Theo Adams (born 29 September 1989 in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
), is a
performance artist
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
and director of the contemporary theatrical performance group Theo Adams Company.
Biography
Education
Adams studied at
Fine Arts College, Hampstead. He left the formal education system early, at the age of 15 to concentrate on performance.
Work
Adams is known for both his live productions and film work. He made his professional stage debut aged 9 in the
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...
's production of An Inspector Calls directed by
Stephen Daldry
Stephen David Daldry CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English director and producer of film, theatre, and television. He has won three Olivier Awards for his work in the West End and three Tony Awards for his work on Broadway. He has received thr ...
at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End. ''Ponystep'' Magazine described the 15-year-old Adams as "central to a scintillating brand of gender-dysphoric, mid-2000s London nightclub chaos" and, over the next few years, he "turned his arresting social presence and brilliant performance compulsion into high art".
[Paul Flynn (26 July 2013]
"The(o) Adams Family"
, ''Ponystep''. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
After several solo shows which he performed internationally, Adams formed The Theo Adams Company with their first performance on 4 January 2008 at the
Tate Britain
Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in E ...
. The contemporary theatrical performance art group comprises a collection of dancers, performers, actors, artists and musicians
creating work described by CNN as part ballet, part theater, part pop.
Adams has contributed to a number of magazines including
W Magazine
''W'' is an American fashion magazine that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film.
W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine '' Women's Wear Daily'' (''WWD''), ...
,
i-D and
Dazed & Confused, appeared on the cover of Time Out London and was featured topless in the June 2008 issue of French
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
shot by
Rankin
Rankin may refer to:
Places Australia
*Division of Rankin, an electoral district in the Australian Federal House of Representatives, in Queensland Canada
*Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
*Rankin Inlet Airport, Nunavut
* Rankin River, Ontario
* Rankin Locat ...
. Adams has starred in music videos for artist such as
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, an ...
and
Róisín Murphy
Róisín Marie Murphy ( , ; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and record producer. She first became known in the 1990s as one half of the pop duo Moloko alongside English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of Moloko, she ...
and was the focus of the BBC documentary Singing with the Enemy in 2007.
In April 2009, The Theo Adams Company completed their ''Performance'' project, a series of performances in an abandoned Catholic school in northwest London. It was published as a 16-page photo feature in the May 2009 issue of
W Magazine
''W'' is an American fashion magazine that features stories about style through the lens of culture, fashion, art, celebrity, and film.
W was created in 1972 by James Brady, the publisher of sister magazine '' Women's Wear Daily'' (''WWD''), ...
with photography by
David Sims. The company invited and were joined in their performances by special guests
Lorna Luft
Lorna Luft (born November 21, 1952) is an American actress, author, and singer. She is the daughter of Judy Garland and Sidney Luft and the half-sister of Liza Minnelli.
Early life
Luft was born on November 21, 1952, at Saint John's Health Cent ...
daughter of
Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in ''The ...
and Tony award-winner
Frances Ruffelle
Frances Ruffelle (born 29 August 1965) is an English musical theatre actress and singer. She won a Tony Award in 1987, and represented the United Kingdom in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Lonely Symphony (We Will Be Free)", f ...
.
On 27 February 2010 the short film made as part of the project was screened at the
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, the ...
in New York. It was then screened at the
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
The Institute of Contemporary Art or ICA is a contemporary art museum in Philadelphia. The museum is associated with the University of Pennsylvania, and is located on its campus. The Institute is one of the country's leading museums dedicated to e ...
on 23 June 2010
In November 2009, The Theo Adams Company announced ''Cry Out'' a new theatrical production. The world premiere took place on 30 November 2009 at the Za Koenji Theatre in Tokyo, Japan. While in Tokyo, Theo Adams Company were invited to give a lecture at the
Musashino Art University
or is a private university in Kodaira, Western Tokyo, founded in 1962 with roots going back to 1929. It is known as one of the leading art universities in Japan.
History
In October 1929, was founded. In December 1948, it became , and in ...
about their work. The production and build up to the world premiere was captured on film for the documentary, ''9 Days Of Cry Out''. It had its premiere screening on 28 February 2010 in Tokyo. The full production had its European premiere on 8 May at Klangraum, in Krems, one of the oldest Mendicant orders’ churches in world. The performance was part of the annual
Donaufestival
The Donaufestival is an annual festival of music and performance that takes place each April in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. In the early years of the festival, two towns were used as locations - Krems and Korneuburg. Since 2007, how ...
in Austria. The performance was part of the final night of the festival which was curated by
Peaches
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...
It was announced on 15 November 2010 that The Theo Adams Company would present their UK premiere of 'Cry Out' at the
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA ...
, London on 18 and 19 December 2010 and tickets sold out within a day.
In June 2010, Adams was the youngest person to be shortlisted in the Emerging Performance category for the Hospital Club and Independent Newspaper's 100. A search for the most influential people in the creative and media industries.
On 14 October 2010,
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French high-end luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury bags and lea ...
presented a new promenade performance production by Theo Adams Company in Tokyo, Japan. Collaborating with some of the most respected people within the performance world including Emmy award-winning set designer Joseph Bennett and
Complicite's stage designer and Tony award nominee
Rumi Matsui, the company transformed a warehouse on the edge of Tokyo bay into a maze of rooms and walkways. Adams' integrated international actors, singers and dancers within several separate performances around the space. The performance culminated in a finale performance on a two story high set featuring a cast of over 50 and a special performance by legendary Disco group
Sister Sledge
Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Theo
1989 births
Living people
Artists from London
British performance artists
English people of Greek Cypriot descent
People educated at Fine Arts College