.uk 


Photography: Culture Station 284, Lifepatch, Niels Knelis Meijer


		

	



	




Tour Dates

	

		

			
2025

Encuentro de Sonidos Electronicos, Teatro Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Bogota, Colombia

Parque Explora, Medellin, Colombia

Sonica Istanbul, Babylon, Istanbul, Türkiye

An Lanntair, Stornoway


2019

Science & Industry Museum, Manchester

Paradigm Festival, Groningen


2018

Brighton Festival

Sensoria Festival , Sheffield


2017

Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival, Groningen

Edinburgh Festival (as part of Made in Scotland Showcase)

Sonica Glasgow (Tramway & The Art School)


2016

Sonica @ King’s Place, London

EXIT Festival, MAC, Paris

CENART, Mexico City

CMMAS. Morelia, Mexico

The Substation, Newport, Australia (Melbourne Festival)

NuART Gallery, Bandung, Indonesia

Taman Budaya Jawa Timur, Surabaya, Indonesia

Auditorium LIP/IFI, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Culture Station Seoul 284, South Korea


2015

Optimo, Subclub, Glasgow


		

	


Press

	

		

			
 a performance bridging the technical and the spectacular, the popular and the arcane – Aesthetica Magazine


an experimental and intricate industrial journey – The Skinny


propels the viewer into an intense electromagnetic experience – digital arti


his fusion of science and spectacle, imagination and invention continue to make him a name to seek out – Total Theatre


profile – The Quietus


interview – Cool Hunting


interview – NeonMusic


the possibilities of combining light and sound seem endless – Tone Deaf


the coil’s horns of electricity revealed the true personality of technology, as powerful, perilous and unquestionably, natural – Beat


    
                                
    
                                
    
                                
    
                                
 – The Wee Review


		

	



	

					

				XFRMR
			

		                    

                2016            

        					

				XFRMR explores the musical possibilities of the Tesla Coil in a composition inspired by the sounds of space weather and electromagnetic fields.			

			



	





	





	

		

			



		

	




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