Father Figurine
Father Figurine is Body Politic’s first full-length piece. First performed as part of Resolution at The Place in January 2018 and more recently toured in Autumn 2019.
With the current climate of mental health discussion, Father Figurine talks about the fragilities and vulnerabilities in men and young boys. Figures show young people are affected disproportionately with over half of mental health problems, starting by the age of 14 and 75% by 18.
This piece combines poignant spoken word poetry with hip hop dance, to explore the fractured relationship between a father and his son and their inability to healthily deal with a traumatic event.
Will they be able to share their emotions with each other? Or will they fall into the statistic of nearly half of men believing they can’t express their feelings?
Our work isn’t just about raising awareness. It’s a fight to keep mental healthcare at the tip of our tongues and affect real change. Continuous change.
2019 TOUR DATES
Omnibus THEATRE, CLAPHAM Friday 4th and Saturday 5th January 2019
CORNERSTONE ARTS CENTRE, DIDCOT Thursday 28th February 2019
THE MILL ARTS CENTRE, BANBURY Friday 8th March 2019
STEPHEN JOSEPH THEATRE, SCARBOROUGH Friday 15th March 2019
STRATFORD CIRCUS ARTS CENTRE, STRATFORD Tuesday 19th and Wednesday 20th March 2019
The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol Friday 13th & Saturday 14th September 2019
THE HAT FACTORY Arts centre, LUTON Friday 20th September 2019
THE OLD FIRE STATION, OXFORD Sunday 13th October 2019
NORWICH theatre royal (STAGE TWO), NORWICH Friday 18th October 2019
About Father Figurine
Description
Father Figurine questions the stigmas around the mental health of men and boys through provocative hip hop theatre.
Cast
Artistic Director: Emma-Jane Greig
Written by: Isaac Ouro-Gnao
Choreography: Stephen Brown and Derek Mok
Performers: Isaac Ouro-Gnao and Tyrone Isaac-Stuart
Original Lighting Design: Damien Roberts
Relighter, Autumn 2019 tour lighting designer: Joe Price
Dramaturgical Support: Maxwell Golden
Producer: Lee Griffiths
Photo Credit: Josh Tomalin
Special thanks to Arts Council England

Tyrone Isaac-Stuart
Performer & Music Composition
Tyrone Isaac-Stuart is a soloist and collaborator currently blending his skills into a series of innovative stories. He studied Jazz saxophone at Middlesex University and the University of New Orleans and developed as a dancer whilst performing for…

ISAAC OURO-GNAO
Performer & Script Writer
Isaac is an independent multidisciplinary artist working mainly in the Hip Hop Theatre world. His training is rooted in Hip Hop dance, Popping and House, but my curiosity has led me to other disciplines like Contemporary…

Josh Tomalin
Photographer
Josh is a lighting designer and photographer for dance. Light, the stark and the beautiful is what he’s about.
Recent clients and collaborations include: Joss Arnott, James Wilton, Wubkje Kuindersma, Sharon Watson, Kiera Martin, Anjali Dance and Chipping Norton Theatre.

JOE PRICE
Lighting Designer
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Testimonials
“Body Politic went for the personal – and dealt a body-blow with Father Figurine, combining Stephen Brown and Derek Mok’s choreography with Isaac Ouro-Gnao’s spoken word poetry. Ouro-Gnao was the confused son trying to understand what had torn his family apart; Tobi Oduntan was the father trying to hold off despair by not talking about what had happened to his wife. Their staccato hip-hop dance skilfully revealed raging but contained emotion, the performers’ mirror movements a heartbreaking reflection of them feeling the same things, but being unable to tell each other. Physical struggle dissolved into a closing moment of hope – but this was a profoundly visceral reflection of the damage wrought by suppressed emotions and masculine silence.”
“The failure of fathers has been handed down for generations… Father Figurine is a powerful show, profound, painful and full of empathy. Stereotypical ideas about masculinity and male behaviour are stubborn but it will be up to this generation to challenge them.”
“The strongest piece [of the night] is Father Figurine, set to spoken word and hip-hop, in which father and son examine their relationships. It deals with themes and ideas not often brought centre stage and explores the vulnerability of men today through a complex movement language combining dance theatre and hip-hop.”
GET INVOLVED WITH THE COMPANY
We’re always looking for passionate people who would like to get more involved in the work that we’re doing. If you’re interested in marketing, media or you’re an artist looking for work, we’d love to hear from you!