Calvin & A Series of Events sees Calvin Z Laing present four new filmed works - Calvin & Karaoke, Calvin & Lockdown (second in Scotland) Shop, Calvin & Cat Pee and finally Calvin & Sauna - written during lockdown and performed in and around spaces at Tramway. In the same manner as TV soap scheduling, each performance will be broadcast once during the week, followed by the entire omnibus on Saturday 29 May. 

Where Calvin & Karaoke explores the cathartic experience of performance solely for the self, Calvin & Lockdown (second in Scotland) Shop considers more public displays of class and consumption. Calvin & Cat Pee focusses on overcoming personal challenges and how human connection can bring relief, while Calvin & Sauna recalls an encounter that raised questions around preconceived ideas about culture, etiquette and performative masculinity.  

Humour, anxiety and emotive storytelling come together in Calvin & A Series of Events in a work that creates a unique tension between the heightened dramatics of performance and the prosaic, everyday nature of the content.  

Calvin Z Laing (b.1988, Scotland) is a performance artist currently living and working in Scotland. Recent performances include Calvin & Jogging, Edinburgh Art Festival, 2020, Calvin & Geppetto, Twitch TV, Scotland, 2020, Calvin & Ancient Times, A-DASH, Athens, 2018 and Calvin & Breakfast, Austrian Cultural Forum, London, 2019. He has lectured at Kingston School of Art, Edinburgh College and Edinburgh College of Art. Calvin graduated from Sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art (2011).

Polly Wright | Producer
Jen Martin | Filmmaker and Grade
Robert Newth | Sound
Alex Johnston | Composer
Dave Morris | Lighting Design
Madeleine Virginia Brown | Makeup Artist
Lois Blamire | Stylist
Catherine Mosley | Jewellery
Juliana Capes | Audio Description
AB Silvera | Captioning

Thanks to Dean Browning, Sam Burnley, Collective Text, Hidden Gardens, Juliana Capes, Amy Lawrence, Paul Sorley, all at Tramway and Take Me Somewhere for making this production possible. 

Special thanks to John Bryden, Emma Clifton, Jennifer Dick, Seán Elder, Silvana Laing, Beth Lukockyj and Molly McAlister for all your support.

Photo: Christopher Espinosa Fernandez

A TRAMWAY PERFORMANCE NOW commission.