Dream Think Speak

30 Nov 2009

Brighton based company Dream Think Speak create live performances in a range of conventional and non-conventional theatrical settings. Each piece is re-created and re-designed in response to a particular site's architectural features. From looking at their website, one production that appeals to me is Don't Look Back.


Image from Dream Think Speak

Here's an excerpt from their website:

"Don't Look Back is a journey through the rooms, corridors, hallways and stairwells of specially chosen sites inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

As you wander through the rooms and corridors of each atmospheric interior, you will experience an accumulation of sounds, shadows, whispers, modelled landscapes, musical fragments and fleeting film images, conveying a heightened, dreamlike state that lingers long in the subconscious. The relentless collision and conjunction of past, present and future creates a sense of elusiveness and transience as if we are running after something that repeatedly evades us, or slips through our fingers as we seem to have it in our grasp."

What appeals to me is the site-specific nature of the productions. With conventional theatre, the set is transported from one location to another and the performance is replicated nearly identically. In contrast, Dream Think Speak embrace the new setting and build this into their performance which I think is so exciting. This is definitely the kind of thing that you need to physically experience to appreciate, but I found these images interesting as they seem to capture a certain uneasy atmosphere. I'd definitely like to see one of their upcoming performances. It will be a totally new experience for me.


Images from Dream Think Speak

Paint box colours

28 Nov 2009

Maybe I was influenced by the primary colours I saw at Quay House, but I'm craving clothes in bold, pure shades. Here are some of my favourites.


1. Yellow skirt from Anthropologie
2. Handmade denim skirt from Et Al Etc
3. Vintage red dress from Clever Nettle
4. LBD from Gap
5. Tunic dress from Toast
6. Red Dress from Church & State

Quay House

27 Nov 2009



Photos from Quay2c Architects

On Wednesday I was lucky enough to be shown around Quay House in Peckham, London that is home to architect Ken Taylor and sculptor Julia Manheim, a design studio for their company Quay2c Architects, and also three flats. It was a milk depot up until the early 1970s and the gabion cages filled with empty milk bottles are a quirky reference to the building's history. As they stripped back the original building they reconfigured as many of the materials in the new design as possible, such as the original corrugated roofing that's now in the main living area. The principle design idea was to keep the simple "industrial barn" qualities to reveal the past uses, transformations and wear that the building has undergone. I really like the notion that Ken used of an architect being an "architective", looking for clues within a building. It's a stunning building and I was really inspired.

Birds perched in a line


Found via Dezeen

Series of lighting inspired by birds, by Shanghai designer Zhili Liu. The designs are romantic and minimalist at the same time, which is quite rare to find.