Those Eyes, That Mouth
August 2003, December 2005
32, Abercromby Place, Edinburgh, Scottish tour and Former General Security Building, Beirut
Cait, Those Eyes, That Mouth
"We’ll be moving in completely soon. I mean, it was so easy to get in. Her mind wanders, you see. "
Staged in a crumbling Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh immediately prior to its restoration, Those Eyes, That Mouth was a devised show exploring the withdrawal from the world of a photographer, played by Cait Davis.
Various possible narratives are kept tantalisingly in play- has she withdrawn due to disappointment in love, insane jealousy, career disappointment, an obsession with Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring, or because of a murder? Inspired by texts as diverse as Jonathan Franzen’s How To Be Alone, Roman Polanski’s Repulsion and Charlotte Perkins Gillman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, the production promenaded the audience through three levels of domestic space, in very close proximity to the central character and the presence of a haunting, brooding male singer, David Paul Jones composing his own music.
The production won 5 awards at Edinburgh 2003 including a Fringe First for the text, created by Ben Harrison, Cait Davis and David Paul Jones, a Stage Award for Best Actress and a Herald Angel Award for Cait Davis.
The production was recreated in November 2005 as part of a capacity building project in site-responsive theatre created in collaboration with the British Council. The text was adjusted to resonate with the extraordinary building that was the former General Security Building in Beirut. Cait Davis recreated the central role with David Paul Jones continuing as composer and musician. The Grid Iron technical team were backed by a group of designers and technicians in training from Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Egypt.