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‘The Holborn Cenotaph’ by Tony White14:00 and repeats at 16:30, Friday 29th April 2016 Free (please note that latecomers may not be guaranteed admittance) ‘The Holborn Cenotaph’ by London author Tony White is a short story in the tradition of Swift’s ‘A Modest Proposal’. White uses the language and performance of contemporary law enforcement and policy to devastating effect, delivering a satirical proposition that the high-rise tower of Holborn Police Station in central London is to be decommissioned and converted into ‘a new Holborn Cenotaph, a 50-metre high, networked memorial’, the purpose of which is not immediately revealed. When the true nature and purpose of this digital memorial becomes apparent, the effect has been described by one audience member as ‘jaw-dropping’. ‘The Holborn Cenotaph’ was first performed in the Renaissance Revival chapel of King’s College London for King’s Arts and Humanities Festival 2014, as part of a collaboration with the artists Stuart Brisley and Maya Balcioglu, and Dr Sanja Perovic of King’s. At the time, White was Creative Entrepreneur-in-Residence in the French Department at King’s, funded by Creativeworks London. Since then White has taken ‘The Holborn Cenotaph’ to audiences around the UK at venues ranging from the British Library to Turner Contemporary, Margate, London Radical Book Fair and many live literature events and programmes. Following each reading, a pamphlet edition of the full text is distributed free. ‘Super dry, dark and funny…Glasnost for UK cops’ Tim Etchells |
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