Work - Theatre

Suitable for age 16+

By Claudia Jefferies

WORK is a piece of experimental performance art that comments on the workforce as an entity, the things we say and do, and the parts of ourselves we abandon in order to become and remain employed. Set to an original soundtrack of distorted field recordings and uncategorisable noise, it explores everything from staff room diet chat to the long-term suppression of our animal impulses.

Inspired by many years of being an artist working various day jobs, WORK uses text from old CVs, application forms, and interview-speak to shed light on the absurd nature and necessity of employment.

A piece of experimental theatre comprising a series of vignettes that oscillate between acted-out scenes and fourth-wall-breaking narration. The narrative is semi-linear, though not chronological. The intended effect is something resembling a fever dream, with a combination of easily relatable real-life scenarios and grotesque physical theatre. Masks made from cardboard packaging are worn by both performers at various points in the show.
Thematically, the piece seeks to articulate the subtle but lasting trauma of the artist’s common experience of having to support themselves through unrelated and, at times, degrading day jobs that misalign with their talents and ambition.

WORK is performed by 2 actors. The central character, WORKER (played by Claudia Jefferies), re-enacts experiences from her working past as an unbroken sequence of events, referencing key points across the span of several years. The second character, COLLEAGUE (played by Fynn Roberts) serves as an antagonist, embodying the various clashing personalities and attitudes that WORKER encounters/has encountered throughout her working life. The soundtrack acts as a third character with which WORKER interacts as her interviewers, colleagues, and clients appear as disembodied voices. In amongst the noise, there are spoken snippets of old CVs and cover letters, along with distorted music and sound recordings, which serve to co-create the surreal atmosphere of the piece.