Last Saturday we were delighted to join Creative Producer Carissa Hope Lynch at the OvalHouse Theatre for an exhibition of three walking installations. Entitled 'This is Not a Slog' the project draws three new stories unified by mystery, mutiny, music and memory through a series of self-guided walks. Free and ongoing, the adventures can be experienced alone or with companions. They begin at the Ovalhouse Café and amble through the Oval area. Walks vary in length, but are no more than 30-minutes duration. This series of walks were designed for the Joan Littlewood Centenary Fun Palace, with support from Ovalhouse and the Arts Council England.
So why were Little Pip there? We were delighted to be commissioned to join the intrepid walkers on their walks and document their journey through a series of photographs. We also were lucky enough to delve into each wardrobe to shoot the fine details by Designer Cécile Trémolières.
Our first 'walking wardrobe' took us to Bonnington Square where we were transported to an invisible future where memory is externalised. We followed a dossier left by memorial mutineer Saskia who has recovered her capacity to remember. This walk took us through beautiful gardens and secret hideaways that not even the rain could dampen. I won't spoil the surprise of the journey but it culminates in locating a secret code to unlock the wardrobe.
On our second walk we walked the circuit of the Oval cricket stadium to follow the story of 70-year-old Derek who has recently passed with an incomplete bucket list which has outlived him and is bursting with his secrets, obsessions and songs. Our third walk follows the story of workhouse girl N.S who has virtually nothing, not even a name. She has a hat and a bag and we borrow these to comb the grounds of St Mark's church for flotsam and jetsam to build a nest for her.
Surreal, intriguing, beautiful written by award winning writer Nessah Muthy and thoroughly entracing these stories are well worth popping to the OvalHouse to experience. 4 October - 4 November 2014 @ the Ovalhouse Café Open Daily, Tuesday - Saturday Ovalhouse Theatre, 52-54 Kennington Oval, London SE11 5SW
www.thisisnotaslog.com