//BUZZCUT// Nightclubbing @ CCA, Glasgow

Double Thrills – a monthly takeover by arts collective //BUZZCUT// at Glasgow’s CCA – curates a programme of experimental and radical performances from Scotland and further afield. Spanning several arts spaces and interspersed with talks, short-films and installations; this month’s line-up, Nightclubbing, makes for a thought-provoking analysis of social injustice and institutionalized regimes of knowledge.

We start with The Cloud of Unknowing by Paul Michael Henry and Alex MacKay, a short but punchy piece of noise-dance that explores the inextricable connections between the body and external messages; specifically the assimilation of the self into the dominant narrative of capitalist advertising. Part-movement, part-gig-theatre: the piece is challengingly abstract in its depiction, allowing for audience members to insert their own narratives into the wider arc of consideration.

Nelly Kelly follows with Fields of Gold: a political drag extravaganza in which Theresa May’s dancing shoes are given the spotlight for one last ABBA rendition. Taken from verbatim audio recordings of Donald Trump, Margaret Thatcher and May herself, Kelly dissects the contradictions of right-wing policies regarding LGBTQ+ legislation, before alter-ego ‘Queeresa Gay’ takes to the stage with a somewhat utopic vision of politized anarchy, in a world where the then-Minister for Equalities is not opposed to gay marriage.

Upstairs, Soojin Chang presents her one-on-one durational performance, State of Possession. Suspended in a glorious if not disorientating web of hair, she asks for your name and poses a series of increasingly difficult questions that force you to confront your own realities of ownership. As the piece develops you lie down, consider your sins and reflect upon your relationship to your body. Making successful use of the piece’s intimacy, Chang manages to delve into the abyss of your innermost thoughts that would be inaccessible in more familiar territory, where social conditioning dictates what can and cannot be voiced.

Rachael Young’s titular act Nightclubbing concludes the evening with a defiant and triumphant middle finger to discrimination. Taking its source as the moment in 2015 when three black women were refused entry to a London nightclub, Young intersects contemporary rhetoric with nods to 1981 – a time of social revolution, and the year Grace Jones released the album that gives the piece its title. Through live audio editing, physical theatre and spoken word; Nightclubbing refuses to be silenced.

Proud in its message but accessible in its execution, Double Thrills reconfigures everyday society through a kaleidoscopic lens in a profound celebration of difference.

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Nightclubbing, 20 Mar, CCA, Glasgow
//BUZZCUT// returns with The Gloop Show, 24 Apr, 7pm, CCA, Glasgow – details and tickets here