PRESS RELEASE
14th January 2014
Victoria Melody and Farnham Maltings present:
THEATRE
Major Tom
The true story of how Victoria became a beauty queen and her Bassett Hound (Major Tom) became
a champion show dog, reflecting the British fascination with celebrity, beauty and winning
*Nominated* Total Theatre Awards 2013
*Nominated* Arches Brick Award 2013
Created by Victoria Melody
Performed by Victoria Melody and Major Tom
National Tour 10th March to 20th June 2014
PRESS PERFORMANCES: Monday 10th & Tuesday 11th March at BAC
“A truly winning comedy, I laughed till I cried.” ★★★★★ Donald Hutera, The Times
Performer and artist Victoria Melody entered Mrs Galaxy UK (the “married” version of Miss UK) to explore her own
prize-winning potential after becoming inspired by the struggles of her Bassett Hound (Major Tom), a star of the
amateur dog show circuit, but widely criticised once in the professional realm. She spent the last year appearing as
“Mrs Brighton”, after winning her regional round, and has undertaken a wide range of public appearances as a
beauty queen, documented through film and video in the show. An artistic experiment that took over Victoria’s life as
she delved further into an obsessive and confusing realm of personal scrutiny, Major Tom questions the seductive
power of beautification, celebrity and competition.
When Major Tom graduated from the amateur to professional dog show circuit, he kept coming last: the judges
would never take his personality into account, only interested in his looks, from his ears, to his colour, and even the
size of his ribcage. While he wasn’t perfect, (a bit smelly, perhaps, and with a voracious sexual appetite for
Greyhounds) Victoria felt guilty that “Major Walking Prozac” was being subjected to such criticism. If Major was being
scrutinised, Victoria believed she should be too, and so she stared to enter beauty pageants.
Victoria documented her year through film and photography and the performance has a strong multi-media element.
Victoria’s eccentric, ethnographic approach to making performances finds Victoria immersing herself in other
people’s worlds, Victoria examines national characteristics, focusing on the extraordinary in the everyday.
Victoria Melody said “I create the material for my shows by becoming an active participant in other people’s subcultures. Audiences re-live mine and my dog’s experiences, as we become in this case a beauty queen and a
champion show dog. I believe art is for everyone, the audience is at the heart of the work and that is why I have tried
my hardest to create a piece of theatre that not only appeals to the most ardent art critic or political activist, but also
to people who are just up for a laugh or to people who are intimidated and skeptical about art like my Nan.”
Victoria Melody is a British artist with a background in fine art. She makes one-woman theatrical shows,
performance interventions and films mainly about England’s pastimes, passions and tribes. Fascinated by
anthropology, she immerses herself into communities and becomes an active participant in their rituals as research
for her work. Aside from her work as a beauty queen and championship dog handler, she has also been become a
pigeon racer and northern soul dancer. She is currently tracing her human hair extensions back to the humans who
grew them.
www.victoriamelody.com.uk | http://vimeo.com/victoriamelody | @victoriamelody
Press Contact: Dan or Emma at Mobius 020 3195 6269 | dan@mobiusindustries.com or emma@mobiusindustries.com
Running Time: 65 minutes | Suitable for Ages: 14+
Company Information
Created and performed
Designer
Victoria Melody
Victoria Melody
Dramaturg
Lighting Design
Paul Hodson
Greg Mickelborough
Commissioned and produced by Farnham Maltings
Developed at BAC, MAKE Ireland and Nightingale Theatre
Supported by Arts Council England, Harlow Theatre and Escalator East to Edinburgh
Victoria Melody is produced by Farnham Maltings. Farnham Maltings supports, collaborates with and invests
in artists to make new theatre and reach new audiences.
Listings Information
10th to 15th March
Battersea Arts Centre
Lavender Hill, SW11 5TN
www.bac.org.uk | 020 7223 2223
7.30pm, £12 (£9 concs.)
18th March
Wales Millennium Centre
Bute Pl, Cardiff Bay CF10 5AL
www.wmc.org.uk | 029 2063 6464
8pm, £12 (£8 concs.)
20th March
Contact, Manchester
Oxford Rd, Manchester, Lancashire M15 6JA
www.contactmcr.com | 0161 274 0600
8pm, £11 (£6 concs.)
21st to 22nd March
Guildhall, Gloucester
23 Eastgate St, Gloucester GL1 1NS
Strikealightfestival.org.uk
7.30pm, £7
24th March
Hunt Theatre, Essex
Felsted, Dunmow, Essex CM6 3LL
www.felsted.org/events | 01371 822 619
7.30pm, £15
28th March
The Club House Community Centre, Hull
The Clubhouse, Elm Avenue HU8 8PZ
Headsupfestival.org.uk
8pm, £8 (£6 concs.)
11th April
St. Georges Theatre, Great Yarmouth
Kings Street, Great Yarmouth. Norfolk, NR30 2PG
Seachangearts.org.uk
8pm, prices TBC
Press Contact: Dan or Emma at Mobius 020 3195 6269 | dan@mobiusindustries.com or emma@mobiusindustries.com
16th April
Norwich Arts Centre
51 St Benedicts St, Norwich NR2 4PG
www.norwichartscentre.co.uk | 01603 660352
8pm prices TBC
19th April
Tom Thumb Theatre, Margate
2A Eastern Esplanade, Margate CT9 2LB
www.loopingtheloopfestival.org.uk
7.30pm prices TBC
20th April
Looping the Loop Festival, Thanet
Broadstairs Pavillion TBC
www.loopingtheloopfestival.org.uk
7.30pm prices TBC
21st April
King’s Theatre, Ramsgate
Kings Pl, King Street, Ramsgate, Kent CT11 8NN
www.loopingtheloopfestival.org.uk
7.30pm prices TBC
4th to 5th May
Torbay, TBC
www.doorsteparts.co.uk/theatre
Times TBC, prices TBC
9th May
Canada Water Culture Space
Canada Water Library
21 Surrey Quays Road, London SE16 7AR
www.canadawaterculturespace.org.uk | 020 8692 4446
7.30pm, £12 (£10 concs.)
12th May
TOM, The Old Market, Brighton
11A Upper Market St, Brighton, East Sussex BN3 1AS
www.theoldmarket.com | 01273 201801
7.30pm, £12 (£10 concs.)
18th May
Jabberwocky Market, Darlington
Jabberwockymarket.com
Times TBC prices TBC
31st May
The Tolmen Centre, Falmouth
Tolmen Centre, Fore Street
Constantine TR11 5AA
www.constantinecornwall.com | 01326 341353
7.30pm, £8 (£6 concs.)
Press Contact: Dan or Emma at Mobius 020 3195 6269 | dan@mobiusindustries.com or emma@mobiusindustries.com
2nd June
Phoenix Theatre, Exeter
Gandy St, Exeter, Devon EX4 3LS
www.exeterphoenix.org.uk | 01392 667080
Times TBC, £7
20th June
Pamphilon Theatre, Uckfield
Uckfield Community Technology College, Downsview Crescent, Uckfield
East Sussex TN22 3DJ
www.uctc.org.uk | 01273 782866
7.30pm, £10 (£5 concs.)
/ENDS
Press Contact: Dan or Emma at Mobius 020 3195 6269 | dan@mobiusindustries.com or emma@mobiusindustries.com