Jordan is part of the DaDaFest Artist Development programme and is currently developing a performance piece he has written about Egyptian king, Tutankhamun.
Jordan performed a scene from his piece at a DaDaFest Scratch event last November. DaDaFest Scratch events are designed to facilitate feedback between the producer/performer and the audience. Since then, he has been working with Writer/Director Megan McFarlance to further develop his work.
We caught up with him and Megan to see how it was all going…
What are you up to over next three days at your development sessions?
Jordan: The purpose of this is to come up with ideas about Tutankhamun and come up with ideas for a few scenes with Megan.
Meg: We’re going to unpick some ideas we both have and come up with a few scenes.
Who might the audience be for this piece?
Jordan: Schools, colleges, theatre groups. People who are very interested in Egyptian history.
I’d also love to have people who were related to Tutankhamun in the audience!
Meg: It’s quite educational – steeped in fact so people from the education space. Interested in finding out about a specific period.
Why Tutankhamun?
Jordan: He was the reason why I got into history. For me, it was the spark that got into history. For me, it’s amazing doing this show.
Meg: Everyone thinks we know about him. From the research we’ve done, actually we don’t, it’s sharing new information for people.
What's been the highlight of the process so far?
Jordan: Rehearsing the scenes and channelling Howard Carter.
Yesterday, I did a scene where I was going into the ante-chamber, and I felt like Howard Carter was with me. I felt like I was there when he saw wonderful things, my heart pounded.
Meg: Bringing Jordan’s ideas to life.
This is part of your development grant with DaDaFest – what are the challenges?
Jordan: It’s all about research and thinking would this work as a performance piece? It’s so important to be factually accurate you don’t want the audience saying, “No, you got that wrong!” There’s so much info undiscovered. I’m always up for a challenge and discovering the secrets of the sands.
How will you make this an accessible performance?
Jordan: Making it feel like everyone can get involved. Thinking about BSL interpreters, audio transcription as well.
For wheelchair users – get them up close so they’re part of it. I want to make everyone feel included and involved in this show.
Meg: From a creative perspective, creating an interesting story people can follow.
Find out more about our Artist Development programme www.dadafest.co.uk/what-we-do/artist-development/