Furious Folly took place at night fall in Sutton Park, in a no-man’s land on the battle front between the two lines.
The audience were immersed in the middle of an evocative and war torn landscape where sound, light and pyrotechnics filled the atmosphere with a powerful and poignant performance.
Drawing on the anti-war spirit of Dadaist artists of the time, Mark Anderson and his team made a truly unique show that rails against the futility and madness of The Great War, and challenges the inhumanity and senselessness of conflicts past and present.
This remarkable and moving experience formed part of 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary.
Created at 101 Outdoor Arts Creation Space. In association with Birmingham Hippodrome, Oxford Playhouse, Oxford Festival of the Arts and Stockton International Riverside Festival.
Hans Arp, founder of the Dadaist movement
“While the thunder of the batteries rumbled in the distance...we searched for an elementary art that would, we thought, save mankind from the furious folly of these times”
Richard Wilson
"Anderson has spent his professional career creating audio visual alchemy that uses light, heat, vibrations, electricity, oscillating chemicals and paraphernalia to dazzle our eyes and startle our imaginations"
Jonathan Jones, The Guardian
"Perhaps the most important open-air artwork of the season... promises to surround its audiences with an audiovisual bombardment that brings to life the horrors of the First World War."
Tim Hughes, The Oxford Times
"Just like war itself. A shell-shocking triumph"
