Tuesday 10.9.  18.00

Wednesday 11.9.  18.00

Thursday 12.9.  16.00

Alavan palvelukeskus | Siikaniemenkatu 4, Kuopio
Accessible Event

The Director is a performance starring charismatic ex-funeral director of 21 years, Scott Turnbull, and artist Lara Thoms (Aphids). Taking up a universal experience and taboo topic, Turnbull and Thoms demystify, expose and expand elements of the death industry, using humour and first-hand knowledge to dig a little deeper on what happens after we go. Nothing is off limits, including the smell of a crematorium, the tools of the mortuary, and farm animals in the funeral chapel. At a time when dying costs thousands of dollars and funerals happen within a week, death can seem like a very expensive drive-thru meal.

Blurring the roles of funeral director and performance director, Thoms and Turnbull ask each other to perform tasks, share knowledge and give feedback on each other’s actions. Balancing macabre reality, playfulness and the tragic elements of death, the result is a spiky and funny exchange.

” I believe artists have the skills to conceptually reinvigorate an understanding around death and dying. The Director delves into the detail of what happens behind closed doors after we go, in the hope we can all take a bit more control.” Lara Thoms

Duration 70 minutes.

Lara Thoms Lara is a queer artist interested in socially engaged, site-specific and participatory possibilities in contemporary art and performance. Elements of exchange, politics, humour and dialogue are important in her work. Lara also work as an artist in Field Theory and is a co-director of Aphids. She is currently based in NYC, USA.

The Director is produced in collaboration with Aphids and supported through the Australia Council for the Arts.