Glass Knickers was developed as part of the Exchange for Change programme and was presented on the Festival Day, 24 June 2010.

A note from the Director:

How girls view boys and boys view girls is sometimes surprisingly stark and direct. This seemed like a good place for us to start our creative exploration. After some very long discussions and hilarious moments sharing each others’ artform, we decided to test the waters at our first encounter at George Green’s School by exploring stereotypes and asking what an ideal boy or girl might be. Using improvisation, the young people’s focus swiftly moved past good pecs and wash-board stomachs, to the objectification of the female as simply someone to have sex with and discard. As Conrad rapped in response – ‘Mans say I’m sexist cos I’ll make an entrance, exit, and conquer the next bitch before she jumps on a next dick’. This did not faze the young people at all, but fired them and us – our journey had begun. By the end of our next session, we had focused the story down to two men – best friends who start to realise that they have divergent views about how to treat women, especially when one of their sisters becomes the focus of attention – ‘she’s pure, she ain’t with them hoes’. For our ensemble, it had been very much a process of trying and seeing what happened – as new animation darted across the screen, an improvised dance was choreographically honed, some text poured from a pen and beats were composed. For a group of artists who had not worked together before, it was one heck of an adventure.