Foreign Body
by Imogen Butler-Colephysical-theatre-and-circus, theatre
A Play for the #MeToo Movement : 1 in 3 of our women have survived sexual violence, we are all affected, we are all responsible.
about the production
Foreign Body is the debut solo show by London-based artist Imogen Butler-Cole about hope, healing and forgiveness after sexual assault. The play uses movement and testimonial recordings to tell Imogen’s own story, that of the perpetrator of one of her own assaults and those of eight other survivors of sexual assault. In the wake of #MeToo, #TimesUp and the naming of The Silence Breakers as TIME Person of the Year, Foreign Body has never been more relevant or more urgent. Foreign Body aims to destigmatise dialogue around sexual violence. Every show is followed by a discussion alongside sector professionals.
about the artist
Imogen Butler-Cole trained at RADA and LISPA and has acted and directed in India, Bangladesh, Brasil, New Zealand, France and the UK. Current theatre projects include acting in Ben Musgrave’s "Mad Bees Riot in the Light", directing Nina Millns’ "Delete" and touring "Foreign Body". Imogen works as an activist around sexual violence alongside On Road Media and trains business professionals in communication for RADA in Business and The Old Vic. She facilitates for RADA, Theatre Centre and The Midnight Run, has lectured in drama at Universities across the world. She produced The Tempest in Bangla for Shakespeare’s Globe.
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stage dimensions
width: 5 metres
height: 3 metres
depth: 3 metres
Raked seating in proscenium
Light rig and black out
Stereo sound system with jack
Intimate spaces around 100 seats ideal
Foreign Body is aimed at anyone affected by trauma or sexual assault, be that personally or through those near to them. Either survivors or perpetrators or those at risk of becoming either. We know that one in three women will be assaulted in their lifetimes, as will one in ten men. So we know that in some way we are all affected.
Because of the high instances of assault among students we are particularly keen to tour to University towns. Our audiences are typically slightly more women than men but we would welcome more male audiences to see the show.
"this gentle work of physical theatre… capture[s] the fragility felt by the invaded body, and the courage needed to forgive the man, or men, who invaded… a reminder of how important individual action is in creating political change."
“a number of shows… have addressed the male gaze and the objectification of women. However, none illustrates the ramifications of this quite so powerfully as Foreign Body”
personal and intimate… a surprisingly uplifting and courageous piece of theatre… A brave and challenging work… approaches its emotive subject calmly and with respect, giving a much-needed voice to the voiceless women who experience sexual violence.”
The play has two main elements - stunning visual design encompassing continual choreography as well as an original soundtrack comprising music and verbatim recordings.
The piece has been attended and deemed accessible by D/deaf audiences and at the same time is engaging throughout for the blind and visually impaired. We are able to bring signers to certain venues for full textual interpretation.
Physical accessibility is fine depending on venue.
Every performance is followed by a panel discussion with the performer and up to two guests. On tour we invite local survivors' networks and invite survivors, campaigners and support workers to join us on the panel. This allows the audience space and time to process what they have just seen and to discuss the themes brought up in the play. We also offer workshops on consent along with the Consent Collective: http://www.nb-research.com/the-consent-collective/
£500 incl VAT per performance, including panel discussion. Negotiable for charities. For some venues we are able to negotiate a box office split.
