In 2008 Jan Fabre created "Another Sleepy Dusty Delta Day", a theatre/dance solo, for the Croatian performer, Ivana Jozic. In 2010, Artemis Stavridi and Fabre created a new version for an extensive international tour starting that year.
The title is taken from the legendary 1967 hit, "Ode to Billy Joe", by Bobby Gentry. Speculation is rife about the open storyline in this mysterious country song, even today.
"Ode to Billy Joe" tells the tale of a suicide. A teenage girl is having dinner with her family. Her mother announces that Billy Joe jumped off a bridge to his death. While the family members dish up memories of Billy Joe, discuss day-to-day worries and pass the food, the mother happens to notice that her daughter has lost her appetite. Gradually, and against this backdrop, curiosity about the untold part of the story gets the upper hand. What did the young teenage girl and Billy Joe throw off the bridge together? Were they secretly seeing one another?
The theme of forbidden love and suicide constitutes the starting point of the creation of "Another Sleepy Dusty Delta Day" for Jan Fabre. A swelteringly hot, dusty kind of day. A story about loving and letting go, about jumping into the endless unknown.
Jan Fabre opted to write "Another Sleepy Dusty Delta Day" in the form of a letter from a man to his beloved. The outcome is a truly personal text, which emphasises the right to dispose of one's own life, specifically the end of one's life. A text that bears witness to empathy and respect for live, love and death.
text, scenography and direction Jan Fabre choreography Jan Fabre, Ivana Jozic dramaturgy Miet Martens Created in 2008 with and for Ivana Jozic composer Tom Tiest Recordings at Ghost Town (Hemiksem,BE) by Geert Vanbever musicians Tom Tiest (guitar), DomXh (electronics), Filip Vandebril ((double) bass), Deemonkeyjazz (drum), Andrew Claes (tenor sax), Vincent Brijs (baritone sax), Charlotte Saelemakers (violin), Jennifer De Keersmaeker (violin), Astrid Bossuyt (violin) song 'Ode to Billy Joe' by Bobby Gentry (C/A) - Northridge Music Co / Universal- MCA Music Holland BV costume design Louise Assomo light design Jan Fabre, Harry Cole technical coordination Tom Buys (spring 2010) technicians for creation set Bern Van Deun, Sven Van Kuijk, Geert Van der Auwera, Alexis Devos, Mikes Poppe production & tour management Sophie Vanden Broeck, Marina Kaptijn production Troubleyn/Jan Fabre (Antwerp, Belgium) co-production Festival d'Avignon (France), Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (United States), Napoli Teatro Festival Italia (Italy), Zagreb Youth Theatre & Theatre Festival (Croatia) The French text of 'Another Sleepy Dusty Delta Day' is published by l'Arche Editeur, Paris (FR) ISBN 978-2-85181-776-4 Deux pièces –' Requiem für eine Metamorphose' & 'Another Sleepy Dusty Delta Day', The Dutch text is published by Meulenhoff/Manteau, Antwerp (BE) The English text is published by Martin E. Segal Theatre Centre Publication, New York (US) ISBN 978-0-9790570-7-6 'I am a mistake seven works for the theatre' translations Marion Serre for L'Arche éditeur (French), Gregory Ball (English), Franco Paris (Italian), Petra Serwe (German)
première 26.06.2008 Teatro Nuovo, Teatro Festival Napoli, Naples
