Join Transform in this performance of Magic Maids interweaving performance, pageantry and possession. This feral incantation connects the European witch hunts to the exploitation of migrant women’s labour today.
The female figures of the witch and the maid are powerful and powerless, feared and revered, used, accused and discarded. The tropes are not mere hearsay and history but deeply rooted in today’s psyche.
International artists Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera have collected stories of migrant domestic workers from the so-called Global South, the echoes of which now haunt their bodies. In Magic Maids – the broom – a domestic cleaning tool, as well as the vehicle of the witch – becomes an extension of their body, that transforms oppression into feminist resistance.
The duo dance a ritual of disobedience.
Performances at Transform 25 co-presented by Transform and Leeds School of Arts and supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UK.
Produced by Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm. Co-produced by HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Frascati Producties (unterstützt durch Ammodo), Tanzquartier Wien, SPRING Performing Arts Festival, Festival Theaterformen, DDD - Festival Dias da Dança, Kampnagel, Arsenic - Centre d’art scénique contemporain, La briqueterie CDCN du Val-de-Marne, Points Communs - nouvelle scène nationale Cergy-Pontoise / Val d’Oise, Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg – Scène européenne and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Funded within the framework of the Alliance of International Production Houses supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture, Research, Science and the Arts. Supported by Ammondo, Kaserne Basel, Puón Institute Philippines, Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka, Dance Nucleus in collaboration with Studio Plesungan as part of ARTEFACT Creative Residency, Colomboscope Contemporary Art Festival 2024.
Leeds School of Arts
Leeds School of Arts, Leeds Beckett University City Campus
Portland Way
Leeds
LS13PB
United Kingdom
Date
Tickets
Recommended price: £25
Access
What to expect: This is a seated performance within a theatre venue. The performance contains dance, movement and music.
Duration: 80 mins
Age guidance: 14+
Language: English
Content guidance: The performance uses salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. It also includes lighting effects.
Getting here: Leeds School of Arts is located off Portland Way in central Leeds (the building is adjacent to the Leeds Civic Hall/Leeds General Infirmary). There will be signage displayed outside the building directing you to the theatre.
Step free access: There is step free access to the event and there are accessible toilets at the venue.
Seating: The tiered seating is high-backed.
Rest area: A rest area is available.
More information: Head to Transform’s Access page for more information.
