jamie lewis hadley's BLOOD ON THE STREETS Comes to Caledonian Road, July 25

'During the Middle Ages a new category of medical practitioner emerged...bloodletting and other minor procedures moved into the hands of barber-surgeons. They advertised with a symbol that endures to this day - a red and white striped pole. The pole represents the stick patients would grab while being phlebotomized; the white stripes represent the bandages and the red stripes, the blood' - Douglas Starr

The story tells us Sweeney Todd bled his victims to death before dumping them out of his barbers chair into the basement. However, the barbers we're interested in didn't bleed to kill, but to heal. Blood on the Streets is series of public performances that are situated within the window of a barbershop.

For one day only, Saturday 25 July 2015 at 9PM, Cosmo Italian Barbers on Caledonian Road will host jamie lewis hadley (the 'new' Sweeney Todd) and Dr Belinda Fenty as they expose the history of bloodletting as a medical practice, tracing its roots in ancient medicine, the rise of the barber-surgeon and our current understanding of this incredible substance. Through a combination of live text, projected images and re-enactment, the key figures, instruments and (often unbelievable) techniques will be explored.

This intimate and vintage barbers located in one of London's most prominent roads, provides the perfect setting for this part of our history to be discovered. 'The Cally', as the road is known in the area, was built in 1825 to provide easier access between the North of London and the West End, which led to bigger affluences to the King's Cross and Camden areas. It is now an up and coming trendy hotspot with great links to all parts of London and a wealthy mix of people from all classes and backgrounds - perfect to get the attention of the unsuspecting audience member!

The Blood on the Streets international tour arrives in London with the support from Live Art Development Agency, Wellcome Trust and ArtsAdmin and it is a one- off opportunity to witness the work of one of the UK's most renowned live artists, jamie lewis hadley.

Blood on the Streets has been traveling the UK and Ireland, having so far been performed in Nottingham, Exeter (UnExpected Festival), Dublin (Live Collision & Science Gallery's BLOOD festival), Glasgow (BUZZCUT) and Manchester (Contact's Flying Solo Festival).

After London, the tour will visit Bristol, Brighton, Birmingham and more.

For more information, visit www.newsweeneytodd.com, www.jamielewishadley.com, or follow Jamie on Twitter: @jlewishadley (#newsweeneytodd).

jamie lewis hadley is an international artist who works predominantly in live performance. Since graduating from the University of Plymouth with a First Degree in 2009, and Masters of Research in 2010 he has exhibited and performed widely across the UK, and internationally including South Africa, North America, Canada and Mainland Europe.

His current area of research and creative output is concerned with strategies through which to engage the wider public away from traditional spaces (theatres/galleries/museums, etc). He has received considerable funding from a number of major organisations, including Arts Council England, The Wellcome Trust, Jerwood Charitable Foundation, Arts and Humanities Research Council, Live Art Development Agency and he is also currently a recipient of the ArtsAdmin Artists Bursary Scheme.

He has facilitated workshops and presentations across the UK and Canada, including at the White Chapel Gallery, University of Plymouth and the Think Tank in Ipswich.

Xavier de Sousa is an independent producer and performance maker. Having grown up with Europe's oldest performance art festival, CITEMOR (Portugal), he has worked with a variety of theatre and live artists from OperaUpClose to Tino Sehgal, Tim Etchells, Forest Fringe, Ellie Stamp and Louise Orwin. Xavier is currently working with jamie lewis Hadley, Adam James and Needless Alley, as well as developing a dance piece for choreographer Evangelia Kolyra for The Place, premiering in October 2015. He is a resident producer at Live Art Development Agency.

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