Stacy Makishi

“It wasn’t like it was friggin’ Cobain. It was just a little suicidal gesture, that’s all.” Tony Soprano

With a mix of performance and stand-up comedy, in her solo performance The Falsettos Stacy Makishi provides deep insights into the chasms of her being. In a minimalist setting, death, depression and the fear of one’s own mother’s mortality are seasoned with elements of pop culture to become an absurd, intimate collage. After being inspired by Spielberg’s homecoming epos E.T., and On A Clear Day You Can See Forever in which Barbra Streisand mimes a mad fortune-teller in psychiatric treatment, Makishi fetches the series figure Tony Soprano as a kind of soul mate to accompany her on the stage. The great mafia boss, with even greater states of anxiety, is a first-class choice as the contemporary emblem for the almighty power of depression and comes in handy for Makishi’s own experience with therapies, intensive feelings and the search for a home.
The Falsettos is a deeply human and honest performance that uncovers taboos on death, violence and feelings. Love and violence are identified as old acquaintances, especially when Makishi talks about the unspeakable and thinks aloud about murdering her mother in order to spare her from the burdens of aging.

The works of the London-based Hawaiian Stacy Makishi run the gamut from live art, film, installation and visual art. The Falsettos is a loose continuation of the lecture-performance The Making of Bull: The True Story, based on the film classic Fargo by the Coen brothers, which also employs pop culture. The work toured internationally and was also shown in brut in 2010. www.artsadmin.co.uk; www.stacymakishi.com

The performance on 27 February is followed by a special screening of Claire Nolan’s documentary film, The Making of The Falsettos. Accompanying Stacy Makishi throughout the development of the piece, Claire Nolan invites the audience to experience a world of performance-making at first hand. Featuring in-depth interviews with collaborators Vick Ryder, Peggy Shaw, Joshua Sofaer, Lois Weaver, The Making of The Falsettos offers a personal portrait of the artist and an insight into the impact art can have on relationships.

Audience talk following the performance on 28 February.

By and with Stacy Makishi Lighting/technology Jo Palmer Video/animation Claire Nolan Production Artsadmin

A co-production of Chelsea Theatre London, Colchester Arts Centre and The Basement Brighton. With the kind support of The Roddick Foundation and the National Lottery in cooperation with the Arts Council England. With material support by New Unity and Queen Mary University.

€ 14 Full price
€ 8 reduced
€ 6 with the brutkarte*