Good Neighbours York
Good Neighbours premiered in October 2020 at York Mediale as a live performance and mobile app that played out on the streets of York in the UK. Visitors joined a weirdly familiar neighbourhood watch group on WhatsApp and were led on a surreal and slightly surprising journey by blending live actors with fictional storylines through WhatsApp messages.
“It’s like being in The Truman Show, feeling as though everyone is an actor.”
“It’s made me think about all the WhatsApp groups I am part of and how nefarious those activities can actually be”
CREDITS
Good Neighbours is a project by affect lab (Natalie Dixon & Klasien van de Zandschulp)
Producer Yinka Danmole
Performed in collaboration with Lydia Cottrell
Technology by Arjan Scherpenisse
Design & Illustration by Kgabo Mametja, Koos Groenewald
Production support: Angelina Alle
Commissioned by York Mediale (2020)
Kindly supported by York Mediale, Creative Industry Fund NL
Cast
Lydia Cottrell played Chrissy the militant
Freddie Hayes played Group Admin Kelly
James Bayes played Jim the chav
Peet Torjussen played Charlie the 5G conspiracy theorist
Emily Walker played Agnes, the neighbourhood curtain twitcher
Special thanks to
Milo Schagen, our bubble script hero who tested our script
until his fingers almost fell off, and for creating way-too-believable “missing cat” posters :-)
Photography: Esme Mai Photography
We’re thrilled that our work was received so well. It proves to us that people really feel our urgency around issues of intimate surveillance and its connection to community making and belonging. Also, that a York Mediale was this brave to show work during a pandemic is mind blowing.
“It’s slightly unnerving, exciting and different”
“It makes you look at everything quite differently.”
