Nursery Crymes

Photos by Eoin Carey. Illustrations by Rowena O’Reilly, Radiator Arts

Mischief La-Bas and MSL Projects, in association with Radiator Arts, UZ Arts and IN SITU, plan to present Nursery Crymes  – an outdoor journey into the darker side of well-known childhood stories.

Following sell-out performances and 5-star reviews for its premiere in Glasgow in November 2017, we plan to bring Nursery Crymes to Hastings.

Definitely NOT for children, Nursery Crymes is a nocturnal, site-specific promenade performance experience exploring the dark themes behind children’s rhymes and stories.

Conceived and led by Scotland’s leading outdoor performance company Mischief La-Bas, Nursery Crymes presents artwork from some of the country’s most exciting artists of different disciplines to create a series of encounters, installations and performances that probe the sinister side of nursery rhymes – the ideas of authority, morality and social indoctrination underpinning these simple tales. From the depths of Mother Goose’s forest to the ‘fun’ of the Fu**ed-Up Fairground, audiences are led down alleyways and behind police tape, through performer-animated spaces, soundscapes, film and art installations, and around dark corners.

Participating Artists & Works

Mischief La-Bas performers lead our audiences on their journey, taking on the twisted forms of some well-known childhood characters, as well as recognisable figures from pop culture in dark and unexpected scenarios.

Immersive participatory environments designed and created by Angie Dight and Bill Breckenridge include The Good and Bad Forest, Cryme Alley and the Fu**ed-Up Fairground. All the fun of the fair with a distinctly dark side.

Renowned live artist Liz Aggiss presents a new film and associated live choreography chasing childhood into the corridors of crass with a sin-fuelled Cinderella.

Fiona Robertson, one of Glasgow’s leading visual artists explores the surreal, deeply-rooted imagery of nursery rhymes and the grotesque in the tactile on-site installation and film Bad Sheep.

Hastings based Radiator Arts Collective create installation pieces within an abandoned car and projected in shop windows.

AV artist Dav Bernard, known for his work with 85A, presents Alouette (High Voltage) an innovative live projection and soundscape manufactured by welding sparks, linking the casual cruelty of children’s songs to the recurring use of torture in ‘civilised’ societies.

Glas(s) Performance and youth company Junction 25 present the haunting sound piece good/bad/horrid.

A brilliantly conceived show that packs a huge and powerful civilisational punch, a devastating critique of the tolerance for cruelty and destruction that is often hidden in our adult language, but leaks out through those nursery tales.- Scotsman

Clever, funny, thought-provoking – it would be criminal not to revive it soon.- Herald

The Glasgow audience were asked to describe the show in three words:

Fantabulous, wicked, amazing . . . Bizarre, exciting, creepy . . . Obscure, crazy, fun . . . Weird, wonderful, engaging . .  Debauched,  disturbing, delicious . . . Dark, naughty, mysterious.