COMMUNITY Performance

In her role as Contemporary Performance Artist & Theologian in Residence at Chester Cathedral (2015-18), Claire worked with members of the Cathedral and wider community across all age ranges to create short performance pieces that formed part of the liturgical life of the Cathedral. Here are some examples:

Lament

Lament was created to mark the final day of the David Mach Golgotha sculpture exhibition in Chester Cathedral, 2016. Claire uses the plainsong version of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, sung by members of Chester Cathedral Choir, which recount the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, to create a stark and simple piece focusing on ordinary moments of relationship in the face of grief and loss.

Waiting for the Miracle

Waiting for the Miracle was made for the last Sunday of Advent 2015. Set to a Leonard Cohen song, it explores the Advent theme of waiting. Are we so preoccupied that we miss what we are waiting for?

Will you be my friend?

Coffee/ tea after the service is a central ritual in any church setting, but can also be a painful one as groups form and some people find themselves on the outside. Will you be my friend? explores the vulnerability entailed in this child’s question which remains implicit but no less real in the adult world.

Jesus Remember Me

Jesus Remember Me was made for the Feast of Christ the King in 2016. Children taunt Jesus who refuses to condemn, instead inviting us along a path of human flourishing, which not all choose to follow.