Cultural hooligans in the House of Burns!

Explore The Arch is a series of playful, inquisitive and experiential evenings in celebration of days less ordinary.  The first of four events takes place on 25 January, as part of Burns Night, and again on 26 January. Is it theatre? Is it an art installation? Or is it performance? In fact it is a holy mash up of all these things and more. Erica Smith donned her sporan and went to meet the instigator of this extraordinary interactive event.

Burns night St Leonards style is set to delight the senses and the imagination – and Gail Borrow from Explore the Arch believes that the punk Rabbie Burns would have approved. Gail Borrow moved to an enormous house in Charles Road about a year ago. Her background is in theatre, as a director, writer and inspirational force. Since moving to Archer Lodge, she has shared the space with theatrical groups and artists. The Burns Night event has been an amazing opportunity for artists from different backgrounds to collaborate and create installations which give their personal interpretation of Burns’ poems – expect an uprising of timorous beasties and a whirl of cutty sarks – but do not be afear’d if you have no knowledge of Burns’ poetry. The starting point is Burns night, but the event stands on its own feet as an unforgettable experience.

On entering the Burns Night installation, the visitor will pass through an arch of books and under a suspended ceiling of tomes dedicated to the great Scot. Entering the first room of this late Victorian house in St Leonards, Scottish ballads (sung live), quirky evocations of traditional Burn’s food and a bar will conjure Tam o’Shanter’s cosy inn of song and clatter. The viewer will journey on through giant pages of poetry in the second room, a ghost train-style exploration of Tam o’Shanter’s nightmarish ride home from the pub. Ghostly visions, ghoulish murders and Alloway’s Church, occupied by Auld Nick with his posse of witches, will reflect Glasgow’s passage though the twentieth century culminating in the world of the infamous book and film, Trainspotting.

Among other delights, the viewer will be able to climb stairs into Burns’ To A Mouse poem where constructions of tiny nests are set up alongside protests against the oncoming ploughs.  In the first floor library, Address to the Deil, Burns’ epic poem, is the theme in the second of two bars set up for visitors to enjoy and meet with the artists, poets and musicians that bring you this alternative Burns night.

Food and an original poetry booklet are included in the ticket price, and all proceeds go directly to the contributors. Space restrictions mean that the visitor numbers are limited and you are strongly advised to get your ticket now to participate in the fun and celebrate the original punk as brought to you by a vibrant collective of cultural hooligans.
No knowledge of Burns poetry is required!

Monday 25 January and Tuesday 26 January: 7.30pm – 10pm
Archer Lodge, Charles Road, St Leonards on Sea, TN38 0QX
Tickets £15 in advance or £17 on the night (subject to availability)

More information and tickets from: Explore the Arch website
Contact: Gita Joshi on explorers@explorethearch.com or 07958 760 424

The next Explore the Arch event celebrates St David’s Day and will take place on 29 Feb and 1 March 2016.

Also in: Performance