Excerpts from Quiche Lorraine with Parrot {in the} Tank, who will be taking Just Below The Above from the International Arts Theatre to Paradise Gardens at Victoria Park this Saturday 24th of May.
Quiche Lorraine: To begin with, just going round, do you prefer electricity or jazz?
Anisha Fields: If I had to live with one and without the other?
Q.L: I suppose so; I suppose that's what I'm asking.
Anisha: I think I'd rather live with electricity.
Eva Liparova: I'd say electricity as well, but maybe jazz at the weekends.
Anisha: Jazz can do my head in a little bit. Depends what kind of jazz.
Sam Bailey: Is it trad jazz, or step jazz...?
Q.L: It's how you interpret.
Eva: Inoffensive jazz isn't too bad.
Anisha: I like inoffensive jazz
Eva: Maybe in the evenings. You don't need that much electricity in the evenings.
Joe Connor: See I like moderately offensive jazz, just that kind of, "its really quite annoying but god dammit its foot stopping" so I'd probably say jazz. No, actually, electric jazz.
Anisha: It depends if its live jazz. If there's a live jazz band...
Sam: A group of people that follow you around...
Joe: Like minstrels.
Sam: Oh don't bring minstrels into it...
Sam: I think I'd go for jazz cos although electricity keeps you warm, jazz keeps you warmer.
Eva: Imagine there would be a jazz club right where people would go dancing every night and they would generate the electricity through the dancing.
Joe: You could attach a generator to the trombone player.
Anisha: That is some fiery jazz.
Anisha makes jazz sounds.
Q.L: The opposite way now. Where do babies come from?
Sam: Where do babies come from? I could go with the really obvious answer. The vagina, generally from the womb and they make there way down. I still like to think storks are involved, that they drop off babies.
Eva: I like that as well.
Joe: I like the idea of the magical combination of a testicle and an ovary.
Eva: That sounds horrible.
Joe: It's just really funny to have the adjective of magical combination of a testicle and an ovary.
Eva: Magical testicle, that sounds really horrible.
Joe: That's where babies come from.
Q.L: Eva?
Eva: I do think, however magical when two cells form a baby, I think that process of that transformation of cells into a human being is amazing, and I don't quite know where that energy comes from and it fascinates me.
Joe: A lot of thrusting.
Anisha: Jazz.
Joe: The miniature sperm jazz band.
Eva: Maybe they generate the electricity that creates life.
Anisha: If a sperm made sound do you think it would be jazz?
Joe: No I think it would be bleblableblalbebla!
Q.L: What's your answer? To where babies come from?
Anisha: I think I'm just gunna have to go with the general stork idea.
Eva: The knowledgeable one.
Anisha: Yes.
Q.L: Is anger ever necessary?
Anisha: In certain situations, I would say yes.
Eva: Like what?
Q.L: Like in the rehearsal room?
Anisha: Is it necessary in the rehearsal room?
Q.L: No, no, I was just trying to lead you into a journalistic kind of...didn't work.
Anisha: Oh I see. Possibly in the rehearsal room. Definitely in particular situations. Some people just need to be dealt with anger. I think, like when...
Q.L: You do know that's going to be the headline of this article now. That's the quote that defines this.
Anisha makes a face of turmoil.
Anisha: I stand by my earlier statement.
Eva: I don't think its necessary, I do think, going back to energy and electricity...
Joe sneezes very loud.
Sam: Oh my god.
Eva: That was quite an angry sneeze. I do think you can turn anger into creative energy and use it imaginatively to create...
Sam: ...babies.
Anisha: Jazz.
-----
Q.L: If you could describe yourselves as people who are 'riffing in the name of', what would you be riffing in the name of?
Joe: Riffing...in the name of...alloys...
Q.L: Thinking of yourselves as a jazz band now, who's playing the bass?
Sam: Who would be the stand up bassist?
Anisha: I think Charlotte Cassidy holds us up.
Joe: I think Cassidy would the bass because she keeps us...
Anisha: Solid.
Sam: Steady. On the even keel
Eva: Keeps the steady tone.
Sam: So that's Charlotte Cassidy.
Joe: I'm already shot gunning the jazz oboe. Erratic.
Eva: I think you're the trumpet.
Joe: An erratic trumpet.
Anisha: Yeah...
Sam: Oboes are a horrible instrument.
Joe: I think oboes are beautiful.
Anisha: Oboes are a horrible instrument anyway.
Joe: I think oboes are beautiful! I love oboes.
Sam makes a sound like a duck trying to sing.
Anisha: Exactly.
Sam: It's like a duck trying to sing.
Anisha: It's like a strangled pygmy...
Sam: Like grade one singing technique for duck. It is beautiful in the right place but I do think trumpet. I think Eva is that kind of slightly weird woman at the front who kind of scats. Like woobeebopbaalaa
Eva: Ok, I quite like that...
Sam: Bit weird, wiry hair...smell a little bit...
Eva: Can we have a look at your hair?
Sam: Oh my hairs brilliant. Look at that.
Q.L: Wow. Could you describe your hair for our readers?
Anisha: I think he looks like a kitten that's been dipped in water.
Joe: You look like Christopher lee.
Eva: You look like Ken. With plastic hair.
Anisha: Yeah, you're right actually. Plastic Ken, Barbie doll.
Sam: For those of you out there that don't know what I look like, I look fantastic at the moment. I'll put that out there. What would Anisha be? Here we go...
Q.L: We need a drummer.
Joe: I think Sam's the drummer, not just because you play the drums but also because you're quite rhythmical. Unpredictable sometimes...
Sam: I think Anisha's like a fan, like the one at the front that desperately wants to be part of the band.
Anisha: I hate you all. I'm holding this company together just for the record.
Q.L: Everyone's shaking their heads at this point.
Eva: I'd say Anisha's the banjo.
Joe: Saxophonist!
Sam: A really over sized one as well, novelty.
Anisha: The over sized one?!
Q.L: Over sized saxophone or the over sized player?
------
Q.L: Considering the context of modern theatre, what would you say is the point of Parrot in the Tank?
Eva: What do you mean?
Q.L: What does Parrot bring...
Joe: I've been thinking about this. Because, before I came to central I was really into political theatre and agit prop and stuff like that, and that was purely because of thinking that theatre really needed to some kind of reason like social change or as a highlight...and I think the reason behind parrot is to highlight really basic human emotions and how important they are. That's how I see. We use 'love' a lot, as an emotion, and I think its because love is fractioned so much today love, lust, one nights stands, all that kind of thing, there are loads of fractions of love and its really nice to just do something that's just about love. A core thing. But people do it about all fractions of love but its nice to just do one.
Eva: I think the tragedy and the comedy of that can be...interesting that you talk about political theatre because I think the kind of fun in watching and understand the message at the end and reviewing actually thinking that was actually really sad but I laughed, that can be equally critical. Bringing people together to observe these basic human emotions can really be quite a powerful statement.
Sam: I think that's why I joined the company. Not really knowing what I was getting into. I know that our early ethos was, its kind of slightly misguided maybe, but to be completely devoid of dramaturgy, coos at that time I think we felt that dramaturgy was something that really dragged down but recently we've sorted decided against that.
Joe: Found our own way.
Sam: We've found a really nice way of using dramaturgy to story-tell.
Q.L: Like Buddha?
Sam: Like Buddha, maybe like Buddha.
Joe: What does that mean?
Sam: But aside from that is was the very fact that it was focusing in on loveliness and playfulness and fun in theatre and I think it came at a time when maybe we were surrounded by work that was very driven to have a purpose. And I think its misguided to say that having fun and entertaining theatre is devoid of purpose, because it does its there to enjoy and to kind of generate good feeling among people and I think there's not enough theatre that is there to entertain anymore. Obviously they're all there to entertain but they're there purely to put a massive great grin on people's faces, which I think is what we are trying to work towards in a sense.
Eva: I think there is something really magical in creating things that seem pointless and without sense. I think it's really important for people to see something like that on stage, and take that bizarreness of that experience and place that next to their own reality and go, what does that juxtaposition tell me? Am I missing something?
Sam: I think that the fine line comes when you ask, are we being indulgent with our work and I think we've always stayed true...we're talking about doing a show where all the money that's generated we wanted to give off to charity and work towards helping people and using the theatre as a small tool in a way...
Joe: I was chatting to martin last night who's the head of the arts theatre, and I don't know how because he didn't see the show so I'm not quite sure how he said this but he was like, 'we had somebody in the other day who was just like you, it was so pretentious and horrible I hated it, it was horrible. The nice thing about you guys is everything you do is really heartfelt. Its not theoretical thought out, its not...you can take it as a thinking mans thing if you want to but everything you do is just really...you've thought about it with your heart rather than the head and its so...it makes the people that watch it look with that Same attitude, with the heart than with the head.
Q.L: That reminds me of 'Waiting in the Wings' which was just an incredible experience.
Eva: No, definitely.
Q.L: Have you got anything to say?
Joe: You've been quiet since you said that anger is great.
Anisha: Sorry, I've just been thinking about that and getting more and more angry. No, I agree with heartfelt theatre. I think that the stuff we make is not about comprehending stuff or intelligently or on that kind of level. I think its just about going into a space and kind of sharing an experience and characters and sharing their individual lives. I think its kind of emotion theatre I think. Its not necessarily about smiling the whole way through, I think when we started it was like that and I think freeman gallop was a bit like that but I think we're moving towards, not constantly trying to make people smile, just about making them feel something...
Q.L: Thank you all very much.
Quiche Lorraine: To begin with, just going round, do you prefer electricity or jazz?
Anisha Fields: If I had to live with one and without the other?
Q.L: I suppose so; I suppose that's what I'm asking.
Anisha: I think I'd rather live with electricity.
Eva Liparova: I'd say electricity as well, but maybe jazz at the weekends.
Anisha: Jazz can do my head in a little bit. Depends what kind of jazz.
Sam Bailey: Is it trad jazz, or step jazz...?
Q.L: It's how you interpret.
Eva: Inoffensive jazz isn't too bad.
Anisha: I like inoffensive jazz
Eva: Maybe in the evenings. You don't need that much electricity in the evenings.
Joe Connor: See I like moderately offensive jazz, just that kind of, "its really quite annoying but god dammit its foot stopping" so I'd probably say jazz. No, actually, electric jazz.
Anisha: It depends if its live jazz. If there's a live jazz band...
Sam: A group of people that follow you around...
Joe: Like minstrels.
Sam: Oh don't bring minstrels into it...
Sam: I think I'd go for jazz cos although electricity keeps you warm, jazz keeps you warmer.
Eva: Imagine there would be a jazz club right where people would go dancing every night and they would generate the electricity through the dancing.
Joe: You could attach a generator to the trombone player.
Anisha: That is some fiery jazz.
Anisha makes jazz sounds.
Q.L: The opposite way now. Where do babies come from?
Sam: Where do babies come from? I could go with the really obvious answer. The vagina, generally from the womb and they make there way down. I still like to think storks are involved, that they drop off babies.
Eva: I like that as well.
Joe: I like the idea of the magical combination of a testicle and an ovary.
Eva: That sounds horrible.
Joe: It's just really funny to have the adjective of magical combination of a testicle and an ovary.
Eva: Magical testicle, that sounds really horrible.
Joe: That's where babies come from.
Q.L: Eva?
Eva: I do think, however magical when two cells form a baby, I think that process of that transformation of cells into a human being is amazing, and I don't quite know where that energy comes from and it fascinates me.
Joe: A lot of thrusting.
Anisha: Jazz.
Joe: The miniature sperm jazz band.
Eva: Maybe they generate the electricity that creates life.
Anisha: If a sperm made sound do you think it would be jazz?
Joe: No I think it would be bleblableblalbebla!
Q.L: What's your answer? To where babies come from?
Anisha: I think I'm just gunna have to go with the general stork idea.
Eva: The knowledgeable one.
Anisha: Yes.
Q.L: Is anger ever necessary?
Anisha: In certain situations, I would say yes.
Eva: Like what?
Q.L: Like in the rehearsal room?
Anisha: Is it necessary in the rehearsal room?
Q.L: No, no, I was just trying to lead you into a journalistic kind of...didn't work.
Anisha: Oh I see. Possibly in the rehearsal room. Definitely in particular situations. Some people just need to be dealt with anger. I think, like when...
Q.L: You do know that's going to be the headline of this article now. That's the quote that defines this.
Anisha makes a face of turmoil.
Anisha: I stand by my earlier statement.
Eva: I don't think its necessary, I do think, going back to energy and electricity...
Joe sneezes very loud.
Sam: Oh my god.
Eva: That was quite an angry sneeze. I do think you can turn anger into creative energy and use it imaginatively to create...
Sam: ...babies.
Anisha: Jazz.
-----
Q.L: If you could describe yourselves as people who are 'riffing in the name of', what would you be riffing in the name of?
Joe: Riffing...in the name of...alloys...
Q.L: Thinking of yourselves as a jazz band now, who's playing the bass?
Sam: Who would be the stand up bassist?
Anisha: I think Charlotte Cassidy holds us up.
Joe: I think Cassidy would the bass because she keeps us...
Anisha: Solid.
Sam: Steady. On the even keel
Eva: Keeps the steady tone.
Sam: So that's Charlotte Cassidy.
Joe: I'm already shot gunning the jazz oboe. Erratic.
Eva: I think you're the trumpet.
Joe: An erratic trumpet.
Anisha: Yeah...
Sam: Oboes are a horrible instrument.
Joe: I think oboes are beautiful.
Anisha: Oboes are a horrible instrument anyway.
Joe: I think oboes are beautiful! I love oboes.
Sam makes a sound like a duck trying to sing.
Anisha: Exactly.
Sam: It's like a duck trying to sing.
Anisha: It's like a strangled pygmy...
Sam: Like grade one singing technique for duck. It is beautiful in the right place but I do think trumpet. I think Eva is that kind of slightly weird woman at the front who kind of scats. Like woobeebopbaalaa
Eva: Ok, I quite like that...
Sam: Bit weird, wiry hair...smell a little bit...
Eva: Can we have a look at your hair?
Sam: Oh my hairs brilliant. Look at that.
Q.L: Wow. Could you describe your hair for our readers?
Anisha: I think he looks like a kitten that's been dipped in water.
Joe: You look like Christopher lee.
Eva: You look like Ken. With plastic hair.
Anisha: Yeah, you're right actually. Plastic Ken, Barbie doll.
Sam: For those of you out there that don't know what I look like, I look fantastic at the moment. I'll put that out there. What would Anisha be? Here we go...
Q.L: We need a drummer.
Joe: I think Sam's the drummer, not just because you play the drums but also because you're quite rhythmical. Unpredictable sometimes...
Sam: I think Anisha's like a fan, like the one at the front that desperately wants to be part of the band.
Anisha: I hate you all. I'm holding this company together just for the record.
Q.L: Everyone's shaking their heads at this point.
Eva: I'd say Anisha's the banjo.
Joe: Saxophonist!
Sam: A really over sized one as well, novelty.
Anisha: The over sized one?!
Q.L: Over sized saxophone or the over sized player?
------
Q.L: Considering the context of modern theatre, what would you say is the point of Parrot in the Tank?
Eva: What do you mean?
Q.L: What does Parrot bring...
Joe: I've been thinking about this. Because, before I came to central I was really into political theatre and agit prop and stuff like that, and that was purely because of thinking that theatre really needed to some kind of reason like social change or as a highlight...and I think the reason behind parrot is to highlight really basic human emotions and how important they are. That's how I see. We use 'love' a lot, as an emotion, and I think its because love is fractioned so much today love, lust, one nights stands, all that kind of thing, there are loads of fractions of love and its really nice to just do something that's just about love. A core thing. But people do it about all fractions of love but its nice to just do one.
Eva: I think the tragedy and the comedy of that can be...interesting that you talk about political theatre because I think the kind of fun in watching and understand the message at the end and reviewing actually thinking that was actually really sad but I laughed, that can be equally critical. Bringing people together to observe these basic human emotions can really be quite a powerful statement.
Sam: I think that's why I joined the company. Not really knowing what I was getting into. I know that our early ethos was, its kind of slightly misguided maybe, but to be completely devoid of dramaturgy, coos at that time I think we felt that dramaturgy was something that really dragged down but recently we've sorted decided against that.
Joe: Found our own way.
Sam: We've found a really nice way of using dramaturgy to story-tell.
Q.L: Like Buddha?
Sam: Like Buddha, maybe like Buddha.
Joe: What does that mean?
Sam: But aside from that is was the very fact that it was focusing in on loveliness and playfulness and fun in theatre and I think it came at a time when maybe we were surrounded by work that was very driven to have a purpose. And I think its misguided to say that having fun and entertaining theatre is devoid of purpose, because it does its there to enjoy and to kind of generate good feeling among people and I think there's not enough theatre that is there to entertain anymore. Obviously they're all there to entertain but they're there purely to put a massive great grin on people's faces, which I think is what we are trying to work towards in a sense.
Eva: I think there is something really magical in creating things that seem pointless and without sense. I think it's really important for people to see something like that on stage, and take that bizarreness of that experience and place that next to their own reality and go, what does that juxtaposition tell me? Am I missing something?
Sam: I think that the fine line comes when you ask, are we being indulgent with our work and I think we've always stayed true...we're talking about doing a show where all the money that's generated we wanted to give off to charity and work towards helping people and using the theatre as a small tool in a way...
Joe: I was chatting to martin last night who's the head of the arts theatre, and I don't know how because he didn't see the show so I'm not quite sure how he said this but he was like, 'we had somebody in the other day who was just like you, it was so pretentious and horrible I hated it, it was horrible. The nice thing about you guys is everything you do is really heartfelt. Its not theoretical thought out, its not...you can take it as a thinking mans thing if you want to but everything you do is just really...you've thought about it with your heart rather than the head and its so...it makes the people that watch it look with that Same attitude, with the heart than with the head.
Q.L: That reminds me of 'Waiting in the Wings' which was just an incredible experience.
Eva: No, definitely.
Q.L: Have you got anything to say?
Joe: You've been quiet since you said that anger is great.
Anisha: Sorry, I've just been thinking about that and getting more and more angry. No, I agree with heartfelt theatre. I think that the stuff we make is not about comprehending stuff or intelligently or on that kind of level. I think its just about going into a space and kind of sharing an experience and characters and sharing their individual lives. I think its kind of emotion theatre I think. Its not necessarily about smiling the whole way through, I think when we started it was like that and I think freeman gallop was a bit like that but I think we're moving towards, not constantly trying to make people smile, just about making them feel something...
Q.L: Thank you all very much.