THE WOMAN DESTROYED is a solo performance in which Courtney May Robertson looks at the complexities of submission and resistance. In an attempt to stage uncertainty, audiences are invited to experience the unfolding of events simultaneously with Courtney, as she responds to the demands of a digital system in real time. Sound programming and computational linguistics determine part of the performance live, rendering the outcome unique each time it is presented. Courtney uses this digital system as a tool to create a climate in the space that evokes precariousness and true vigilance. THE WOMAN DESTROYED seeks to open up questions surrounding choice, bodily autonomy, and elusive systems of control.
Courtney May Robertson (Scotland, 1992) is a performer and maker based in Rotterdam. Upon graduating in 2013, she joined Club Guy & Roni’s Poetic Disasters Club and has since performed extensively across Europe in the work of Jan Martens, Connor Schumacher and Florentina Holzinger, amongst others. She began creating her own small-scale / DIY produced performances in 2015. As of 2020 is an ‘artist in residence’ at ICK Artist Space in Amsterdam; her recent work is also co-produced by Dansateliers Rotterdam. As a trained dancer Courtney’s work starts with the body, but spans various disciplines including video, generative art and writing. Recurring topics in her work revolve around a widely spread phenomenon she has defined as ‘the relentless desire to dominate’.
For THE WOMAN DESTROYED she was awarded De Troffel Prijs 2020; Festival Cement’s incentive prize for young makers. She was also nominated for Het Theater Festival Belgium’s equivalent, the Roel Verniers Prijs. The short solo she created prior, the pleasure of stepping off a horse when it’s moving at full speed, was selected for Aerowaves Twenty22.
CREDITS
Concept, choreography & performance: Courtney May Robertson
Sound design & Sound programming: Elisa Batti
Light design: Loes Schakenbos
Dramaturgy: Lara van Lookeren & Merel Heering
Technical support: Janine de Weerd & Manuel Boutreur
Software development: Elisa Batti & Aleksandar Koruga
Music: CoH / Cosey Fanny Tutti - fuck it & mad
Costume: MAISON the FAUX
Graphic design: Bas de Geus
Video: Tharim Cornelisse
3D-scan: Jonathan Reus & Cybil Scott
Co-produced by: Dansateliers & ICK Artist Space
Supported by: Dans Brabant, Grand Theatre Groningen
Financially supported by: Creative Industries Fund NL, Gemeente Rotterdam, NORMA Fonds & Festival Cement via De Troffel Prijs
With thanks to: Jan Martens, Klaartje Oerlemans & Milou van Duijnhoven