Josh Spear – How Now Brown Cow

Dansetippen

8th June 21.30

How Now Brown Cow is a solo musical theatre piece by composer-performer Josh Spear directed by Oliver Dawe. Telling an intensely personal story about stammering, self-adaptations, the struggle to fit in, and queer authenticity, Spear – who is renowned for his imaginative use of lip-syncing in performances – lip-syncs to a prerecorded script and sound design. Within this foley theatre, the lip-syncing represents and emphasizes the unreliable nature of speech that someone with a stammer experiences on a daily basis. 

The story opens with the instant appearance of Spear's stammer. Taking as it's point of departure the performer as a young child, the piece follows him growing up as he tries to take adaptive measures in order to overcome his stammer. The story complicates severely during his teen years as Spear starts to realize that he is a queer person. As he gradually loses sight of the future that he envisioned for himself, he also loses sight of his authentic self, and the strong bond that he shares with his grandma is strained. How Now Brown Cow is a sort of coming-of-age story tackling difficult themes of selfhood and self-doubt; a story that is both uniquely personal and universally recognizable for anyone who grew struggling to accept themselves. The show is 50 minutes long and is suitable for adults and teens. 

Supported by 

Kulturdirektoratoret

Dramatikkens Hus

The Marchus Trust

Photo: Frederick Goff

Venue

Dansetippen

Wagnersvej 33 2450 København

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Artists

Josh Spear

Composer-performer who recently completed a fellowship at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Longstanding member of the composer-performer group Bastard Assignments since 2014.