IN CONVERSATION WITH: Natasha Gilmore

Wee Man

1. In what ways can dance and theatre offer a more honest or powerful lens into male vulnerability than traditional storytelling?
   
   Wee Man uses dance as its main art form which, in amongst itself, isn’t necessarily seen as a space for boys or men to inhabit which is outrageous.
   
   I think it’s so powerful seeing a large group of men dancing together, to showcase sensitivity, vulnerability, creativity, but also strength.
   
2. What might be different if young men were taught that tenderness and strength can coexist?
   
   We have built these rules in society whereby we’re not enabling boys to express themselves but I think this is important to showcase communication and tenderness as a strength.
   
   If you go to many dance schools in Scotland you’ll see young girls expressing themselves and being physical, but there is still work to be done on gender equality across the form. For example, exerting energy, expression, improvisation and risk taking are all areas that boys benefit from so there’s still work to do to welcome people into these spaces.
   
3. How do community and intergenerational collaboration reshape conversations about what it means to “be a man”?
   
   Barrowland Ballet has an intergenerational company outside of Wee Man and it’s amazing bringing people together to feel welcome, to enrich everybody’s lives.
   
   Wee Man was created in collaboration with the boys and men to look at the stereotypes and stigmas but also to look at the tenderness and strength of being a man, so I think it’s important to reflect both sides of the coin to help create a positive image of such.
   
4. Can humour help us confront and dismantle toxic expectations of masculinity more effectively than confrontation alone?
   
   Yes, absolutely. I think bringing different imagery to life is important.
   For example in Wee Man we showcase tenderness and touch, and that’s a representation that can help to dismantle toxic expectations.
   
   Of course humour can always shift things and enable people to feel welcome and safe too.
   With an environment of trust, we can take people on an important journey to reflect, examine and portray the potentials of positive masculinity.
   
5. What would a rulebook for healthier, more compassionate masculinity look like—and who gets to write it?
   
   A lot of what the men involved in Wee Man said was they didn’t always feel welcome into certain spaces so there is a stigma and a stereotype around masculinity.
   
   I believe that a rule book could include engaging with the arts, talking, expressing yourself, hugging, communicating and getting rid of prejudice to allow for equality across the board.
   

Chunky Jewellery

1. How do we hold on to humour and friendship when life feels like it’s falling apart?
   
   It’s essential to hold onto humour and friendship, and it’s important to ask for help in those moments too. I think that’s what we want to share with people.
   
2. What does it mean to truly share the middle space—between birth and death, joy and grief—with someone?
   
   I think it means everything.
   
   It also means that there’s someone there who you can connect with because they have an understanding of you and your situation, as there is something quite isolating and terrifying about being a single parent. For example, you’re the only person who’s really responsible for these children and for their lives, so it’s important to connect to other people within that world to bring joy and relief.
   
3. In a world that often rushes past women’s stories, what happens when we stop to witness their everyday heroism?
   
   I think it’s about the very epic, but also the very, very everyday things that are never celebrated. That is something we are trying to platform in Chunky Jewellery – celebrating and validating the little moments, too.
   
   It was interesting when we started the show as we did look to find stories about women, and the ones that we related to were thin on the ground so that’s an aim of the work – to bring women’s stories to the stage and for people to feel seen.
   
4. How can dance and song express the chaos of motherhood and loss in ways words alone cannot?
   
   It’s using a more poetic language to express different emotions and different connections in a way that enables the audience to really feel things in their own space, and connect with it in their own way.
   
5. Is friendship one of the most radical forms of love we can put on stage?
   
   There are so many stories about the romantic ideal that are so unhelpful, so it absolutely needs to be more celebrated. Friendship is so essential to our beings and connection, community, connection.