How much is beauty worth? What will people pay for an air guitar on eBay? Can I have a glass of milk?<\/p>\n
These urgent questions \u2013 and many more besides \u2013 are answered in The Price of Everything, a performance lecture\/stand-up storytelling show about value.<\/p>\n
Self-styled \u2018theatre maker\u2019\u2028 Daniel Bye has trained with French master clown Philippe Gaulier, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre Studio; he is an Associate Artist of ARC in Stockton-on-Tees and lecturer in Theatre at the University of Bedfordshire.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also fascinated by how and why we have to measure everything in money. The Price of Everything is provocatively funny, ever so slightly interactive and just a tiny bit sad.<\/p>\n
I believe it\u2019s a tenner. I\u2019m particularly excited when venues are able to offer the show as pay-what-you-can, as it ties in so deeply with what the show\u2019s about. But the financial climate (that again) sadly means that isn\u2019t often possible.<\/span><\/p>\n Only if you\u2019re measuring cost in money. It also costs you: an hour, your attention, whatever number of calories you have to pay to sit upright throughout that time, and probably a handful of other things I can\u2019t think of.<\/span><\/p>\n Again, only if you\u2019re measuring value in money. If you\u2019re firmly committed to the idea that there are absolutely no other possible ways of measuring value than in pounds and pence, then you probably shouldn\u2019t come and see the show.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s necessary. But actually, we\u2019re not very good at it. Most of the time we do it very vaguely. One of the things I think people enjoy about the show is that quantifying things as precisely as I do here is really absurd.<\/p>\n Me talking. Each other laughing. Some slides. A lot of milk.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve long been fascinated by the creepy way in which economics has colonised all of our brains. The only admissible arguments in public policy these days seem to be the economic ones. We\u2019ve lost all ability to value things in any other way. Attempts to express other value systems are met with cynicism, or patronisation. What about that wouldn\u2019t make for a comedy show?<\/p>\n As to the content, almost all of it was developed out of a series of conversations between me and the show\u2019s director, Dick Bonham. Every so often I\u2019d say something funny or interesting, and Dick would say, \u2018you should put that in the show\u2019. The other 99% of what I said has been lost to history.<\/p>\n It\u2019s good for you.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t think of a more pressing subject than who we are and how we choose to structure the society in which we live together. When I do, or when I decide Sellotape is that subject, look out for lots of shows about parcels.<\/p>\n Honestly, probably not in most cases. I think audiences find it pretty hard to imagine that politically driven work is really going to be any fun, and in many cases they\u2019re proven right. I also think that talk of \u2018targets\u2019 is, if you’ll forgive the pun, off the mark.<\/p>\n For me, politically effective theatre isn\u2019t about shooting things or people down (although there might be a little of that along the way). For me, the most important thing is finding ways to acknowledge that actually, it\u2019s up to us, the people gathered to consider this stuff. Nobody\u2019s going to change the world for us.<\/p>\n But as, so far, my theatre work has failed to either bring down capitalism or put an end to global warming, I suppose I\u2019d have to admit the jury\u2019s still out.<\/p>\n Mostly questions. But if I\u2019ve got ideas, I\u2019m not going to pretend I haven\u2019t in the interest of some imaginary \u2018balance\u2019. That would just be a way of my loading the dice. Even then though I suppose I\u2019m not so much providing answers as suggesting some in the form of a question, I suppose. \u2018This is what I think. Do you agree?\u2019<\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t until you mentioned it…<\/p>\n I don\u2019t create the work by sitting down at my desk and writing it down in advance of rehearsals. It\u2019s created on the rehearsal room floor. I suppose it\u2019s a way of reflecting that the work happens in three dimensions, live, just like the way it is made; it\u2019s not created in abstract in advance.<\/p>\n My newest show, How to Occupy an Oil Rig, is just about to go out on tour. And I\u2019m creating a series of walking tours called Story Hunt\u00a0in various different towns and cities over the summer \u2013 each of them is a tour of the things in that town that are no longer visible.<\/p>\n You mean a glass of milk isn\u2019t kindness itself?!<\/p>\n Web Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n www.danielbye.co.uk<\/a> Thur 6 Feb \u2013 Lighthouse, Poole<\/strong>, 8pm<\/p>\n Thur 13 Feb \u2013 Globe Hall, Ireby<\/strong>, 7.30pm<\/p>\n Fri 14 Feb \u2013 Haile<\/strong> Village Hall, 7.30pm<\/p>\n Wed 26 Feb \u2013 Norwich<\/strong> Arts Centre, 8pm<\/p>\n Thur 27 Feb \u2013 Subscription Rooms, Stroud<\/strong>, 8pm<\/p>\n Fri 28 Feb, Sat 1 Mar \u2013 Theatre in the Mill, Bradford<\/strong>, 7.30pm<\/p>\n Tues 4, Wed 5 Mar \u2013 Warwick<\/strong> Arts Centre. 7.45pm<\/p>\n Fri 7 Mar \u2013 University of Bedfordshire<\/strong>, 7.30pm<\/p>\n Sat 8 Mar \u2013 Embrace Arts, Leicester<\/strong>, 8pm<\/p>\n Tues 11 – Thur 13 Mar \u2013 Northern Stage, Newcastle<\/strong>, 8pm<\/p>\n Fri 14 Mar \u2013 Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal<\/strong>, 8pm<\/p>\n Tues 18 Mar \u2013 Alnwick<\/strong> Playhouse, 7.30pm<\/p>\n Wed 19 Mar \u2013 Unity Theatre, Liverpool<\/strong>, 8pm<\/p>\n Thur 20 Mar \u2013 mac, Birmingham<\/strong>, 8pm<\/p>\n Fri 21 Mar \u2013 Derby<\/strong> Theatre, 8pm<\/p>\n Sat 22, Sun 23 Mar \u2013 Camden People\u2019s Theatre, London<\/strong><\/p>\n Tues 25 Mar \u2013 Harrogate<\/strong> Theatre, 7.45pm<\/p>\n Wed 26 Mar \u2013 ARC, Stockton-on-Tees<\/strong>, 7pm<\/p>\n Thur 27 Mar \u2013 Arts Centre, Washington<\/strong>, 7.30pm<\/p>\n Sat 29 Mar \u2013 Barnsley<\/strong> Civic, 7.30pm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How much is beauty worth? What will people pay for an air guitar on eBay? Can I have a glass of milk? These urgent questions \u2013 and many more besides \u2013 are answered in The Price of Everything, a performance lecture\/stand-up storytelling show about value. Self-styled \u2018theatre maker\u2019\u2028 Daniel Bye has trained with French master clown Philippe Gaulier, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre Studio; he is an Associate Artist of ARC in Stockton-on-Tees and lecturer in Theatre at the University of Bedfordshire.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":5958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,101,73,102],"tags":[929,908,927,906,930,928],"series":[],"class_list":["post-5949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-humour","category-interviews","category-recent","tag-arc","tag-bournemouth","tag-daniel-bye","tag-nick-churchill","tag-stockton-on-tees","tag-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5949"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5966,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5949\/revisions\/5966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5949"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=5949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Is the price we pay the same as what it costs us?<\/h3>\n
And is that the same as its value?<\/h3>\n
Why do you think we like to quantify things?<\/h3>\n
What is the audience going to see when you perform The Price of Everything?<\/h3>\n
How did you arrive at the concept and then the content of The Price of Everything?<\/h3>\n
Why a glass of milk?<\/h3>\n
Your pieces certainly comprise social comment, sometimes with an overtly political message, but seem to be about people first and foremost, what draws you to that territory?<\/h3>\n
In your opinion, is politically engaged theatre\/music\/art\/film\/comedy etc finding its audience and hitting its target effectively?<\/h3>\n
Do you see your job as being to ask questions or provide answers, or neither?<\/h3>\n
Your work has been very highly praised by some very august publications do you feel any pressure as a result of being called \u2018genius\u2019, \u2018near perfect\u2019 and, as you say, even \u2018intelligent\u2019?<\/h3>\n
You describe yourself as a \u2018theatre maker\u2019, what does that mean?<\/h3>\n
What\u2019s next for Daniel Bye?<\/h3>\n
Finally, how much kindness is a glass of milk worth?<\/h3>\n
\nwww.facebook.com\/danielbyetheatremaker<\/a>
\ntwitter.com\/danielbye<\/a><\/p>\nDaniel Bye live shows:<\/h3>\n
The Price of Everything<\/h5>\n
How To Occupy An Oil Rig<\/h5>\n