The Typing Man, a story in Turkish and English, was developed at the Bluecoat into an immersive project called The Typing Man and the Turkish Woman.
In this 3-minute audio clip the actors are talking about their character interpretations and rehearsals:
Actors from Liverpool Hope University were set two challenges:
1) Engage multiple audiences, sitting and passing by.
2) Bring the Istanbul of the The Typing Man book vividly to life.
Our performance was devised from the ground up, through dual language workshops involving translator Gül Turner, creative producer Nathan Jonportrayed in es, Liverpool Hope actors and author A. T. Boyle.
The actors developed movements and sound to express the essence of the story:
– how to convey meaning through another language (Turkish)
– interpretations for different ages
– secrets and perception
– notions of public and private
– the hubbub of tourist locations and how ordinary life runs alongside.
Devised movements and sound characterised the troupe’s perambulation through L1 shopping Centre in Liverpool.
Experimental outdoor performances on the way to Central Library involved rides on long escalators and popping in to shops.
We enjoyed seeing the double-takes and being asked ‘What’s happening?’ ‘What are you doing?’
Our total audience was over 8,000 people.
Back at The Bluecoat the troupe delivered a dramatised book launch woven with digital sound and imagery to a seated audience.
These are the talented devisers and actors:
Nick Burke
Eve Howlett
Maisie Newman
Natasha Patel
Lydia-Grace Searle
Jade Smedley
Alongside the performance, at Central Library a group of women writers from Blackburne House read out imaginative letters inspired by ideas in The Typing Man.
– Marguerite’s letter was written by a fictional mother to her daughter as the monolith of the Berlin wall rises between them in 1961. Her starting point was the Turkish-Arabic name Dünya [pronounced DUNE-YA] which means World.
– Liz’s letter to a Liverpool eye surgeon deals sensitively and humorously with the notion of being partially sighted. The name she began with was Güneş [pronounced GOO-NESH] which means Sun.
– The hilarious plea from an aspirant Everton football player was based on the theme of Desire – Murat [pronounced MOO-RAT].
Listen to the Blackburne House writers performing four of their newly-created letters in this 10-minute clip:
Letter-themed Explore activities run by Betty gave us a chance to talk to the toddlers and grandparents taking part.
Here’s a 2-minute clip from the session which included the solving of the name puzzle Anna and Anya:
Lighting by Tom Smith and Nathan’s digital projections and soundscape conveyed the hubbub of the Istanbul park where The Typing Man story is set, and the emotional import of what happened there.
Previous outreach…
Yours Sincerely conference, Manchester
A letters conference at The Portico Library was the setting for an impressive sweep across several centuries of epistolary fare.
Talks moved from Professor Melanie Williams’ on letters in law and literature to Rachel Bower’s detailed look at contemporary Bengali and English speech in Monica Ali’s novel Brick Lane – relevant to the Urdu-English speech in the novel from Pakistan to Preston.
Jenn Ashworth discussed digital exchanges, while insights into the poet Wendy Cope’s email archive at the British Library were presented by Sophie Baldock.
The Typing Man ‘Yours Sincerely’ fan, in The Portico Library’s conference exhibition
A.T. Boyle spoke on the subject of using letters as a device to shock readers in fiction. She referenced the Costa award winning Set in Stone by Linda Newbery and examples from The Typing Man.