Naked truth: Cork performers strip away more than just clothes in bold new show
(Left to right) Sam Torres, Janette Towey, Matt Real, Oliver Fahy and Owen Warren during final rehearsals for 'Bare' an intimate, immersive theatre experience that invites audiences into a living gallery of vulnerability. Picture: Larry Cummins
When Erin Stavrianos told her mother she would be appearing naked in a gallery, the initial reaction was one of shock.
Fortunately, her mother has come around to the idea and is even planning to come and see the event in Bolt Theatre on St Patrick’s Quay, Cork.
Erin, who works as a chef and part-time actor, is among those baring their souls as part of the living gallery experience. Janette Towey, Matt Real, Oliver Fahy, Owen Warren and Sam Torres are also joining the cast of , which runs from April 1 until April 5.
Darren Kelleher, who owns and runs Bolt Studios, came up with the idea to give people the chance to interact with art in a way that has never been done before in Cork.
All performers will completely strip down for the event, both physically and emotionally. Each performer has taken on the role of a character who will converse with audience members throughout the course of the night.
“Mum thinks it’s quite fascinating," Erin said. "She’s potentially going to fly over to see me. I think the first words to come out of her mouth when I told her were, 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph'.
"But when she heard what it was actually all about she thought it sounded quite beautiful. She knows the director Darren’s work and realises this will be a safe environment for me.”
Erin spoke about Irish attitudes to nudity.
“My mum told me that she would die if she had to do this herself. It might be to do with her Cork upbringing. I grew up in Cyprus with a Cork mum and Cyprian father and both cultures are quite different.
“I've told family and friends. I have a cousin who is dying to see the show. But this is definitely a project where the less people I know in the audience the better. I’d rather perform to a room full of strangers than one person I know.
“A lot of us have this very skewed perception of nudity. The world is selling sex like it is apples. When it comes to dating you can just hop on an app and have a one night stand and walk away.
"That’s normalised, but then exposing true emotions or fears and desires is almost foreign.
"I think that once people hear what the actual piece is about, they immediately understand that it has nothing to do with shock value. It’s really quite an intimate and delicate experience.”
Organiser of the event, Darren Kelleher, gave an insight into the training actors undertook leading up to the event.
“The idea actually started from a little workshop we were doing back in October. We do this thing every year with the members where we discuss the whole question about nudity in art.
"We had this exercise where we went into a room in the studio and the actors changed into swimwear before they walked around the room to examine how they felt. The lights were then turned down and everybody in the room shed their clothes.
"They walked around the room carefully before we slowly dialled up the light. Over the space of a few minutes, the nudity aspect that once caused a degree of trepidation or anxiety quickly disappeared to the extent that people were just in a room having conversations and it became a normal sort of thing.
"As part of this every year we invite the actors to give a performance while they're in the nude to give them an idea of how that would feel, whether it is in the context of film or a piece for theatre."
He said the event is just as much about exposing emotion as it is flesh.
“The actors will obviously be bare in front of the audience. However, from my side, what's more revealing is what's coming out of the character's mind and what's coming out of their heart.
"Our reasons behind the actor being physically naked is because it immediately makes you more vulnerable. It gives you the feeling that there is nowhere to hide.
"The physical aspect is necessary from the point of view of the feeling it gives the actor and the relationship it creates with the audience. If you are walking into a room with people who are unclothed in front of you, it perpetuates that trust they have in the audience.”
Darren described what sets the event apart.
“Art is a beautiful thing to observe, but there isn't life running through it. It can't engage with you directly. We wanted to create a gallery that instead of statues has real people.
"Instead of just looking at the statues in a pose, these living human exhibits are going to talk to you and share things with you in terms of their experiences and life."
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