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

redbridge drama centre, london Tuesday 15th 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

Duration

60 mins

Tyrone Isaac-Stuart

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…

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ISAAC OURO-GNAO

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…

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Josh Tomalin

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.

tomainlightworks.com

JOE PRICE

JOE PRICE

Lighting Designer

Joe trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and is now based in Bristol. He received the 2015 Francis Reid Award for Lighting Design…

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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.”

Siobhan Murphy

Critic, The Place

 

“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.”

Suzanne Frost

Mark Aspen Reviews

“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.”

Dana Naomy Mills

Journalist, Morning Star

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!

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