Joanne Tatham & Tom O'Sullivan

THE STORY OF HOW WE CAME TO BE HERE, WHAT WE DID BEFORE WE GOT HERE, HOW YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY YOU ASKED US HERE AND WHY WE CANNOT REMEMBER WHY WE CAME, OR: IS THIS WHAT BRINGS THINGS INTO FOCUS?

Joanne Tatham & Tom O’Sullivan presented a solo performance based on a monologue that took the form of a shaggy dog story; a long rambling tale that, to some extent, follows the conventions of a narrative joke.

Performed by Gareth Brierley.

Its sources are from within a context of performance that crosses the histories of stand-up comedy, vaudeville and Theatre of the Absurd. Storytelling, pantomime and dry humour are interwoven with abstraction, conceptual art and contemporary, experimental performance producing an absurd, esoteric and multi-layered vocabulary of forms that teases the audience and plays with conventional rules of theatre and different art forms.

Supported by The Henry Moore Foundation.

  1. Joanne Tatham (b. 1971,West Yorkshire) and Tom O’Sullivan (b. 1967, Norfolk) live and work in Newcastle. Previous solo projects include Collective Gallery (offsite), Edinburgh (2011); Tramway, Glasgow (2011), CCA, Glasgow (2010), La Salle de Bains (2009) and Studio Voltaire (2005). The artists are represented by The Modern Institute/ Toby Webster, Glasgow; Galerie Francesca Pia, Zurich and Campoli Presti, London/Paris.

  2. Joanne Tatham and Tom O’Sullivan, THE STORY OF HOW WE CAME TO BE HERE, WHAT WE DID BEFORE WE GOT HERE, HOW YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY YOU ASKED US HERE AND WHY WE CANNOT REMEMBER WHY WE CAME, OR: IS THIS WHAT BRINGS THINGS INTO FOCUS?, 2012. Performed by Gareth Brierley. Installation View, Studio Voltaire, London. Courtesy of the artists, the performer and Studio Voltaire, London. Photo: Andy Keate.

Studio Voltaire
1A Nelsons Row
London SW4 7JR


Open Wednesday–Sunday, 10 am–5 pm.

Registered Charity No: 1082221. Registered Company No: 03426509. VAT No: GB314268026