An Interview with Kate Joyner

Posted by yodamo

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Straddling the spheres were theatre meets ethereality is Kate Joyner & her remarkably evocative Blood Tales

Hello Kate, first things first, where are you from & where are you at, geographically speaking?
Kate: I’m from England, grew up in Shropshire, but I’m currently living in Barcelona.

When did you first realise you were, well, theatrical?
Kate: I think when I was 7. I used to to create one girl performances on my god-mothers poufee. I was always quite expressive and interested in how humans worked, so throughout my life, I’ve studied psychology and art.

In a world where you can get entertainment ‘on demand’, what makes theatre special?
Kate: I think theatre is an live experience, no one performance is the same, there is a magic to it. I think being in the same room as someone who is offer their art is a very real experience, perhaps even divinely.

You’ve got three famous women from history coming round for dinner. Who would they be & what would you cook; starters, mains & dessert?
Kate: First of all I probably wouldn’t cook, we’d go out for dinner, as it’s one of my favorite things to do. And then I’d let them choose what they want from the menu. Who would they be? Audrey Lorde, Eve Ensler and Madonna.

Can you tell us about Silver Moon Theatre Co. & your role?
Kate: I am The Silver Moon Theatre Co. At the moment it’s a one woman company. What I’m principally interested in in my art form is giving voice to the unspoken voices of the feminine. I’m really passionate about the stage a tool for the wildest and boldest expression of the feminine soul, as a way of bringing to the forefront aspects of our feminine nature that have otherwise been banished to the shadows. Why would I want to do this, you might ask? In order to create ripples of social change within the collective unconscious. I have the support of a director, Palma Morena Greco and an amazing producer, Danja Buchard and my techie is called Felix Gane. What I do is create the shows, from the writing to the performing and the whole orchestration.

What’s the last thing you do before you step out on stage / the curtain goes up?
Kate: Well I spend about half an hour warming up. In that half an hour, I meditate, then run on the spot whilst talking to the wall, get into the emotional body of my character, who by nature is a witty witch, so as you can imagine, the last thing I do before the curtain comes up can sometimes get quite wild.

You’re bringing a play to Brighton this May, can you tell us about it?
Kate: Yes. I’ll be doing a short 3 night run, (so get your tickets already). It’s at Sweet Werks 1 at 21.15, 10th, 11th &; 12th May. The tag line for the show sum its up pretty well so I like to share that: “Re-mystifying the most misunderstood phenomena of a woman’s body by telling the true tales about our Blood”. And then the blurb:

This one woman show will transport you into the mystical landscape of woman’s Blood through the lens of a hilariously funny wicked witch from London. Mixing the sacred with the profane, the outrageous with the sensical, insanity with normality, The Blood Tales will change what you thought about women’s menstrual Blood, for ever. The show dispels the outworn stories of shame and disgust into tales of beauty and power through the cauldron of this raw and elemental theatrical performance. Creating a field of magic that ripples into the political as well as the spiritual dimensions of a woman’s holy red river, offering the promise of a new paradigm, as seen from the Moon. Not all are insane enough to come and see it, but hopefully you will be brave enough to accept this wild and bold invitation, my pretty.

Can you tell us about the almost esoteric writing of the script?
Kate: I was on the West Coast of Scotland on an island, which I don’t remember the name of, unfortunately. It was in 2015 and my muse whispered to me the inspiration for The Blood Tales. She told me to go home and listen to what the Blood wanted me to say, so for 3 consecutive moon cycles, when I got my blood, I locked myself away. From that time, I transcribed 13 poems that make up the base of the script.

Aha, it seems that the Moon Goddess, one of the traditional inspirations for poets, was with you. Can you define for us the comblended experience of being inspired by the menstrual cycle & the heavenly sphere which controls it?
Kate: Yes, excellent question. It’s my experience that when we bleed we enter into an altered state of consciousness. This form of consciousness is very close to the earth dreaming, the anima mundi. It makes sense if you think about it, if our moon cycle is connected to the moon cycle which is to say the rhythms of nature, then the internal act of bleeding, when we tune into it, can bring us close to the our elemental nature. This form of consciousness, where the soul is on the skin, the poetic voice is more available to me. By surrendering into this flow, I get to hear the voice of my muse and then I transcribed that voice into red streams of poetry.

Can you tell us about the evolutionary growth of The Blood Tales as performance art?
Kate: It started out as a spoken word performance back in 2015. I knew there was more life behind the words than simply standing there and reciting the poetry, so I enrolled in an experimental theatre laboratory in Barcelona where The Blood Tales has since turned into a full scale theatre production. During this investigative phase, I’ve been shown that within the blueprint of the show is a map that can lead women into their own feminine initiation. I’m going to be offering workshops along with the show, where women can come and tell their own Blood Tale. And then my prayer is that “The Blood Tales does for the blood what The Vagina Monologues has done for the vagina”. Pretty wild, no?

What emotive responses do you expect from the audience, both male & female?
Kate: I feel it leave people quite moved as it’s an emotive piece. You feel with me as I take you on this journey into the long lost terrain of the feminine wild. I’ve had amazing responses from both men and women. One man from the audience of a show I did in Oakland, USA, came to me and said “Seeing your show makes me rely wish I could menstruate”.

You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the play to somebody in the streets of Brighton?
Kate: Don’t miss The Blood Tales. Really. Just don’t. It’s the most revolutionary thing you could possibly see this Fringe.

What will you be doing for the rest of 2019?
Kate: I will working on my latest production, “In bed with Madonna”, holding a woman’s retreat in Crete in August, working hard to get The Blood Tales on tour for later this year or early 2020, so watch this space and generally just enjoying life as much as I can.
Thanks for all of your questions and for taking time to read folks. I hope to see you in the
audience.