Tom Bench

Flat 1, No. 7 De Montfort Road

Brighton
BN2 3AW

tjdizzle@googlemail.com

07584220749

Proposed Performance Piece

“Dragging a Dead Chair Up a Fort” - Hardworking Families

Description

I propose a performance in which I will drag a metal chair from the deepest depths of the Fort (The
Caponier) up to the Fort’s highest point (the higher gun emplacement), via a circling of the Parade
Ground and the Fort’s ramparts. I will pull the chair via a rope, of a suitable length so that the chair’s exact
path is not entirely under my control. Through being dragged along a variety of surfaces, up stairs and
slopes, and falling over, I expect the chair to end up significantly scraped, battered and deformed. Once
at the endpoint of the gun emplacement, I will use drumsticks and similar to briefly play percussively with
what is left of the chair.

The idea for this piece has grown out of my many previous engagements with Newhaven Fort, exploring
the site with fascination, particularly in regard to the sonic properties of the many different spaces. The
sounds made by the chair’s passage through the site will activate the resonance and sonic textures of the
spaces, from the strange reverberations of tunnels to the windswept ramparts. This piece thus engages
deeply and directly with the acoustics and topography of the whole of Newhaven Fort.

There is a strong ritual element to this piece. Those who want to follow the performance in full would need
to literally follow me around the Fort, forming a sort of procession. I hope that this will make for a striking
image. The piece also recalls both the English folk tradition of ‘beating the bounds’ (by tracing the edges
of the Fort) and the Greek myth of Sisyphus (by pointlessly dragging an object up a hill). By making the
task difficult for myself by using a long rope, there will also be a tragicomic aspect to the performance.
The piece responds to the theme of science in a negative, almost Luddite way, refusing the assistance of
technology and instead applying deliberately inefficient restrictions to a simple task. The physical struggle
of the piece asks what has been lost and gained through the ‘progress’ of science.
I imagine that this piece would sit well within the wider program. The journey-element could serve as a
bridge between other performances in different parts of the site, and will also come into contact with
whatever performances or installations are taking place along my route, creating interesting juxtapositions
and contrasts. Because the performance will encompass the whole site, and because of its ritualistic
overtones it would also be well suited to marking a significant point in the proceedings of the day. For
audiences new to the Fort, this piece will be an aid to discovery of the space: my route will guide their
exploration of the Fort, activating the sonic properties of each area as we go.

I anticipate that the performance would last for between 20 and 30 minutes. It will work well in both wet
and dry conditions.

Biography

"Abstracted sauces, performance as code, gristle, electronic manipulation and tape glitch." - Radio Free
Midwich.

Tom Bench has been active in the Brighton experimental music scene for the last few years, performing
solo as Hardworking Families and in collaborations including Fedtschtschak, Murmel Rot, TRASH
neurons and Dylan Thomas (a duo with Dylan Nyoukis). He has worked with amplified chairs, broken
guitars, homemade non-instruments, tapes, electronics, field recordings and no-input mixer feedback, and
is interested in the relationship between sound and physical gesture.

He has released tapes and CDs on labels including Chocolate Monk, Beartown and Hairdryer
Excommunications, and has a CD release forthcoming on Glistening Examples.

Technical Specs & Equipment

1 x metal chair
1 x rope

I will provide my own equipment, and the nature of the performance is such that no further technical
equipment or assistance will be necessary. No amplification and no electricity.

Space

The whole of the Fort. I will draw up a more detailed map of the route if the proposal is accepted, but the
only space that I would need to use to the exclusion of other performances is the upper gun
emplacement.

Timescale for set-up

Minimal.

Fee and Costs

Materials: £25 / Travel: £10 / Fee: £40

Total: £75
Supporting Material

This performance piece is especially devised for Fort Process. However, I have worked with chairs
before, and have some visual documentation of past performances.

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