As Mikey (Andrew Bridge) welcomes you to thePleasance Green, he’s very chatty, dressed in an unusual combination of sports shorts, a yellow jumper and a sparkly poncho. This is a workshop. Not an art workshop, but an
AART is a way of expressing oneself creatively, not the strict creation of imagery and designs
AART is a way of expressing oneself creatively, not the strict creation of imagery and designs. We learn that Mikey is apparently a resident artist in Pizza Hut, having been fired from the same part-time-full-time-artist-job at Costa Coffee. So now he’s up here, to teach us AART.
In this workshop, he promises to make dreams come true, and comes across as genuinely engaging. He provides everyone with Play-Doh to make something that represents what you want to achieve, he teaches you relaxation exercises that combine enjoyment of food, happy memories and dreams and tells you about the various angles from which you can attempt what you want to achieve; providing opportunities to attempt drawing whilst free and then again whilst… trapped.
If you’re thinking that this sounds utterly bizarre, you would be right. He adds another layer of weird to the show with stories from his childhood, and a rivalry with a voice-over version of himself. Everything adds rather than detracts from the joy. Everything about AART is weird but wonderfully life-affirming and very entertaining.
