Tuesday, October 03, 2006
I just discovered Ursula Martinez, an incredible writer and performer, thanks to a video sent by a friend where she conjures by magic in a very sexy way. It is called Hanky Panky.Who is she?
As indicated in her biography, she "is a London based writer and performer. She has worked with several leading British experimental theatre companies including Forced Entertainment, Insomniac Productions, The Glee Club, and Duckie, with whom she is an associate artist".
(...) "Now an established international artist, regularly supported by the British Council, Martinez continues to produce live performance, both solo and collaborative, for different contexts, such as theatre, cabaret, site-specific, installation and night club. Titled works include Curing Homosexuality, The Class Club, and the Duckie smash-hit Olivier Award winning show C’est Vauxhall!
Martinez has also made several short films including Oh Baby! (1997 Dick Award runner-up) and Venkel’sSyndrome, which premiered at the Berlin International Film festival and won the Silver Spike Award at the 2001 Valladolid International Film Festival."
"She sets fire to her tits, interrogates her parents, re-defines class, blurs fiction with reality, cures homosexuals, gives birth to penises, tells autobiographical stories, deconstructs performance and sings South London suburban flamenco - from high brow to low brow, from spectacle to confessional, from live art to light entertainment, Ursula Martinez produces solo and collaborative performance for theatre, site-specific, installation, cabaret, night club, film, television…… birthdays, weddings and Barmitzvahs!"The video aforementioned, Hanky Panky, is a "five minute choreographed magic strip-tease. The act uses a simple disappearing handkerchief conjuring trick at its core.Martinez enters stage fully clothed. She performs the trick and the hanky disappears. It reappears from her jacket pocket. The jacket is removed. The hanky disappears again and reappears from her skirt. The skirt is removed. During the course of the act, Martinez continues to make the handkerchief disappear and re-appear from her various items of clothing, which she then removes.Finally Martinez is completely naked. Once again she performs the trick and the handkerchief disappears. With a grand finale flourish, Martinez retrieves the handkerchief from a truly magical place?"
Here you are:
