L’Entr’acte
‘L’Entr’acte takes place entirely backstage in a theatre. The curtain has just come down on Act One of a play (a dream ballet scene), and the cast are leaving the stage for their dressing rooms. One ballerina is in agony and some stagehands rush to assist her. An actress strides off-stage seething, seemingly outraged. Another breaks down in tears. The cast and crew busy themselves with preparations for Act Two. Make-up, costume and scenery changes take place; people drink, gossip, repair costumes, helping each other to dress. It seems as though no one will be ready in time…
... The backstage area appears to be an infinite warren of long, narrow corridors and stairwells. Visual motifs repeat and resonate: rows or ropes, water pipes, banisters, needles and thread, underlined passages of script, make-up brushes and pencils, shoes. The set is crammed with signage… Backstage movies all somehow have a similar look, from All About Eve through Opening Night and A Chorus Line. This film has the atmosphere of a damp, clammy, claustrophobic dream and should look considerably more sinister.’
Donald Urquhart, London, June 2005
Donald Urquhart was invited to make a short film that premiered at the fair in The Artists Cinema. L’Entr’acte (2005) is shot in black and white on high-definition video and features an original screenplay and sets created by Urquhart as well as a cast and crew assembled from a glamorous assortment of friends and associates.
Donad Urquhart’s L’Entr’acte was screened twice daily during the fair in The Artists Cinema and was accessible to art fair visitors. For a full programme and listings please download a copy of The Artists Cinema publication from The Artists Cinema page.
Donald Urquhart (b. 1963) is a Scottish artist based in London. Recent shows include I Still Believe in Miracles, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2005), Wolfgang Tillmans Presents, Portikus, Frankfurt and Noel Noir, The Horse Hospital, London, commissioned by Artangel (2003). In 2005 Urquhart was shortlisted for Becks Futures, at the ICA.
