Scripted Bodies - Cradeaux Alexander

We welcome back Cradeaux Alexander to the Bow Arts Courtyard to present a performance of his new work bluebeard, alongside a mid-career retrospective exhibition entitled Scripted Bodies. In this show the acclaimed video and performance artist brings together 12 video works and recordings of performances created between 2009 and 2018.

In bluebeard Alexander inhabits the character of the eponymous infamous wife killer, portraying him as the embodiment of corruption. The work is performed by an ensemble of performers, utilising video, live performance, visuals and original text. As with much of Alexander’s oeuvre, it is part theatre, part installation, and part absurd spectacle exploiting the strength of live performance to transform topical debate into a compelling aesthetic.

Alexander’s practice explores the intersection between theatre and art, an elision he employs to mediate and comment on a broad range of sociopolitical concerns, as well as postmodernist takes on subjects such as pornography and self-representation. However, in many cases he reaches into history and literature for inspiration: bluebeard is an example of the latter.