This Performance Artwork Wants Us to “Feel Things Differently”

Why It Matters

The Whole Routine pushes contemporary performance art toward raw authenticity, challenging audiences to confront shame and connection. Its touring and published score broaden access, influencing how institutions program immersive, vulnerability‑driven works.

Key Takeaways

• The Whole Routine blends song, dance, poetry, improvisation.
• Uses minimal props: smoke machine, confetti, laptop.
• Explores shame, vulnerability, and authentic human connection.
• Tours London, Glasgow, Nottingham, expanding UK contemporary art scene.
• Score published by Montez Press, preserving performance for wider access.

Pulse Analysis

Edward Thomasson treats performance as a prism, refracting everyday emotions into staged expression. In the UK’s vibrant contemporary art scene, his approach aligns with a growing appetite for work that foregrounds personal truth over polished spectacle. By positioning vulnerability at the core of his practice, Thomasson taps into a cultural moment where audiences seek deeper resonance, making his projects especially relevant to galleries and festivals aiming to differentiate their programming.

The Whole Routine distinguishes itself through stark simplicity and collaborative creation. Partnering with songwriter Robbie Ellen (Personnel) and composer Charlotte Harding, Thomasson crafted five songs that emerged from improvisational workshops, inviting both trained and untrained participants onto the stage. The reliance on just a smoke machine, confetti, and a laptop strips away theatrical excess, forcing attention onto faltering melodies, awkward gestures, and the raw humanity of the performers. This intentional imperfection invites viewers to experience the discomfort of exposure, mirroring the very shame and longing the piece interrogates.

Beyond artistic merit, the work’s touring schedule—London’s Performance Studios, Glasgow’s Tramway, and Nottingham Contemporary—signals institutional confidence in experimental formats that challenge conventional audience dynamics. The forthcoming publication of the score by Montez Press ensures the piece’s longevity, allowing other companies to reinterpret its material. As more venues embrace such authenticity‑driven performances, the sector may see a shift toward programming that values emotional risk, potentially reshaping funding models and audience development strategies.