Killer conversations

Joy & Dissent Festival, Hackney Showroom - 2017

Are you shy? Do you dread small talk? Are you aching to come out of your shell?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, then you are the target audience for this episode of The O Show! ‘Killer Conversations’ uncovers and trials shyness-defying, confidence-boosting methods for talking to strangers, whether your aim is to find sex, love, friendship, or simply to lubricate social bonds in the age of internet-induced isolation. This show reflects Oriana’s deeply held belief that candour, openness and stunning choreography are needed more than ever in today’s socially and politically fractured society.

Oriana’s guests include: the socially engaged artist Phoebe Davies who discusses her approach to creating spaces where ideas are exchanged, taboos are confronted and hard subjects are broached, leaving users from all walks of life with a conversation starter literally at their fingertips. Second guest, the performer/curator Brian Lobel shares insights into flirtation gleaned through his project Cruising for Art, a live art event comprised of a range of one-to-one performances by selected artists initiated through eye contact and dictated by desire. My third and final guest is the performance artist Marcia Farquhar whose ‘gift of the gab’ fuels a practice of associative and articulate musings and collective dialogue, which has also included a durational piece in which she spoke for 30 hours straight. This episode also introduces The O Show’s new staff psychologist Dr Windy Dryden, the UK’s leading expert in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy! This episode was filmed in front of a live audience at Hackney Showroom’s “Joy & Dissent: A festival of cultural activism”.

▶ Part 1: Windy Dryden, Phoebe Davies and Brian Lobel

▶ Part 2: Marcia Farquhar

  • Produced, hosted and edited by
    Oriana Fox

    Guests
    Phoebe Davies, Brian Lobel, Marcia Farquhar

    Staff Psychologist
    Dr Windy Dryden

    Camera Operators
    Claire Nolan, Richard Canham

    Choreographer
    Katherine Shirley

    Opening song mixing
    L. Gabrielle Penabaz

    Dancers
    Màtè Fazekas, Raimu Itfum, Despina Mavrou, Olivia Norris and Stephanie Peña

    Technician
    Cyril Bongrand

    Special Thanks
    Sam Curtis Lindsay, Nina Lyndon, Hannah James Scott, Davina Drummond, Janak Patel, Alex Monti Fox, Josh Fox, Michael Fox, Angela Monti Fox, Vilia Hayes, Alisha Margetson and Joshua Sofaer

GUESTS

  • Phoebe Davies

    Phoebe Davies is a socially-engaged artist whose practice is defined by its location and context, investigating and exploring how people perceive their social framework. Her work is often ephemeral and chanced upon, existing in pedestrian spaces as well as in galleries and institutions, including: The Tate, Whitechapel Gallery, Arnolfini (Bristol), Tramway (Glasgow), Fierce Festival (Birmingham), Steirischer Herbst (Graz, AUT) and Assembly (Portland, USA).

  • Brian Lobel

    Brian Lobel is a performer, teacher and curator who creates work about bodies and how they are watched, policed, prodded and loved by others. Lobel shows work internationally in a range of contexts, from medical schools to museums, marketplaces to forests, blending provocative humour with insightful reflection. He is a Professor of Theatre and Performance at Rose Bruford College.

  • Marcia Farquhar

    Marcia Farquhar is a performer, photographer, painter and object-maker whose practice revolves around the stories and interactions of everyday life. She engineers unexpected social interactions in which the distance between audience and performer is frequently breached. Her site-specific works have been staged and exhibited internationally in museums and galleries, as well as in lecture theatres, kitchen showrooms, hotels, pubs, parks and leisure centres.

  • Dr Windy Dryden

    The O Show’s staff psychologist, the Dr Phil of Hackney, Windy Dryden is one of the UK’s leading experts in Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. He is an Emeritus Professor of Psychotherapeutic Studies at Goldsmiths University of London and has been working in the field of counselling and psychotherapy since 1975.