What WE did in 2010.......

Before cracking open the fizz for a suitably costumed New Year Festa (with the Tá Na Deptford collection to hand I am not short of an outfit!) I feel it is necessary for me to reflect back on our achievements over the past year. Not so much an annual review given that Tá Na Deptford was created in Sept 2010, rather a reflection on the past few months since that night I sat down with some friends and began planning how to set up a performance group based upon Carioca street theatre company Tá Na Rua- a group that only I could claim to have ever know, witnessed or even heard of. As luck would have it my friends are not only very open minded they are also always up for a new challenge, and so what once began as a vague idea in my head soon became a real proposition with a team behind it.

And so we (Tá Na Deptford) began…..

We borrowed the acting methodology from Tá Na Rua which involved me using both personal practical experiences and my less than perfect portuguese to translate from the wealth of work written in online- This is now available for all to enjoy on our blog: www.tanadeptford.blogspot.com

We scourged the internet for a collection of songs to root the DJ set to our own culture, everything from musicals like Oliver to heavy base from the latest London Dub scene was showcased although interestingly it has been Kate Bush who has triumphed, with the scenes produced to Bush always being an absurdist nock out!

We searched everywhere within the Deptford area- it’s second hand shops, markets, rag-yards, artists studios, local’s wardrobes to produce 6 sacks of costumes and props. We now have everything from neon tutus to garments once owned by the Royal Opera House- oh yes- I bet your wondering how I got my mits on those gems? Let’s just say spend enough time around Deptford and you become a Del-boy!

We found a venue to store these costumes and use them to run weekly workshops by sweet-talking manager of the local pub to give us use of their upstairs room with the promise of something spectacular (luckily they weren’t disappointed). Once we had the place, the props, the music and the costumes we then began putting it out there.

We sold our vision before even we knew what it really looked like and promoted the Tá Na Deptford ‘workshops’ through posters, flyers, the internet and most successfully word of mouth.

We got people –wonderfully varied people. Yes, it is fair to say that our core gang is composed of wacky drama students and dancers but it is also true that it gets spiced up weekly by the random characters that have stumbled across our path through sheer chance- ranging from classically trained musicians, to fashionistas, to drag queens, to aged local literary ‘intellectuals’ (no not Christopher Marlow he died in a pup in Deptford in the 1500’s). Somehow this random bunch of ‘actors, dancers, performance artists and misfits’ have been able to produce breathtaking performance by embracing the impulsive, unconstrained, liberating spirit of the Carioca and remoulding it as a South East London collective.

We were so proud of what the workshops were producing that we began shooting, editing and uploading footage, enough to make our very own website www.tanadeptford.com – a vital means of communicating back with the group in Rio who describe us as ‘maravilhosos!!!’

We could not however constrain these fantastical performances within the realm of our workshops, once again through a bit of luck and a lot of charming we were able to put them to the public. Interestingly however the ruas of London are not it seems quite ready for Tá Na Detpford- both the weather and the British street conventions seem too cold to be inviting at present, so street theatre remains a dream to be realised in 2011. However one side to London which has welcomed us with open arms is that of our alternative clubnights and ‘happenings’- a scene which does not really exist back in Rio. Our ability to spin music, dress up and let go has made us a popular with club promoters and though we seek artistic appreciation and not drunkan adoration from our audiences- who doesn’t love becoming a party piece for a night? Especially when the nights in question are on such a fantastical scale- DIY costume party with D&C, the Elysian Project rave-up and even our local Amersham Stereo-types art themed event were all much more than mere clubnights they were events that were fundraising, promoting and exhibiting exceptional London artists whom are happy to be associated with.

So that’s just a little bit about what WE did last year- and it goes without saying that I owe so much to all those individuals whom make up this ‘we’- DJ Alex, D&C, Francis, Emily, Patrizia , the groovy Goldsmithsers, the luscious Labanites, all those local misfits who fitted with us so perfectly and of course the Tá Na Rua gang back in Rio who helped support this venture- THANK YOU so much for all your hard work, enthusiasm and belief in Tá Na Deptford- without you none of this could have happened!

And so as New Year approaches I am going to stop reminiscing on 2010 and start getting you all very excited about 2011, for more workshops, more performances and perhaps even some photo shoots, music videos, festivals and carnivals to look forward to- where’s that fizz? Time to crack it open!!!