At your event, as the crowd mingles, into the room enter a number of tall, Victorian Ladies, each dressed in a black skirt, heeled boots and a high necked blouse, each with hair trussed up into a bun of catastrophic proportion. Each lady carries a fan, and in the Victorian tradition of fan language, uses the fan as a means of communication with the audience. Most remarkable about these Ladies, is that each sports a handsome beard. If an audience member makes comment or alludes to the beard, the Lady will react and respond accordingly using her fan.
One of the ladies is a photographer. The Photographer moves around the space, accompanied by and elegant gentleman in a top hat, who assists her by carrying her wooden camera stand and equipment about. They, like the ladies, do not use spoken dialogue. The photographer indicates a certain area, and she and the gentleman set up for a photograph. The Ladies draw together and pose for the photograph.
In the tradition of daguerreotypes and early photography, the Ladies strike an elegant, and long-sustained pose, fans laid down, beards out proud. The gentleman joins them for the photograph, removing his top hat to expose his beard, which grows vertically from the top of his head.
The photo pose lasts for an unnaturally long time – they are unfazed by audience comments (as stoic as Beefeaters). The photographer breaks the scene. The gentleman returns his top hat, and assists her to her next point of set up, and the ladies return to mingling with the crowd. As a group, their rhythm is elegant, smooth and unruffled. Their silent poise renders them a stark contrast to the socialising spectators.
Beardo - Tableaux Vivant is very weird, very beautiful and very funny.
