Horses, Horses, Coming In In All Directions

Arches Theatre Glasgow

January 2000

Created as a ‘site-sympathetic’ piece for the cavernous spaces of the Arches in Glasgow, the show was created with the performers Cora Bissett, Itxaso Moreno and Harry Ward, with percussion by Guy Nicolson and electric bass by Roger Ward.

The show took as its starting point a celebration of the ‘joyous mess’ of human relationships, inspired in particular by Patti Smith’s famous track ‘Horses’. Woven from various texts including Alina Reyes’ The Butcher, Angela Carter’s story The Kiss and Italo Calvino’s folktale The Apple Girl, the piece was framed by the antics of a Basque clown, played by Itxaso Moreno, through a library where readers become aroused by erotic texts, to a lecherous butcher’s shop, to a night-time scene of storytelling where the audience snuggle up under a giant eiderdown with the cast, to a suicide jump where a man and a women fall in love on their way to impact with the ground, to a water-drenched primal celebration of lust, a wild dance duet backed by a six-piece band.

Alison Freebairn, The Metro

a hilarious look at the banality of relationships erupting into a primal dance of unfettered eroticism and dark hunger. Horses, Horses is fun, sexy and manages to be cool without being self-conscious.

Fiona McCade, The Scotsman

This sort of show would normally be termed ‘promenade’ but Ben Harrison’s production does more than move the action from place to place. . .a rich and fabulous piece of theatre, combining dance, mime, poetry, storytelling and the sort of music that is a tone-poem in itself.

Hannah McGill, The List

Ben Harrison, one of the strongest young directing talents in Britain today, leads us through the labyrinthine spaces of the Arches for a night of close-up entertainment on the theme of love and loss. . .directed with generosity and vision by Ben Harrison. . .a dazzling variety of rooms and moods. . .an exuberant, uplifting romp.

Neil Cooper, The Herald

Preoccupied by sex, food and desire, Ben Harrison’s production has a stunning climax. . .a primal scream of love, lust and life.

Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

Grid Iron is unsurpassed in its ability to create site specific work where there is a perfect marriage of site and subject.