Haircuts By Children
An exercise in trust and in recalibrating expectations of what children are capable of, this show is exactly what it sounds like. Audience-participants put themselves and their hair into the hands of young hairstylists.
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Production Credits
Created and directed by: Darren O'Donnell (Mammalian Diving Reflex) Cast: Local children from ages eight to twelve Production History
Premiered at Harbourfront Centre (Toronto, Ontario) 2006. The show has toured extensively, being performed dozens of times on four continents.
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Photo credit: Mammalian Diving Reflex. Photo source: mammalian.ca
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Read more in PLAY: Dramaturgies of Participation: FOOT WASHING, ILINX
Press
"The show has commandeered barber shops on three continents, mesmerizing audiences and media wherever it goes. The deeper thrill is in the carnivalesque reversal of power, and the rare, almost taboo encounter between a child and a grown-up who isn’t their teacher or relative." - Carl Wilson, Toronto Life (2008)
"Haircuts by Children is something “radical” and goes to the heart of assumptions we hold about performance and about art. The performance takes adults back to their own memories of when they were children, when they were respected, and when they weren’t." - Norman Armour, CBC (2008)
“What’s the best that can happen?” Well, besides a good (free!) haircut, the performance will have provided a space where children and adults can share a creative experience. To boot, it’s a chance for a child to be treated as a competent, trusted individual—perhaps for the first time." - Colin Way, Calgary Herald (2016)
"Haircuts by Children is something “radical” and goes to the heart of assumptions we hold about performance and about art. The performance takes adults back to their own memories of when they were children, when they were respected, and when they weren’t." - Norman Armour, CBC (2008)
“What’s the best that can happen?” Well, besides a good (free!) haircut, the performance will have provided a space where children and adults can share a creative experience. To boot, it’s a chance for a child to be treated as a competent, trusted individual—perhaps for the first time." - Colin Way, Calgary Herald (2016)
Articles
Darren O’Donnell, Haircuts by Children and Other Evidence for a New Social Contract (Coach House, 2018).
Photo source: mammalian.ca
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Photo source: mammalian.ca
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