Students’ experimental pavilion stages unique performance on campus

Associated media

Architecture students are putting the finishing touches to an experimental performance pavilion they have created for a one-off stage show tonight (Monday, 7 November).

In all 21 students from all three years of the BA (Hons) Architecture at De Montfort University (DMU) have designed and built the structure which is being erected in Hawthorn Square on DMU’s campus in Leicester city centre with the support of international design consultant Graham Cartledge.

The pavilion will be used to stage a performance of Clover’s Lost Petal, inspired by George Orwell’s book Animal Farm.

The performance is written and directed by Andrea Cusumano, a renowned performance expert from Goldsmiths and Central St Martin’s Colleges, in London. Cusumano’s research explores ‘dramaturgy’; the drama potential of objects and spaces.

Internationally acclaimed architect Eva Jiricna inspired the students at concept stage of the project, which aims to give students experience of the complete process of designing and building a structure.

The project is generously funded by Graham Cartledge, chairman and owner of Benoy – the global design consultancy behind Leicester’s Highcross and Birmingham’s Bullring. Graham graduated from DMU’s Leicester School of Architecture (LSA) in 1972.

Over the past few years Graham has worked closely with the Head of Architecture at DMU, delivering guest lectures, inspiring students and assisting the development of the school. His support has enabled this project as part of the five-year Graham Cartledge Visiting Chair in Architectural Design.

The pavilion, made from a lattice of timber, is designed with sliding panels so that the performance space can be transformed during the play.

The audience of students and invited guests, including Graham Cartledge, will sit in the square to see the performance and watch as the pavilion transforms from a stage to a cage at various points in the production.

Sarah Grocock, one of the students who helped design and construct the pavilion, said: ‘As well as being an extraordinary project to be involved in, the pavilion is a reflective learning exercise to help enhance our architectural education – for example, learning through practice to understand the drawings which we are taught to produce.

 ‘An opportunity like this to enhance one’s architectural understanding, design ability and collaborative working skills will never be forgotten’, said Sarah, 19, from Oadby.

The production will be a performance based on ideas prompted by George Orwell’s Animal Farm, written by Cusumano and centred on ideas about manipulation of opinion through propaganda and censorship.

Clover’s Lost Petalbegins onstage where Animal Farm has just ended.

Johan Voordouw, senior lecturer at LSA, said: ‘It’s very exciting to see the students taking a project like this from original concept through to staging a production in their pavilion. It’s going to be a great experience for them to see their creation as an integral part of the very innovative performance that will be taking place on Monday.’

David Dernie, head of LSA, said: ‘We are privileged to be working with the support of Graham Cartledge, which has allowed us to partner with Eva Jiricna and Andreas Cusumano, who founded the Centre for Experimentation of Space and Applied Dramaturgy (CeSDAS).

‘At Leicester School of Architecture we are really delighted to be able to present innovative, distinctive projects like this so students get unique experiences of designing, collaborating, and building, which help them grow into creative and ambitious graduates, ready to apply their skills in the real world.;

In addition to Sarah, the students involved in designing and/or building the pavilion are:

Adam Afford; Chris Allen; Quba Allen-Tuakli; Matthew Bates; Zoe Bishop; Matthew Bullock; Thomas Bush; Mathew Collins; Philip Cooksey; Oliver Cowan; Mohammad Fahad; Dazhong Jin; Konstantina Kypriou; Chiara Lombardi; Yasmin Marks Mesha Mcmanaman; Charlie Patterson; Sahil Sharma Matthew Web; and Jordan Young.