Galiana & Nikolchev's The Useless Room Present THE LAST ONE

Galiana&Nikolchev's The Useless Room present The Last One. Bodies clash in this intensely physical production that takes the extinction of a bird species as a jumping-off point to confront toxic masculinity and the destruction of epic beauty. Written by Anthony Nikolchev and directed by Gema Galiana, the show will play The Upper Church, Summerhall (Venue No. 26) 3 - 26 Aug 2018 (not 6, 13 & 20), 18.30 (19.30).

Inspired by a documentary about the last of Hawaii's Kauai O'o birds (a male), The Last One takes the fate of this now-extinct bird, which continued to sing an unrequited mating call until his death, as a metaphor to explore ideas around loneliness, toxic masculinity and destruction.

Using minimal dialogue and an almost violent physicality, three unnamed characters embody the roles of nature and the destructive forces working against it to explore the building up and breaking down of a society. Texts are drawn from the metaphysical writings of Stanis?aw Ignacy Witkiewicz (known as Witkacy) an influential Polish author, playwright, philosopher and artist active in the inter-war period, whose work often referenced human anxieties and touched on his experiences with psychoactive drugs through a distinctly absurdist language.

Drawing on the skills and training of a truly international cast and creative team, Galiana&Nikolchev's The Useless Room has created this intensely physical show to reveal the 'dog eats dog' mentality that exists not only in nature but also deep within ourselves. Originally created in Los Angeles, The Last One has recently completed a tour of India.

Gema Galiana says "Watching the documentary was the starting point to enter the studio to explore the idea of destruction, beauty and the truth in it. Exploring power dynamics, toxic masculinity and how lonely and stupid we are, not knowing how to love or be loved. The language we use for this process is very physical, visual and performative. I am rigorous with the form we use; I am interested in the notion of presence. We inhabit the present and we observe how we are in relation with the other, and with the space, trying to bring an experience to the observer with whom we share and we encounter in that space. The work explores the limits of physical resistance, obsessions, fears and fragility, while seeking out an empathetic relationship between performer and spectator."

Galiana&Nikolchev's The Useless Room was founded by Gema Galiana and Anthony Nikolchev in Los Angeles in 2015, after Galiana and Nikolchev first began collaborating in WROCLAW, Poland in 2010. Their work is the consequence of a crash, a consequence of a lot of f(l)ights, mechanical and corporal, passion, curiosity, stubborn and a terrible need to create as the only reason to navigate this existence.

They have gone on to collaborate with contemporary dancer Vivien Wood in England, physical theatre Company TDU, with whom they presented All The Things You Said You Never Said Before You Thought You Could Ever Say at London's Ovalhouse in London in 2015 as well as presentations in Switzerland and Slovakia. Director Gema Galiana and writer Anthony Nikolchev both trained at the world-renowned Grotowski Institute and the company leads physical theatre workshops around Europe and the US. They are currently based in Los Angeles.

www.galianaandnikolchev.com