Traveling College of Time Consciousness
presents
Les Fleurs du Mal:
THE CITY OF THE LAME
(A BÉNÁK VÁROSA)
multimedia dance theatre piece
VideoBook version
Part One
Libretto, music composition, set design, directing
by
Sir David O'Clock
Choreographer: Miriam Rother
Costume Designer: Miss Diamond & Miriam Rother
The Cast:
Kinga Bress as Nurse Aqua Marina, Stuart Carr as Monsieur d'Foyer, László Najmányi as Dr. Bardo,
Hajnalka Berkes as Hermione, Neil Clark as Mr. Jones,
Zsófi Lukács as Lilian, Zsuzsanna Batta as Enigma, Peace, the 'talking' statue, Katalin Rita Bagossy as Rosemarie
&
Miss Diamond as Sister Midnight
Premier performance:
April 17, 1999, 10 PM
MERLIN International Theatre
1052 Budapest, Hungary, Gerlóczy u. 4
Music:
Sir David O'Clock: libretto, music composition, lyrics, narration, keyboards, percussions, programing
Sayde Brooker: vocals
Neil Clark: vocals
Produced, recorded and distributed
by
Sir David O'Clock
TCTC
Curriculum '99
CD Copyright © 2000, TCTC
All Rights Reserved
“And they went down to Asana, and a blind man at
the entrance to the city raised his hand and spoke.”
Paul Bowles: Points in Time
the entrance to the city raised his hand and spoke.”
Paul Bowles: Points in Time
An Introduction by the Author: This multimedia dance theatre piece was created as an artistic reaction to the maddening chaos I've experienced when I first visited Hungary at the end of the 1990s, after a 20 years long hiatus. The piece was performed in English, by an international cast of artists, at the Merlin International Theatre. We did five shows of it to full houses. The performances were well received by the audience. I've got a number of recording deal offers from different Hungarian labels after the success of the show, but like many other local promises, none of them came through. Bored of the unfulfilled promises I released the soundtrack myself in CD format in December, 2000. This site presents the First Part of the VideoBook version of the piece, which includes three chapters. Four more chapters can be found on the site I've built for the Second Part.
For
your better viewing and listening
pleasure please wait until both tracks fully upload. It might take a
few minutes, but the results will well worth your precious time. Also,
you can enjoy better video quality if you click on the YouTube sign on
the bottom right corner of the video window, or on YouTube the link,
which you can locate just under the video window. Thank
you.
01. Lame Ambiance
This music, which I originally created for "The Garden of Peace", an earlier dance theatre piece (which was staged, in collaboration with the dance ensemble KompMania, a few months prior to "The City of the Lame", also at Merlin International Theatre) was played before the start of the show, while the audience was being seated.
02. Lame Prelude
After all the lights were dimmed, the "Prelude" was played in semi darkness. We had a large bass speaker cabinet installed beneath the audience, in order to provide a stomach massage like bodily sensation.
02. Lame Prelude
High quality (HQ) YouTube video
Click on the link above in order to get to the large size video
Narration: Not long ago, in a distant country in the Far East, there was an unkempt, ancient city in a hidden valley. It was surrounded by an unbroken chain of smoking mountains. It was accessible only by a boat, which braved an underground river, once a year. The city was a quiet place, nothing ever moved on the deserted streets, except once a day, in the early hours, when graceful young women appeared at every door to the sound of three gongs, emanating from the Temple. They were pushing wheelchairs, as they were walking quietly towards the center of town. Paralyzed people were sitting motionless in the wheelchairs, either sleeping or unconscious, seemingly completely unaware to their surroundings and what was happening to them.
This was The City of the Lame, Benteng Bershi Desa, as she was called beyond the smoking mountains on the horizon. This was the place, where the lame - who were considered guilty for having a disease, - were exiled by the Raja’s will, to be cured by the great magician, Balean I Ketut Shushila, also called Dr. Bardo.
Every morning, just after the break of dawn the lame were taken out of their beds, washed down by ice cold spring water, dressed up, fed rice and fish oil, seated in wheelchairs and their nurses rolled them to the Balean’s compounds, in a cave, beneath the Temple on the hill, at the center of the city. There they were waiting in line, in dark and damp underground corridors, until they were ready to be let into the inner sanctuary, to be treated by hypnosis and fire, in groups or individually, by the Magi and his fierce, masked assistants, the Twelve Hours.
After receiving treatment the lame were taken to the sun, to air them out. Some got cured by the first treatment and let go. Others stayed in the city for many years, until they regained their bodies or until they died, still paralyzed. Sometimes the magi would sit with them in the sun, in disguise, to further their treatment unnoticed.
Les Fleurs du Mal:This was The City of the Lame, Benteng Bershi Desa, as she was called beyond the smoking mountains on the horizon. This was the place, where the lame - who were considered guilty for having a disease, - were exiled by the Raja’s will, to be cured by the great magician, Balean I Ketut Shushila, also called Dr. Bardo.
Every morning, just after the break of dawn the lame were taken out of their beds, washed down by ice cold spring water, dressed up, fed rice and fish oil, seated in wheelchairs and their nurses rolled them to the Balean’s compounds, in a cave, beneath the Temple on the hill, at the center of the city. There they were waiting in line, in dark and damp underground corridors, until they were ready to be let into the inner sanctuary, to be treated by hypnosis and fire, in groups or individually, by the Magi and his fierce, masked assistants, the Twelve Hours.
After receiving treatment the lame were taken to the sun, to air them out. Some got cured by the first treatment and let go. Others stayed in the city for many years, until they regained their bodies or until they died, still paralyzed. Sometimes the magi would sit with them in the sun, in disguise, to further their treatment unnoticed.
THE CITY OF THE LAME
(A BÉNÁK VÁROSA)
multimedia dance theatre piece
Part Two
04. Nurse Hermione
High quality (HQ) YouTube video
Click on the link above in order to get to the large size video
05. Mr Jones
High quality (HQ) YouTube video
Click on the link above in order to get to the large size video
6. Nurse Aqua Marina
Click on the link above in order to get to the large size video
6. Nurse Aqua Marina
High quality (HQ) YouTube video
Click on the link above in order to get to the large size video
7. Monsieur d'Foyer
High quality (HQ) YouTube video
Click on the link above in order to get to the large size video
Click on the link above in order to get to the large size video
7. Monsieur d'Foyer
High quality (HQ) YouTube video
Click on the link above in order to get to the large size video
The soundtrack of the piece is available on CD
The broadcast quality version of 'The City of the Lame' VideoBook is available on DVD
Contact
Guestbook
Other works by Sir David O'Clock
a.k.a.
A.L. Newman, Boris Popoff, Bardo, 108, WordCitizen, DJ NoMore, Laszlo Najmanyi
e.t.c.