MAN ACT

Man Act was Simon Thorne and Phillip Mackenzie. Between 1983 and 1996 they created a series of intense physical performances on tiny empty stages given form by the dynamic architecture of light. These were visceral examinations of the fragile construction of contemporary masculinity. 

Taking a cue from the visual artist Robert Longo (“I think the best dance is the way men die in the movies”), Man Act was the spectacle of two small boys climbing into their fathers’ suits and beginning the games of manhood. Miracles was two old men struggling to articulate a legacy of wisdom for a future generation. Radio Sing Sing told the epic adventure of first contact between white gold prospectors and the hill tribes of Papua New Guinea. Call Blue Jane, Jimmy Messiah and Heaven were a trilogy of works that told an unfolding relationship between fathers and sons in the world of the corporate suit. 

Then a series of large scale works. The Emperors New Clothes was a fashion show that confronted Japanese high style. We Want God Now was a techno dance marathon. The Sweatlodge was twenty men in suits and a rock band…

                                                                                                           "...if the Kray gang was a dance troup then Come Dancing would look like this."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The Guardian