The first week of NOW 18 at The Yard: exceptional artists making exciting and radical performance.

Stacy Makishi The Comforter // 7:30pm

Part ritual; part prayer; part rowdy revivalist rally, The Comforter is a rite of passage that reclaims spirituality and proposes a new perspective on church.

Exchanging psalms and sacrament for 80’s/90’s pop culture, it draws inspiration from Twin Peaks and Ingmar Bergman and throws a kiss to George Michael. The Comforter follows the powerfully moving and absurdly humorous Vesper Time (“a gorgeous hymn…for fearlessness, truth and love” Exeunt) that toured the UK. Together they make up the first two in a three-show series about the Holy Trinity.

The Comforter is the Holy Ghost of the trio and it asks the question: ‘What am I unwilling to feel?’

Stacy is a multi-award winning artist who has been making work for 30 years. Join her to explore – through meditation, ritual and disco – what it means to be fully alive and fully human.

Lucy Hutson Bi-Curious George and Other Sidekicks // 9pm

Professor ‘the Amazing’ Addrian is a children’s entertainer and Punch and Judy man extraordinaire. He’s also Lucy’s dad. As a child, Lucy would help Addrian with his shows, collecting money, performing tricks and even doing a stint as Curious George.

Following previous NOW smash-hits Bound (NOW 15) and Britney Spears Custody Battle Vs. Zeus in Swan Rape Shocker (NOW 14, “I was bowled over” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian), Lucy is back. And this time she’s bringing her dad with her. They’ll reminisce through rose-tinted glasses, re-enact childhood magic tricks and reflect on what it means to choose a life led in front of an audience.

Expect screaming, hilarity and teenage exasperation as glib entertainer and an earnest artist lock heads leaving the question: where do these performers go from here?

Bi-Curious George and Other Side Kicks: Lucy and Addrian Hutson from Claire Nolan on Vimeo.