Rear View
A mystery tour, live performance and participatory installation with multi-level experiences using digital technology. Rear View was a unique interactive experience for all audiences where the stre...
Rear View was a location-inspired, immersive production about how we see our own lives and the streets in which we live.
There were two versions of the show featuring either Jemima Foxtrot or Cecilia Knapp, both writers, poets and performers where they played a 65-year-old woman who looked back on her younger self. The main character appeared in different locations around the town that had meaning for her older and younger self with stories that gradually acquired understanding for audiences as the narrative unfolded.
Rear View in Norwich, NNF Festival. Photograph by JMA Photography
The journey.
Throughout 2017 and 2018, IOU’s innovative show, Rear View, toured to festivals and venues across the UK. The production was a unique interactive experience for all audiences where the streets of a town, city or festival became part of the performance. Beginning with a life-drawing class, Rear View was participatory, where reflections, predictions and observations blurred the line between reality and fiction. The adapted double-decker bus toured the town where the show was performing whilst the audience viewed the actor in their surroundings and listened through headphones.
Performer Jemima Foxtrot at Life Drawing Class for NNF Festival. Photograph by JMA Photography
“A profound, perception-altering, poetic experience.”
The Stage
“The new IOU theatre show is a little bit special, wonderfully poignant piece about seeing ourselves clearly from a distance.”
Lyn Gardner, The GuardianThe experience.
The location-specific storytelling, performance poetry, thrilling score and digital projection lasted for 70 minutes aboard the custom-built bus, whilst the real time audio alongside an imaginary soundscape blurred the line between fantasy and reality. The performance could be enjoyed by all ages and was a fun and unique experience which enabled local residents to be involved in the creation of the show.
Festivals and Performances
- Norfolk & Norwich Festival, 25/05/2017-28/05/2017
- Greenwich & Docklands Festival, 29/06/2017 – 02/07/2017
- LeftCoast SparepARTS Festival, Blackpool, 13/07/2017 – 30/11/2017
- Creative Scene and Batley Festival, 09/09/2017 – 09/10/2017
- Out There Festival, Great Yarmouth 16/09/2017 – 17/09/2017
- Festival of Thrift, Redcar, 22/09/2017 – 24/09/2017
- The Piece Hall, Halifax, 12/04/2018 – 15/04/2018
- Brighton Festival, 5/05/2018 – 8/05/2018
- Stockton International Riverside Festival, Stockton-on-Tees 02/08/2018 – 05/08/2018
- Festival of Imagineers, Coventry 20/09/2018 – 22/09/2018
- Gravity Fields Festival, Grantham 26/09/2018 – 29/09/2018
