Jo Bannons' unique solo work ‘Claim To Fame’ is a playfully interactive enquiry which attempts to build a community of strangers linked solely by their brushes with stardom.

Taking the form of a one-to-one encounter, the work seeks to question our attitudes to familiarity and intimacy. It is an attempt to enliven the past, by reliving, retelling, recording and reunion. It is about slight, yet intimate encounters and attempts to be one itself.

Most of all Claim to Fame is an excuse to meet people, so if you have ever passed David Hasselhoff in the street, are distantly related to Helen Mirren, once cut Mick Jaggers hair or anything in-between, why not add your story to the claim to fame collection.

Jo Bannon: Solo Artists

Suitable for ages 6+

Light use of text

Requires a clear understanding of English

No music used in performance

Not currently available with BSL interpretation, audio description or captioning

Number of performers on stage: 1

Number of people on tour: 2

Suitable for any size venue as the piece occurs in informal spaces

Appropriate settings: Social spaces; foyer, bar, shopping centre, community centre, outdoor

Suitable for rural touring

Available to tour from September 2009

Artist talks, workshops and discussion groups.

Jo Bannon began making and showing theatre, performance and live art work as a solo performer and as a founder member of the company ‘Peoples In Pieces’ in 2006.
Between 2006 and 2008 Peoples In Pieces made two full performance works Of Halos and Subsun and 15 Storms In A Teacup which were developed and shown at a variety of venues across the UK and Germany including BAC, Arnolfini, Chapter Arts Centre and Schwankhalle (Germany). A selection of images and documentation of these two shows are available to view at www.peoplesinpieces.blogspot.com.
In 2007 Jo Bannon was made an Arnolfini Associate Artists under the We Live Here programme and also became a founding member of Residence, an artist led initiative based in Bristol, www.residence.org.uk
‘Claim To Fame’ is a solo work which Jo began working on in September 2008 and has been shown in a variety of venues and locations across the UK and Germany.

Of Halos and Subsun – Peoples in Pieces
Toured between June 06 – July 07 to UK and Germany
An intimate performance where the small audience are seated in a specifically constructed den-like structure. The collective audience watch as the sides of this space become a primitive cinema screen as the performers outside transmits images and sounds to create worlds of shifting scale, hurricanes and Antarctic expeditions. The work plays on the notion of the audience as a collective and the potential for intimacy this can have within performance.

15 Storms in a Teacup – Peoples in Pieces
Toured between March 08 – September 08 to UK and Germany
An experimental theatre piece for small audiences cultivated from our very kitchens. Join us as we attempt to conjure micro-weather systems in teacups, jars and kettles. Watch small wonders unfold as worlds are conjured out of steam, sand and chemistry sets. 15 Storms in a Teacup is an intimate, hushed and shy performance that mixes alchemy with anticipation.

“A fantastically engaging theatrical experience which amuses, unsettles and charms in equal measure. This young company mix the magic of theatre with the threat of the unknown to produce a slick and intimate performance that reminds me of the early pieces of De La Guarda.”
Robert Miles, Artistic Director, Brewhouse Arts Centre.

“…an intriguing and inelligent performance installation dealing with our wish to be connected and to be special… through a range of touching, funny and sometimes odd stories of random encounters.”
Sylvia Rimat, Curator of You and Your Work Performance Platform, 2008