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Bryony Kimmings

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Bryony Kimmings
Born (1981-03-30) 30 March 1981 (age 43)
NationalityBritish
Alma materBrunel University
Known forPerformance art

Bryony Kimmings (born 30 March 1981) is a British live artist based in London and Cambridgeshire. She is an associate artist of the Soho Theatre,[1] and, in 2016, was commissioned to write The Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer for Complicite Associates.[2]

She creates multi-platform art works to provoke change.[3] Her work centres mostly around "social experiments",[4] which in the past have included the artist retracing an STI to its source,[5] spending seven days in a controlled environment in a constant state of intoxication[6] and becoming a pop star invented by a nine-year-old.[7]

Early career

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Kimmings graduated with a degree in Modern Drama from Brunel University in 2003.[8] In a 2011 interview she said of her time at Brunel: "It was Live Art and the history of performance artists that excited me the most", and so immediately afterwards she established the company 'Glass Eyed' with friends. 'Glass Eyed' created work for two years before being dissolved.[9]

In 2006 she began Celebrityville a soap cabaret following the lives of forgotten celebrities living in a fictional town. A new episode was created every month between 2006 and 2008. Describing working on Celebrityville Kimmings said "this gave me a baptism of fire really, making such a large volume of work, learning about how to run a night, what to do if things broke half way through, making costumes, doing marketing - everything."[9] When Celebrityville ended, Kimmings began to explore a solo live art career with autobiographical themes.[9]

Shows

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Select performance work

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  • I'm a Phoenix, Bitch (2018). Premiered at the Battersea Arts Centre.[10] This piece can be viewed as a subversive feminist musical piece, with elements of a pop-video, horror film, art installation and therapy session.[11][12]
  • Fake it ‘til you Make it (2015). Premiered at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.[13] This piece centres around the story of Bryony's then fiancé, Tim Grayburn, and his battle with his chronic depression. The performance is also highlighting the taboo of mental health and what is not spoken about within society.[14][15]
  • That Catherine Bennett Show (2014). Premiered at the Southbank Centre, London.[16]
  • Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model (2013). Premiered at the Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh.[17] This show explores Kimmings personal relationship with sex and alcohol.[18]
  • Heartache.Heartbreak. (2012).
  • Kablooey! (2012). Premiered at Battersea Arts Centre, London.[19] This performance is a ten-minute piece that was made for people at a time, both adults and children.
  • Mummy Time (2011). Premiered at The Junction, Cambridge.[20] This is a ten-minute piece that has been described as a high octane, funny and ultimately moving 1-to-1 experience for festivals.
  • 7 Day Drunk (2011).[21] This performance has a two part song and dance routine which is about Kimmings and her rocky relationship with alcohol while investigating the historical links between artists and mind enhancing drugs.
  • Sex Idiot (2010)[22] Awards: Best Emerging Artist, Total Theatre Award 2010, The West Australian Arts Editor Award 2015, Best Comedy, Adelaide Fringe Weekly Award 2015, Best Comedy Award, The Advertiser Adelaide 2015.
  • A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer (2016). This is a musical performed as a whistle-stop tour through five unconventional stories about cancer.[23]

As playwright

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  • A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer (2016). Book by Bryony Kimmings and Brian Lobel. Lyrics by Kimmings. Co-Produced by Approach Complicite Associates and National Theatre.[24]
  • The Boys Project (2017). A performance created by Kimmings which engaged young men from council estates all over the UK, including Leeds, Cardiff, Peterborough, Birmingham, Manchester and London. It was a long term art and activism project which exploded media stereotypes and the political marginalisation of the young.[25]

As screenwriter

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Approach

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Known primarily for creating autobiographical work, Kimmings achieved notoriety with her 2010 piece Sex Idiot.[27] In it, she revealed her sexual and her romantic history after discovering she had contracted an STI and told of the quest to find out which of her former partners had given it on to her.[5][28] She toured this show until 2015. In her 2011 piece 7 Day Drunk Kimmings collaborated with a team of scientists to analyse the impact of alcohol on her creativity.[6][29]

In an interview in March 2011, speaking of the drivers behind her work Kimmings said: "I guess in a way it is an artist's duty to say and explore the things that are untouchable, or hard to talk about."[9]

In a 2012 interview for Pulse Fringe Festival, Kimmings introduces herself as "an artist who makes autobiographical work" she continues to say her work "always follows a kind of autobiographical experiment that I go on."[30] Her profile on the British Council of Drama and Dance website says: "Bryony works autobiographically and begins the development of her work with a social experiment. She is inspired by the taboos and anomalies of British culture and her work promotes the airing of her own dirty laundry to oil conversations on seemingly difficult subjects."[31]

Personal life

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Kimmings was born in Huntingdon[32] and grew up in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, attending St Ivo School.[33] She has an older sister, whose then 9-year-old daughter inspired her to develop her 2013 show Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model.[33]

In November 2015, Kimmings gave birth to her son Frank. The boy's father was her fiancé at the time, Tim Grayburn. Frank was diagnosed with West Syndrome, a form of epilepsy, soon after he was born.[34] In her 2018 show I'm a Phoenix, Bitch, Kimmings processed how she experienced post-natal depression, had a severely ill infant and went through a break-up all in one year.[34][35]

Awards

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Sex Idiot

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Fake it ‘til you Make it

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  • Best Theatre Award, Fringe World Perth 2015[40]
  • Best Theatre Award, Adelaide Fringe Festival 2015[41]
  • Herald Angel Award, Edinburgh Fringe Festivatl 2015[42]
  • Short-listed for the Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015[43]

References

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  1. ^ "Bryony Kimmings". Soho Theatre Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  2. ^ "A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer". Complicite. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  3. ^ Demos, Chrisanthi (18 June 2015). "Bryony Kimmings, performance artist, Fake It 'Til You Make It". The Weekend Edition. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  4. ^ Venkataramanan, Madhumita (June 2014). "Bryony Kimmings explores link between drinking with creativity". Neuroscience. Wired. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Arts Interview Bryony Kimmings". Street Press Australia Pty Ltd. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  6. ^ a b Gardner, Lyn (20 August 2011). "7 Day Drunk – review". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  7. ^ Love, Catherine (7 August 2013). "Lack of female role models? Make one up: Bryony Kimmings' homemade hero". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  8. ^ Dessau, Bruce (30 July 2015). "Bryony Kimmings interview: Joke therapy". Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d "Interview: Bryony Kimmings Talks Sex, Booze and Performance". RunRiot.com. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Bryony Kimmings' I'm a Phoenix, Bitch to return to Battersea Arts Centre in 2019 | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  11. ^ Gillinson, Miriam (9 October 2018). "I'm a Phoenix, Bitch review – wacky, warped and wonderful". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  12. ^ "I'm a Phoenix, Bitch". HOME. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  13. ^ Gardner, Lyn (8 August 2015). "Fake It 'Til You Make It at Edinburgh festival review – divides audience into smilers and sobbers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Fake It 'Til You Make It: Bryony Kimmings has made a drama out of her". The Independent. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  15. ^ Awde, Nick. "Fake It 'Til You Make It | Review | Theatre". The Stage. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  16. ^ Pringle, Stewart (18 February 2014). "That Catherine Bennett Show - Exeunt Magazine". exeuntmagazine.com. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Edinburgh 2013: Credible Likeable Superstar Rolemodel - A bold". The Independent. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  18. ^ Gardner, Lyn (19 August 2013). "Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model – Edinburgh festival 2013 review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  19. ^ "The Good Neighbour, Battersea Arts Centre, review". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Sampled - Exeunt Magazine". exeuntmagazine.com. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  21. ^ "Bryony Kimmings, Southbank Centre - review". Evening Standard. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  22. ^ Gardner, Lyn (22 August 2010). "Sex Idiot | Edinburgh theatre review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Complicite - A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer". www.complicite.org. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  24. ^ Billington, Michael (20 October 2016). "A Pacifist's Guide to the War on Cancer review – bold musical demystifies the disease". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  25. ^ "The Boys' Project: The Undergrowth". Royal Court. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  26. ^ Pulver, Andrew (19 July 2018). "George Michael-inspired 'holiday romance' film Last Christmas in the works". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Sex Idiot". www.bryonykimmings.com. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Interview: Bryony Kimmings, Sex idiot - Theatre". Time Out London. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  29. ^ "7 Day Drunk". www.bryonykimmings.com. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  30. ^ "An Interview With Bryony Kimmings". Pulse Fringe Festival/youtube. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  31. ^ "Bryony Kimmings". British Council. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  32. ^ Shenton, Mark (20 October 2016). "Bryony Kimmings: 'I didn't know anything about musicals but I love fannying about' | Interviews". The Stage. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  33. ^ a b "Interview: Bryony Kimmings". Beyond The Joke. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  34. ^ a b "Bryony Kimmings on rising from the ashes and having no taboos". Evening Standard. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  35. ^ "Bryony Kimmings". thebryonykimmings.tumblr.com. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  36. ^ "Bryony Kimmings". exeunt. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  37. ^ "Best of the year 2010: off-West End and fringe theatre". Time Out Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  38. ^ "Fringe World Concludes with Awards Ceremony". OUTInPerth - LGBTIQ News and Culture. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  39. ^ "The best, the rest and the most distressed". www.adelaidenow.com.au. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  40. ^ "Award Winners". Fringe Fund. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  41. ^ "2015 Adelaide Fringe wraps up as Festival Awards announced". Australian Arts Review. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  42. ^ "Edinburgh awards 2015 - Who won what? | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  43. ^ "Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award 2015 Shortlist Announced". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
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