YOU HAVE THE BODY

Photos: Amy Spiers from the Lock-up, Newcastle


Voted Show of the Year
ART Studio, Manchester, UK – July 2009
Gasworks, Melbourne, Aust – January 2009
Medium Rare Gallery, Sydney – Nov 2008
Exist in ’08, Brisbane – Oct 2008
This is Not Art Festival, Newcastle – Sep 2008

A 6-8 hour meditation on unlawful detention, You Have the Body is a tripartite performance with a one-on-one encounter at its centre.

Voted 2008 Show of the Year by theatre critic James Waites

Audience comments and reviews –

‘You Have the Body is totally engrossing. You are drawn through a weird transmutation of the gallery-going experience into an Orwellian abduction. McGregor’s attention to detail makes this a formidable piece, a mixture of totalitarian horror and Australian bureaucratic mundanity.’

– “ Dan MacKinlay, Realtime

‘YHTB was hugely well received, and I’ve been hearing from many different people about how much they liked it, were confronted by it, were moved by it. Even though I knew what to expect I still had no idea what to expect. I found myself wanting to speak and say many different things, but felt like it would be wrong … ‘
– “ Nicolas Low, curator

‘I thought the triptych structure worked perfectly. You go from being the jailed to being the jailer. But I didn’t realise that till later. I sat there for ages afterwards, just watching. Amazing.’
– “ Michael Mayhew

‘It was just you, in the centre there, at the heart of it. So strong.’
– Jurgen Fritz

‘The most powerful and involving performance I have ever witnessed.’
– audience member