THIS IS A THREAT! With Tamm Reynolds

We are under threat, and we are a threat. It's the eve of Halloween—freaks are in full flow, whether they are actually a freak or not. It's chic to be disabled, but only for one night.

Curator Tamm Reynolds is joined by Annie Edwards, Matteo Mottram, Nancy, and Néa Ishana Ranganathan for THIS IS A THREAT!—an evening of durational live art, experimental theatre, and dance. Slippery, transgressive, and disruptive, these works emerge unannounced throughout the evening.

Disabled people are usually constrained by normative expectations of time and space in a world that has none for them. Here, ‘durational’ doesn’t mean long, it doesn’t mean endurance, it means performance that asserts its own pace, and subverts normative expectations of spacetime.

We are surviving in the age of precarity, so this is an intentionally-unconventional, precariously-embracing DIY night. Crip and queer disruption is at the core of THIS IS A THREAT!’s somehow-still-beating heart.

Age restriction: 18+

Content Note:

Performances include explicit content including: engagement with issues of disablism and state violence; strong language; bodily self-penetration; and description/ images of BDSM.

If you would like to discuss the performance content in advance of attending, please contact frances@chisenhaledancespace.co.uk, or speak to the door-person on the night.

About the Curation:

This evening is curated by Tamm Reynolds, a solo-artist also known as Midgitte Bardot (who is the most glamourous coping mechanism in the world). They’ve been performing across the UK in cabaret, live art, drag, theatre and club spaces since 2016. Tamm also co-curates and hosts regular performance night: Midgitte Bardot’s Personal Spot, at the cutting edge of London's underground performance and art scene.

Co-curated with artist, facilitator, producer and wellbeing practitioner Frances Morgan (Artist Community Producer at CDS).

Accessibility Information:

This event takes place at Piehouse Co-Op, which has step-free access. Accessible and gender-neutral toilets available. Complimentary tickets are available for access assistants.

Performances take place across the venue's two spaces. You can move around, enter and leave as desired, and seats are available throughout. We will do our best to warm the space, but this is a warehouse space in October, so please wrap up.

Transcripts are provided for all performances with spoken text, and captions for some.

If you would like to discuss your access needs in advance of attending, please contact frances@chisenhaledancespace.co.uk, or speak to the door-person on the night.

About the Performances:

The DWP says: “Cripples Get Fucked.” // Matteo Mottram

Matteo (he/she) imagines himself as a submissive to an uncaring government, blending the languages of BDSM and camp imagery to create a masochistic vision of irresistance. This durational performance is dictated by PIP interview and left to fuck itself, over, and over again.

The Giantess Speaks // Nancy

Nancy. The Apocalyptic Sapphic. The Doomsday Dominatrix. The Devil-Dyke who god himself calls Mommy. She's had a violent crush upon the seductive phallic skyscrapers of New York City for as long as she can remember, and in the name of queer, crypto-pornographic feminist rebellion she's finally hate-fucked the beating heart of American capitalism. Bathing in the glorious afterglow of the Armageddon she's inflicted upon the island of Manhattan, Nancy reflects upon the destruction she has wrought, and attempts to convince the terror-stricken masses watching on that it was all completely justified. Photographer: Fenella Knox. Edited by Abigail Jacqueline Jones.

entirely of flesh // Néa Ishana Ranganathan

A tiger in battle feeds himself and his comrades. A tiger is durational, through communal land-based mapping. A tiger translates broken dialogue in divided waters. A tiger humanises freedom fighters through live archiving. A documentation of past, present, and future Tamil Tigresses, articulating longing for homeland in opposition to eradication.

Repetition Without Force // Annie Edwards

A movement score with furniture. She climbs, scrambles, reaches. She looks on the edge but she isn’t—she does this everyday. That’s why she’s so ripped. Through moving she finds comfort, transforming what doesn’t fit into something new. How else would she cope?

About Scratch Renaissance:

‘Scratch Renaissance’ is a yearlong adrenaline shot for the grassroots dance and performance sector. From May 2025 to July 2026, Chisenhale Dance Space will host a series of monthly scratch nights at our East London venue and at Piehouse Co-Op. In line with our artist-led ethos, we will work closely with six small artist-led collectives to create six new scratch night models. These models will explore what a scratch night can be while supporting marginalised artists in showcasing their work for the first time. Scratch Renaissance is supported using public funding from Arts Council England.

About Piehouse Co-Op:

Piehouse Co-Op is a worker-run music and arts venue opening in Deptford in February 2025, on the site of the former Matchstick Piehouse.