Forced Entertainment present THE WORLD IN PICTURES - In Glasgow

16th November 2006

Tramway, Glasgow on Friday 24 & Saturday 25 November 2006

Following the huge success of Bloody Mess in 2004, Forced Entertainment return to Glasgow as part of their biggest UK tour for new theatre piece The World in Pictures; a work for eight performers created for larger stages, again alternating between chaotic spectacle and fragile intimacy.

Where Bloody Mess dealt with the creation and destruction of the Earth, at the heart of The World in Pictures are the bits in between - a bold attempt to tell the story of man. In true Forced Entertainment style the venture seems doomed from the outset, as the narrator's disruptive chorus of colleagues offer a storm of variably inaccurate advice and lewd interjections and the narrative swims against a tide of dodgy costumes, swirling music and improvised scenery.

Beginning with an overly enthusiastic recreation of a scene from the 1970's caveman movie One Million Years BC, this mock-epic theatrical picture-book on the story of man proceeds through a rapidly advancing ice-age, (summoned by an occasional downfall of fire-proofed theatrical snow) making its shambolic and highly comical way to the present, and omitting along the way much more than it can ever find words or time to describe.

Alongside this 'story of man' The World in Pictures employs a series of more intimate texts from Jerry Killick, direct addresses to the audience which invoke a walk in a city and which later form an illustrated lecture on the contents of the contemporary world. Through a ramshackle collection of images found on the internet and Killick's alarmingly low-key narratives The World in Pictures moves beyond the confines of its incomplete mock-history to touch on memory, mortality, the past, the future and the intricate detail of our own lives.

The World in Pictures is directed by Tim Etchells and has been created in workshops with the regular performing company of Forced Entertainment (Robin Arthur, Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden, Terry O'Connor) who are joined by regular collaborator Jerry Killick, as well as Davis Freeman, Wendy Houstoun and Bruno Roubicek who worked with the group on Bloody Mess (2004).

Led by Artistic Director, Tim Etchells, Forced Entertainment have over the last 22 years continually strived to find new performance and theatre forms with which to describe contemporary urban life. Their trademark collaborative process - making work through long months of improvisation and discussion - draws not only on theatre but on cinema, music, culture, literature and fine art. They continue to tour widely and to great acclaim throughout the world, and The World in Pictures promises to add to their already remarkable and unique body of work.

Performances of The World in Pictures start at 8pm on both nights. There will be a chance to meet the company and ask questions at the post-show discussion on 24 November. Tickets cost £9, £5 concessions and are available from the Box Office on 0845 330 3501. For more information visit www.tramway.org or www.forcedentertainment.com