It's All Allowed

The Performances of Adrian Howells

Edited by Deirdre Heddon, Dominic Johnson

Paperback - £21.95

Publication date:

15 July 2016

Publisher

Intellect Books

Dimensions:

242x178mm
7x10"

ISBN-13: 9781783205899

Adrian Howells (1962–2014) was one of the world’s leading figures in the field of one-to-one performance practice – the act of staging an event for one audience participant at a time. Developed over more than a decade, Howells’s award-winning work demonstrated not only his enduring commitment to this genre of performance, but also his determination to find new challenges and innovations in performance art, 'intimate theatre' and socially engaged art.

Its All Allowed, edited by Deirdre Heddon and Dominic Johnson, is the first book devoted to Howells’s remarkable achievements and legacy. Contributors here testify to the methodological, thematic and historiographical challenges posed by Howells’ performances. Citing his permissive mantra as its title, Its All Allowed includes new writing from leading scholars and artists, as well as writing by Howells himself, an extensive interview, scores and visual materials, which together reveal new insight into Howells’s groundbreaking process.

'The judges felt that the collection was an intimate response to Howells’s work, but one that is also a profound meditation on the potential effects of performance itself. Carefully curated with a significant eye to detail, the volume draws together essays written by a diverse selection of contributors who have used a range of forms (critical, impressionistic, interview, etc), but nevertheless sustains a consistency of argument, message, and voice, supported by an introduction which weaves together the different contributions that comprise the volume with new material and extensive references. This labour of love is a critical volume that will be useful to readers; it is also a beautiful object in its own right'.