Embodying the Dead - by Claire Hind & Gary Winters (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Where do we find the dead? Do the dead appear in our dreams? What is it like to play dead? This book is an exciting exploration of the relationship between death and play in performance. Exploring a range of artists and creative disciplines that remember, personify and re-imagine the dead, it playfully unpacks the psychoanalytic concepts of the Death Drive, Desire and the Uncanny as a way of thinking about performance. Embodying the Dead draws on work of Gary Winters and Claire Hind and the various qualities of deadness found in their projects. The authors' work includes live art, theatre, installation, Super 8mm film, walking arts practice and durational performance. This book includes scripts and scores of their performances, original creative texts, interviews with internationally renowned artists and a series of practice-led research tasks to support readers creating their own imaginative performance work.

Rich in creative and critical content, this book is ideal for students of drama, theatre and performance studies who have an interest in devised theatre, theatre making, writing for performance and intermedial practice.

Review Quotes

"Embodying the Dead is unique in its deep reflection on the performance practice of the writers. The tasks for artists are innovative and well-written and the distinctive character of the book is its overall readability, humour and informal tone." --Anna Fenemore, University of Leeds, UK

"This original and engaging piece of work explores the role of death and the dead in Gary and Claire's performance work in an illuminating approach that interweaves critically informed reflections on psychoanalytical concepts with play theory." --Karoline Gritzner, University of Graz, Austria

About the Author

Claire Hind is an Associate Professor in Theatre and Performance at York St John University, UK, where she teaches Drama, leads on the MA and supervises PhD researchers. Claire has a PhD in performance making from the University of Leeds, UK, and practices as a performer, creative writer and dramaturge. She has been a guest tutor at the Norwegian Theatre Academy, the School of the Arts Institute Chicago and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Claire's collaborative intermedia practice with the artist Gary Winters tours locally and internationally under the name 'Gary and Claire' offering a range of diverse performance and audience experiences.

Gary Winters has over 20 years' experience of creating and presenting cross-artform projects nationally and internationally. Predominantly working in live art and public engagement he is Co-Artistic Director of the celebrated company Lone Twin. In addition to the work with Claire Hind, he has collaborated with various contemporary performance makers and teaches in this field; and in 2018 began a series of projects with his family.
Claire Hind is an Associate Professor in Theatre and Performance at York St John University, UK, where she teaches Drama, leads on the MA and supervises PhD researchers. Claire has a PhD in performance making from the University of Leeds, UK, and practices as a performer, creative writer and dramaturge. She has been a guest tutor at the Norwegian Theatre Academy, the School of the Arts Institute Chicago and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Claire's collaborative intermedia practice with the artist Gary Winters tours locally and internationally under the name 'Gary and Claire' offering a range of diverse performance and audience experiences.

Gary Winters has over 20 years' experience of creating and presenting cross-artform projects nationally and internationally. Predominantly working in live art and public engagement he is Co-Artistic Director of the celebrated company Lone Twin. In addition to the work with Claire Hind, he has collaborated with various contemporary performance makers and teaches in this field; and in 2018 began a series of projects with his family.