Mountainsides series launches

A series of public conversations between prominent mountaineers, climbers and hikers and academics of theatre, performance and cultural studies

What is Mountainsides?

Mountainsides is a series of public conversations between prominent mountaineers, climbers and hikers and academics of theatre, performance and cultural studies.  Each event will be introduced by a concise ‘micro-lecture’ on the theme, followed by contributions from each speaker. The majority of the time will be given over to animated conversation, robust debate and productive interjections from the floor.

What shared languages are there between climbing and performing and what gets in the way of a good conversation? How are terms such as, risk, composition, light, narrative, movement and training understood in the two domains? How far is it true to say that climbing is a form of performance and can learn from the languages of theatre and performance studies? And what are the key ideas in hiking and climbing that resonate with the live art of performance?

The first public talk in the series will be ‘Risk’ with Stephen Venables

March 1st 2017, Alec Clegg Studio, stage@leeds, 5-7pm (with refreshments)

Stephen Venables, one of the UK’s most celebrated mountaineers and the first Briton to climb Everest without the aid of oxygen, is launching a new series of public talks as part of Professor Jonathan Pitches’ AHRC fellowship, Performing Landscapes: Mountains. Stephen will be in conversation with York Professor Victoria Robinson on the theme of Risk.

The event is free but booking is required, please register to book your place.