Resusci-Anne (and the Personal Displays of Affection)

Resusci Anne (and the Personal Displays of Affection) drags up the lore surrounding Resusci Anne; an unidentified drowned girl, considered to be the 'world's most beautiful dead girl' and whose face was used to create the first CPR training dummies.

The show finds Holly and Raina as they search for their friend Anne in the club of dead women, unsure how they arrived there and desperate for a resolution. Haunted by famous dead women; Joan of Arc, Ophelia and Elizabeth Taylor, the two grapple with pop culture and their pasts in an attempt to resuscitate the truth behind their best friend's death. With banjo-based comaraderie from the wonderful Gael Showler, Resusci Anne (and the Personal Displays of Affection) swims the line of gig-theatre, folk-tale, sea-shanty and long form spoken word. Beware the vague and wet graffiti! Beware the loss that threatens to fall on your head!

Featuring a poetry performance from Taran Spalding-Jenkin
The evening will be opened by the impeccable Taran Spalding-Jenkin. Taran is a native Kernewek speaking poet, performer, and translator with a background in drama and folk tradition. Their work explores the spaces between identities, disability, queerness, and hireth – the longing for a lost home or one which has never existed. Taran has been awarded the Awen medal for creativity and in 2024 became a bard of Gorsedh Kernow for their contributions to Cornish poetry. Their debut pamphlet Health Hireth is out now with Broken Sleep Books.