Speak Bitterness
Created 1994
Back to projects
“We’re guilty of homemade bombs and homemade wine. We’re guilty of coldness and spite. We never laughed and we never found the time….”
The essence of Speak Bitterness is a line of people making confessions from behind a long table. Occupying a brightly lit space, the performers take turns reading from the text that is strewn across the table. The litany of wrongdoing to which they confess ranges from the big time of forgery, murder or genocide to nasty little details, such as reading each other’s diaries and refusing to take the dogs out for a walk.
First presented in 1994, Speak Bitterness has subsequently been shown in both theatre and durational versions, the latter lasting up to six hours and allowing the public to arrive, depart and return at any point. An exhaustive catalogue, the text draws on the diverse cultures of confession in, for example, contemporary chat shows, churches and show trials. Dressed in suits, the performers compete to confess the most horrific, amusing or convincing things. Speaking softly, they meet the gaze of the audience (who are partly illuminated), drawing them into direct and intimate contact.
The text for Speak Bitterness is published in Certain Fragments.
Theatre performance and 6-hour durational performance.
Images
Video
REACTIONS
"A beautifully simple idea, beautifully developed to create something clever, funny, mind-bending and profoundly humane."The Scotsman
"A brilliant originality."The Independent
"A wide-ranging and open-ended piece; it is its very randomness that makes it so fascinating, embracing many possibilities of interpretation….a thought provoking and beautifully presented show…"The Irish Times
"...powerfully, accumulatively affective."Time Out
credits
Conceived and devised by the company.
Performers Robin Arthur, Tim Etchells, Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden, Terry O’Connor plus invited guests
Direction Tim Etchells
Text Tim Etchells and the company
Design Richard Lowdon
Lighting Design Nigel Edwards
Soundtrack John Avery
Speak Bitterness is a Forced Entertainment production
Commissioned by National Review of Live Art Glasgow
Speak Bitterness - PREVIOUS SHOWS
SPIELART Festival, Munich, Germany
31 Oct 2019
Frascati, Amsterdam, Netherlands
29 Mar 2019
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, USA
20 Feb 2016
HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Berlin, Germany
18 Oct 2014
PACT Zollverein, Essen, Germany
28 Feb 2009
Samuel Beckett Theatre, Dublin, Ireland
8 Jan 2001 - 9 Jan 2001
BIT teatergarasjen, Bergen, Norway
18 Feb 2000 - 19 Feb 2000
Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Zurich, Switzerland
27 Aug 1999
26 Mar 1999 - 28 Mar 1999
Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany
19 Mar 1999 - 20 Mar 1999
Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis, USA
11 Mar 1999 - 13 Mar 1999
Wexner Centre for the Arts Columbus, Ohio, USA
4 Mar 1999 - 7 Mar 1999
Festival de théâtre des Amériques, Montreal, Canada
20 May 1998 - 23 May 1998
27 Nov 1997 - 29 Nov 1997
Podewil, Berlin, Germany
23 Oct 1997
SPIELART Festival, Munich, Germany
16 Oct 1997 - 18 Oct 1997
Rotterdamse Schouwburg Rotterdam, The Netherlands
13 Feb 1997 - 14 Feb 1997
Nieuwpoorttheater, Gent, Belgium
11 Feb 1997
Strichting Festival, Utrecht, The Netherlands
7 Feb 1997 - 8 Feb 1997
Sheffield Library Theatre, Sheffield, UK
25 Nov 1996 - 26 Nov 1996
14 Jun 1996 - 15 Jun 1996
Stamford Arts Centre Stamford, UK
12 Jun 1996
7 Jun 1996
Bath Fringe Festival, Bath, UK
29 May 1996
Studiobühne Köln, Cologne, Germany
22 May 1996 - 24 May 1996
Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, UK
14 May 1996 - 18 May 1996
Prema Arts Centre, Dursley, UK
11 May 1996
9 May 1996
Cambridge Drama Centre, Cambridge, UK
3 May 1996 - 4 May 1996
30 Apr 1996
24 Apr 1996 - 27 Apr 1996
The Drum, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Plymouth, UK
18 Apr 1996 - 20 Apr 1996
Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, UK
11 Dec 1995 - 21 Dec 1995
Powerhouse, Nottingham, UK
7 Dec 1995 - 8 Dec 1995
Ferens Art Gallery, Kingston-upon-Hull, UK
1 Dec 1995 - 2 Dec 1995
28 Nov 1995
Studio Theatre, Leeds, UK
23 Nov 1995 - 24 Nov 1995
17 Nov 1995 - 18 Nov 1995
15 Nov 1995
9 Nov 1995 - 11 Nov 1995
North Riding College, Scarborough, UK
31 Oct 1995
Nuffield Theatre Studio, Lancaster, UK
18 Oct 1995 - 19 Oct 1995
Bowen West Community Theatre, Bedford, UK
16 Oct 1995
The Green Room, Manchester, UK
12 Oct 1995 - 14 Oct 1995
The Gantry, Southampton, UK
7 Oct 1995
Alsager Arts Centre, Alsager, England
26 Sep 1995 - 27 Sep 1995
National Review of Live Art, Glasgow, UK
23 Oct 1994