Company of Elders invites audiences to join their journey of identity in two new pieces made for them by Euan Garrett and John-William Watson. Company of Elders is Sadler’s Wells’ resident company for non-professional dancers over 60 made up of older adults aged 60+ from the local community, they meet every week to rehearse. This time we sat down with John-William about his latest surreal comedy, They Look Like People.
It’s so lovely to have you both here. How did it feel to create work specifically for Company of Elders?
Thank you for having us in for a natter, and bloomin’ brilliant is how it felt. The company have collaborated in such a generous and open way, that’s made for every research day, or creation week as beautifully surprising and inspiring as the last. The themes and story of the show have developed in constant conversations with the dancers, with their own autobiographical monologues shaping the narrative and script – I’ve directed and facilitated creating this show with them but I’ve felt supported, challenged, and led by them as well. It’s felt like a true collaboration, all whilst having a right whale of time!
John, your piece has such a wonderfully surreal premise: strangers in a waiting room, reality subtly unraveling. What sparked this idea?
Surrealism underpins everything I do, and for this project I knew I wanted to make a show about this company, celebrating who they are as individuals. We started chatting about Jack Finney’s ‘Body Snatchers’ and Chana Porter’s ‘The Seep’ initially, as a sci-fi angle on identity. This lens slowly fell away but what was left was the waiting room and a group of strangers. An almost liminal space where strangers often meet, it was our first idea, and in true surrealist fashion we ran with it, building the piece in conversation with that framework already in place.
John, You were a Sadler’s Wells Young Associate and have now founded your own company, NOT TO BE REPRODUCED. How has your choreographic voice evolved through those experiences?
Well I think time does wonders. As I’ve cracked on with different projects, my voice has distilled, almost without me knowing. And it’s moments like these that I realise the change.
Now working under NOT TO BE REPRODUCED, I know we make work by the three S’s (kind of) – Surrealism, Silliness and Exi(s)tentialism. I know that my perspective, as a working-class, queer, northerner will always filter into the work, intentionally and unintentionally. And finally I know it’s not that serious. If I make a solo about death inevitability and our endless desire for companionship, who says it can’t be properly funny as well?!
I have a wonderful group of collaborators, many of which have worked on this show, who also share that vision; for that I feel beyond grateful.
Both works deal with identity – one through memory and cultural history, the other through surreal observation. Did you find any unexpected overlaps in your approaches?
I think although through contrasting approaches, an umbrella theme for the two works like identity is bound to highlight one overlap at least; the dancers. The company members are of course wonderfully individual as people, and an absolute delight to share the space with, but also within that each member is a uniquely beautiful performer. It’s something that, from my first session to my last one with them, has been impossible to ignore. I think the celebration of this individual artistry that they all possess is what connects both works and is gonna make for a cracking show!
What do you each hope audiences take away from these two pieces?
For me I think an appreciation for the mundane and the everyday, finding importance in the small things and the seemingly unremarkable moments that pepper our lives. That who we are isn’t just marked by the new jobs, the big weddings/events or the milestone birthdays. It can also be marked by the time you spent mending a hole in your favourite sock, or the natter you had with your husband, under the light of the extractor fan, whilst you wait for the kettle to boil. To appreciate these moments in real time, and not just when you look back.