Premiere of

The Triumph of Crowds by Brigid McLeer
Directed by Fiona Templeton.
Performed by theatre company ‘The Relationship’

2016-17 winner of the Leslie Scalapino Award for Innovative Women Performance Writers

with Jaimie Branch, Ignacio Garcia Bustelo, Hyung Seok Jeon, Alenka Kraiger, Deejay Lindo, Hannah Mitchell, Stacey Karen Robinson, Heru Shabaka Ra, Valda Setterfield, Ashley Wright

The Triumph of Crowds is a layered work, weaving art history, film, and the contemporary politics and poetics of community. It opens up the space of performance into a time that is both meditative and urgent.

McLeer writes: The Triumph of Crowds is a lecture as performance, or performance as lecture, distributed between the voices and gestures of ten performers. Written in response to Nicholas Poussin’s painting ‘The Triumph of David’ (1631), it explores the politics of public assembly, protest, and becoming ‘us’.

In memory of Leslie Scalapino and her commitment to the community of experimental writing and performance, The Leslie Scalapino Award recognizes the importance of exploratory approaches and an innovative spirit in writing for performance. It encourages women writers who are taking risks with the playwriting form by offering the opportunity to gain wider exposure through readings and productions. The award also seeks to increase public awareness for this vibrant contemporary field.