THE APOCALYPSE WILL BE TELEVISED! Live broadcast on Halloween in 1992, this shocking BBC special was so disturbing it was banned for 10 years. Before the film, UK-based artists Vision 25-C and DYAD of the Bordello Collective will present a new multimedia performance inspired by the phenomenon! THE APOCALYPSE WILL BE TELEVISED! This Halloween season we offer a trifecta of horror about the power of media ending with Lesley Manning’s Ghostwatch, an extraordinary, ground-breaking social experiment and elaborate prank perpetrated upon the British populace. Originally presented as an on-air Halloween Television special in 1992, it professed to be a live paranormal investigation of “the most haunted house in Britain”. Ghostwatch was so terrifying the BBC never showed it again… Most are familiar with the big hoaxes of pop culture history. Including, of course, Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, and even the low-budget horror film The Blair Witch Project stirred up plenty of is it real?” controversy and conspiracy theories during its theatrical release in 1999. Broadcast on Halloween night in 1992, at a time when verité-style horror had yet to become commonplace, The cast included familiar TV personalities, “live” on-the-street interviews with trick-or-treating youngsters, and a phone-in panel complete with a telephone number that the viewing public could “call” to discuss their experiences of paranormal phenomena. Ghostwatch proved so convincing that the BBC received 30,000 calls from distraught and angry viewers. Later banned in England for “cultivating a sense of menace”, there were press reports of children suffering from post traumatic stress disorder – the involvement of a familiar face from children’s TV, was singled out for particular criticism – as well as the tragic suicide of a teenager with learning difficulties, who believed his family home’s faulty central heating system was caused by the terrifying poltergeist, Mr Pipes. Following a judicial review, the BBC was eventually legally cleared of all blame. While ghosts are traditionally raised by a spiritualist at séance, here television itself is, in more than one sense, the medium and conduit for Pipes’ conjuring. Even today, when we can feel safe in the knowledge that it’s all fiction, Ghostwatch is still an incredibly effective piece of experimental television. Just don’t watch it alone. Enjoy this Brilliant Article by Documentary Filmmaker Adam Curtis about the Cultural Impact of Ghost Watch About The Multimedia Performance by BORDELLO COLLECTIVE Vision 25-C will be presenting a newly composed sound piece and performance inspired by Stephen Volk and Lesley Manning’s 1992 supernatural horror mockumentary Ghostwatch. Taking inspiration from the films experimentation with form, genre and atmosphere V25C’s performance will weave together experimental sound design, lo-fi analogue samples and ambient composition. The performance will be followed by an introduction to ‘Ghostwatch’ presented by artist DYAD. Both artists are based in Middlesbrough, England and are delighted to share the UK cultural phenomenon that is Ghostwatch with an American audience 32 years to the day after its broadcast on the spookiest night of the year. Artist Bio: Vision 25-C is a Queer, non-binary, musician, artist, producer and DJ based in Middlesbrough, UK. They take inspiration from the industrial and brutal landscapes of the North East of England and have established themselves within the vibrant emerging arts scene in Middlesbrough. Vision 25-C’s early output fused harsh noise, vocal performance and industrial beats with intense and dramatic visuals and confrontational live performance. Their recent output has taken on new forms and turns its focus towards electronic dance music and sound design. Their 2022 release ‘Doom Scrolling’ took inspiration from dystopian society and relationships to technology and social media. This release, as well as upcoming material, epitomises V25C’s move towards a more hypnotic, evolving and intensely danceable sound and aesthetic. Bordello Collective: Founded in 2010 Bordello are a Queer arts collective creating interventions that wrap the witness up in Queer space. Made up of multi-disciplinary artists and activators they produce work in installation and performance. As collagists they weave and fuse mediums and art forms into multi layered immersive live art happenings. Work is cross media, often performative and multidimensional. https://www.facebook.com/events/750771347134408/”
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