Clod Ensemble: Placebo Premiere and Tour

Elisabeth will be part of Clod Ensemble’s new production PLACEBO, which will premiere and tour the UK this autumn. Clod Ensemble is one of London’s most renowned interdisciplinary companies working between movement, music, theatre, medicine and architecture.

 

The dates are:

Salford. The Lowry. 11 – 13 October 2018. Book tickets.
Brighton. Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts. 16 – 17 October 2018. Book tickets.
Preston. Derelict at UCLan. 19 – 20 October. Book tickets.
London. The Place. 30 October – 10 November 2018. Book tickets.

 

Placebo

A room full of expectation, suggestion and infectious rhythm.

What is fake and what is real? Is the movement the medicine?

Placebo is an invigorating celebration of the power we have to make ourselves feel better, even when things are falling apart.

Seven dancers and an audience reckon with the placebo effect –  attempting a series of experiments to discover what gives them pleasure and what dulls their pain. Movements are repackaged, distorted, multiplied and abandoned, propelled by a rich original score that sweeps mischievously through euphoric club tracks to classical fugues. Sometimes playful, sometimes brutal, Placebo revels in how even something considered ‘fake’ can have very real consequences.

Commissioned by The Place.

 

The Power of Placebo

The Power of Placebo is a national programme of events to accompany our new performance, Placebo.

The ‘placebo response’ describes an effect which occurs when a person is given a ‘fake’ or ‘inactive’ treatment but experiences an improvement in health regardless.

Scientific research has shown that the colour or size of pills can impact on their effectiveness, that sham surgery can create lasting pain relief, and that the ‘performance’ of the doctor can impact on medical outcomes. Some placebo treatments have now been shown to create measurable physiological change in the brain and the immune system.

What are the ramifications of this research for the way we think about and practice healthcare? Is modern medicine making the most of the power of placebo?

These events bring together scientists, artists, architects, ethicists, writers and anthropologists, to explore how our attitudes, beliefs, relationships, rituals and environments can affect our health for better or for worse.

Image: Camilla Greenwell