Chris Channing (born 14 April 1962) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

performer, designer and director of theatre, physical-theatre and of theatrically styled dance-based events. He has been based in Britain, France and Italy.

Early life

Channing was born in Preston,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, and grew up on the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...

coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. At age 13 he became a resident student at the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

. His direct contemporaries at the school included

Alessandra Ferri Alessandra Ferri OMRI (born 6 May 1963) is an Italian prima ballerina. She danced with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007) and as an international guest artist, before t ...

and Jonathan Cope, choreographers Michael Clark and

Russell Maliphant Russell Maliphant (born 1961 in Canada) is a British choreographer. He grew up in Cheltenham and trained at the Royal Ballet School and graduated into Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet before leaving to pursue a career in independent dance. As a perf ...

, actress Caroline O'Connor, director of the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

Kevin O'Hare Kevin O'Hare (born 14 September 1965) is a British retired ballet dancer and current Director of The Royal Ballet. He succeeded Monica Mason in the role in 2012. Early life O’Hare was born in Kingston upon Hull to Northern Irish parents, Mich ...

, and academic

Deborah Bull Deborah Bull, Baroness Bull, CBE (born 22 March 1963) is an English dancer, writer, and broadcaster and former creative director of the Royal Opera House. She joined King's College London as Director, Cultural Partnerships in 2012. In 2015 she ...

. He graduated in 1980, aged 18.

Biography

UK

In 1980 he joined the

Northern Ballet Theatre Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The company ...

. Under artistic director,

Robert de Warren Robert de Warren (born 1933) is a British former ballet dancer, choreographer. He was the foundering director of the ''National Folklore Society of Iran'' (1971–1976). He served as the artistic director of Northern Ballet in England for 11 years, ...

, and choreographers,

André Prokovsky André Prokovsky (13 January 1939 – 15 August 2009) was a Franco-Russian ballet dancer, choreographer, and company director. Admired as a bravura performer and an innovative choreographer, he had a varied career that was broadly international in ...

, Geoffrey Cauley, Michael Pink and

Christopher Gable Christopher Michael Gable, CBE (13 March 194023 October 1998) was an English ballet dancer, choreographer and actor. Life and career Dance career Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal Ba ...

, he danced in the

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...

and as a soloist until the end of the summer 1984. After leaving the Northern Ballet Theatre, Channing worked as a freelance commercial dancer in feature films, live events and television with choreographers

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

, David Taguri and Gillian Gregory. He later worked as an actor, choreographer and stage designer at important region theatres including the Liverpool Everyman, York Theatre Royal, The Contact Theatre in Manchester, The Manchester International Festival of Expressionism, and the Dundee Rep Company and in fringe, community and prison based work. During the academic year 1990/1991 he attended the

Blackpool and The Fylde College Blackpool and The Fylde College (B&FC) is a further and higher education college in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Facilities include four main campuses located across the Fylde Coast, all of which have recently undergone or are currently unde ...

Lytham St Annes Lytham St Annes () is a seaside town in the Borough of Fylde in Lancashire, England. It is on the The Fylde, Fylde coast, directly south of Blackpool on the Ribble Estuary. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 42,954 ...

and completed the

General National Vocational Qualification A General National Vocational Qualification, or GNVQ, was a certificate of vocational education in the United Kingdom. The last GNVQs were awarded in 2007. The qualifications related to occupational areas in general, rather than any specific ...

Teacher/Training Qualification: Certificate in Counselling Skills in the Development of Learning.

Paris

In autumn 1992 Channing moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to study at

L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq École internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq is a school of physical theatre located on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. Founded in 1956 by Jacques Lecoq, the school offers a professional and intensive two-ye ...

, at

École Philippe Gaulier Philippe Gaulier (born in Paris, 4 March 1943) is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a prestigious French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lec ...

and with

Ariane Mnouchkine Ariane Mnouchkine (; born 3 March 1939) is a French stage director. She founded the Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble ''Théâtre du Soleil'' in 1964. She wrote and directed ''1789'' (1974) and ''Molière'' (1978), and directed ''La Nuit Mirac ...

Théâtre du Soleil Le Théâtre du Soleil (, "The Theater of the Sun") is a Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble founded by Ariane Mnouchkine, Philippe Léotard and fellow students of the '' L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq'' in 1964 as a collecti ...

. He appeared in, and created numbers & shows for the theatre/variety shows at 'Piano dans la Cuisine' and 'Scaramouche'. He worked in close collaboration with Philippe Planquois, the artistic director of cabaret-restaurant 'Chez Madame Arthur' on numbers and production ideas both within the '

Madame Arthur Madame Arthur is a drag cabaret venue in the Rue des Martyrs, 18th arrondissement of Paris. It is named after the synonymous song. History Madame Arthur opened in 1946 as the first transvestite cabaret, which took its name from the famous song ...

' shows and for outside events. During his time in Paris he started to work as an independent performer producing his own work.

Italy

Channing moved to

Castelvetro di Modena Castelvetro di Modena ( Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about south of Modena. Geography The municipality borders with Castel ...

, Emiia Romagna, Italy in Autumn 1994 and was based there until 2017. He directs and devises physical-theatre shows and performances in the worlds of theatre, performance, recital, circus, fine arts, corporate events and arts-festivals. He writes theatre scripts and adaptations and translates opera and pop songs. As artistic director or event consultant he has taken performance teams to Africa, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Croatia, France and Austria. He was the artistic director and curator of six editions of the 'International Biennale of the Absurd', including 'The International Competition for the Arts in Absurdity'. For ten years he specialised in 'Living Paintings' as performance art and theatre. With the 'Living Paintings' performances he was also a guest on some 50 television programmes. He is master of ceremonies (and staging collaborator) annually at Il Ballo del Doge (The Doge's Ball) in Venice. He was master of ceremonies at the 70th birthday party of tenor

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

. Channing was defined by critic and curator Alberto Masoni as "...One of the artists who manages best to blend or fuse the artistic experiences of theatre, mime, music and visual arts".

Schools and training

Theatre: UK & France

*Royal Ballet School, London, 1975 - 1980. Age 13 - 18 *L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq, Paris, 1992- 1993. Age 30 - 31 *École Philippe Gaulier, London, 1993 - 1994. Age 31 -32 *Théâtre du Soleil with Ariane Mnouchkine, closed workshop. August-November 1994.

Non theatre

Blackpool and The Fylde College, 1990/1991. GNVQ Teacher/Training Qualification:
"Certificate in Counselling Skills in the Development of Learning", covering among other practices: *Carl Rogers: Person Centred Therapy *Fritz Perls: Gestalt Therapy *Albert Ellis: Rational Emotive Therapy *Eric Berne: Transactional Analysis *George Kelly: Personal Constructs

UK theatre performer

* Northern Ballet Theatre **''Paradise Lost''. Choreographer Geoffrey Cauley. Role: Serpent / Nuba Tribesman. **''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. Choreographers Robert de Warren and Geoffrey Cauley. Role:

Francis Flute Francis Flute is a character in William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. His occupation is a bellows-mender. He is forced to play the female role of Thisbe in "Pyramus and Thisbe", a play-within-the-play which is performed for Theseu ...

Thisbe Pyramus and Thisbe are a pair of ill-fated lovers whose story forms part of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses''. The story has since been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe are two lovers in the city of Babylon who occupy connected houses. Their ...

. * Italian Tour with a British cast (

Clive Carter Clive Carter is a British actor and singer, best known for his role of "Claude Elliott and others" in the original London cast of ''Come From Away'', for which he received an Olivier Award nomination. He studied at London Academy of Music and Dra ...

Anita Dobson Anita Dobson (born 29 April 1949) is an English stage, film and television actress, and singer. She is best known for her role from 1985 to 1988 as Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 1986, she reached number four in the UK Sing ...

David Cardy David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

Martin Duncan Martin David Anson Duncan (born 12 July 1948) is an English director, actor, composer, and choreographer. Duncan was artistic director of the Nottingham Playhouse from 1994 to 1999 and joint artistic director of the Chichester Festival Theatre f ...

). Dir Hugh Wooldridge **''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...

''. 1984. Understudy Frank'n'furter, Riff Raff & Brad Majors * UK tour **''

''. 1984-5. Role: Riff Raff. * London fringe **''Leonardo the Musical''. 1984. Role:

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

. *

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to offer ...

**''James and the Giant Peach'' by

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

. Musical by Herbert Chappell. Directors Andrew McKinnon and

Tim Supple Timothy Supple (born 24 September 1962) is a British born, award-winning international theatre director. He is the son of the academic Barry Supple. Career Supple has directed and adapted theatre in London and the UK as well as across the world ...

. Musical director Charles Miller. 1985. Role: The Centipede. **''

Stags and Hens ''Stags and Hens'' is a play written by Willy Russell. Like most of Willy Russell's work, the play discusses working class society in England in the 1970s. It makes comments about the working class' intellect, life, party habits and the exclusio ...

'' by

Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1946) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are ''Educating Rita'', ''Shirley Valentine'', '' Blood Brothers'' and ''Our Day Out''. Early life Russell was born in Whiston, Lancash ...

. Director Ian Forrest. *

Dundee Repertory Theatre Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house - staging at least six of its own productions each year, and a receiving house ...

. August 1985 to March 1987. **''Annie''. Director Robert Robertson. Role: Rooster **''Sailor Beware''. Director

Alan Lyddiard Alan Lyddiard (born Michael Hadland Kent; 1949 in London) is a theatre and film director, best known as an advocate of community arts and the ensemble theatre model in the UK. Lyddiard was Artistic Director of Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne ...

. Role: Daphne Pink. This all-male production was set on a British Army base during the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

of 1956. **''

Moby Dick—Rehearsed ''Moby Dick'' (sometimes referred to as ''Moby Dick—Rehearsed'') is a two-act drama by Orson Welles. The play was staged June 16–July 9, 1955, at the Duke of York's Theatre in London, in a production directed by Welles. The original cast inc ...

''. A two-act drama by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. Director Alan Lyddiard. Role: Quee Queg. **''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

''. Director Robert Robertson. Role: Blind Pew. **''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music ...

''. Director/Designer Neil Murray.Neil Murray
/ref> **''

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" ( da, Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'' (''Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samli ...

''. Director/Designer Neil Murray. Adapted by Stuart Paterson. Role: title role.

UK theatre design

Designer of set, costume and lighting. * Cracked Actors Company. 'Rule 43' by Kevin Fegan. Two British theatre tours and a tour of 25 prisons. 1989. * Liverpool Everyman Theatre at the Unity. ''Hard Times'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. Director

Noreen Kershaw Noreen Kershaw is an English television actress and director. She trained at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre and, at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre, originated the title role of the play '' Shirley Valentine'', later made famous by ...

. 1991 * Liverpool Everyman. Example, a play about the crime and hanging of the teenager

Derek Bentley Derek William Bentley (30 June 1933 – 28 January 1953) was a British man who was hanged for the murder of a policeman during a burglary attempt. Christopher Craig, then aged 16, a friend and accomplice of Bentley, was accused of the murde ...

. 1991< * Manchester Green Room/Lancaster Literary Festival. ''Dorothy Parker. Tiptoe through the Tombstones'' by Richard Gallagher. 1991 * Manchester Green Room. '' Not About Heroes'' by Stephen MacDonald. A play about World War I poets

Siegfried Sassoon Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...

and

Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced b ...

at Craiglockhart Hospital.

UK other arts work

Liverpool 2008

DaDaFest DaDaFest is a disability arts organisation based in Liverpool, UK. It delivers an international, biennial festival and organises other events to promote disability and deaf arts from a variety of cultural perspectives. Alongside the festival and e ...

in Liverpool City of Culture. Channing conceived and directed Horizontal Heroines: Sleep, Death and Madness in Opera, Poetry and Popular Music. Themed recital. Soprano/performer Denise Leigh. Accordion/piano Stefano Andrusyschyn. Manchester 1992 He was a venue designer for the 'Manchester International Festival of Expressionism'.

Work in France

He devised a theatrical combination of dance and enigmatic mime for small restaurant cabaret-theatres such as, 'Piano dans La Cuisine ', 'Scaramouche ' and 'Chez Madame Arthur', the historic dinner-show painted by Toulouse-Lautrec and frequented by Jane Avril, which was under the artistic direction of Philippe Planquois. He staged Planquois' fashion collection catwalks at various events and together they worked on concepts and numbers for Planquois' himself who in turn made new numbers for Channing’s own cabaret acts. The late Philippe Planquois was the basis for Charles Aznavour's song "What Makes a Man/Comme ils disent". A street performance as the Mona Lisa, performed by the steps of the Musée d'Orsay was the inspiration for a series of 10 different Living Paintings he created for festivals, galleries and private entertainments after moving to Italy. It also financed his flat near the Marais and gave him the stability he needed to move to Italy.

Italy performances

*Living paintings performances **

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

- Mona Lisa **

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

- A

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

, the performance compiles various elements of V. Gogh's self-portraits from 1887/8 and uses '

The Starry Night ''The Starry Night'' ( nl, De sterrennacht) is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Painted in June 1889, it depicts the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rémy-de-Prove ...

' 1889 as a background. ** Vincent van Gogh - Portrait of the postman of Arles, Monsieur Roulin **

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

- Au Lapin Agile (At the Lapin Agile) ** Leonardo da Vinci -

Lady with an Ermine The ''Lady with an Ermine'' ; pl, Dama z gronostajem). It is sometimes known as the ''Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani'', the ''Portrait of an Unknown Woman'', the ''Lady with a Ferret'', or the ''Lady with a Marten''., group=n is a portrait pain ...

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bounda ...

The Son of Man ''The Son of Man'' (french: Le fils de l'homme) is a 1964 painting by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte. It is perhaps his best-known artwork. Magritte painted it as a self-portrait. The painting consists of a man in an overcoat and ...

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

- Portrait of a Man, in the

cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

style explored and developed by Braque and Picasso during the 1910s **

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

- Green Stripe (Portrait of Madame Matisse) **

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

(Michelangelo Merisi) -

Young Sick Bacchus The ''Young Sick Bacchus'' ( it, Bacchino Malato), also known as the ''Sick Bacchus'' or the ''Self-Portrait as Bacchus'', is an early self-portrait by the Baroque artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, dated between 1593 and 1594. It now han ...

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the ...

- The Englishman at the Moulin Rouge, a portrait of William T. Warrener, the English painter The Matisse, Caravaggio and Toulouse Lautrec performances were all created as commissions for

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

television.
The Leonardo 'Lady with Ermine' was commissioned by actress Ottavia Piccolo as a parlour performance on her birthday. These performances were seen, in their pure form or adapted for clients or atmosphere, at private parlour events, at corporate events (BMW, Selfridges, Samsonite, Rolex, Agent Provocateur) in seminar/educational settings and gala evenings, in galleries and museums and as television guests:
Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science, Milan, The Uffizi Galleries, Florence, United Nations Climate Summit, Milan, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, The Verona Arena (Private party for Zeffirelli), Castle Ambrass, Innsbruck (Portrait exhibition opening), Dress Circle book-shop, London (Book press-launch), Louvre Museum, Paris (Art prize prize-giving). And at arts festivals in Croatia, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, Sicily.

Performances. character pieces

**Faun - a self-contained performance based on the 'exhibition 'and explanation of a rare beast. **The Guardian Angel - a figure high with a wingspan, made from white cotton rags. **Medieval Beggar - a performance of physical and vocal comedy based on the dancing grotesques in the paintings of Bosch and Bruegel.

Installations, one-off performances and commissions

*No Flying Tonight - performance commissioned by Breza Festival,

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Installation. The performer is placed within a tightly woven white elastic net . Each corner is anchored to a taut elastic rope tied-off above the level of the performer's head. Inside the net the performer is naked but for a small and ragged pair of fairy wings tied to his shoulders with broad dirty elastics; his eyes and armpits are smudged in red. The danced captivity alternates between submission and fight, resulting in the elastic ropes and the net become tighter, higher, more confining and more sculptural. *If I Want to Drown That's My Business - installation. A man underwater held upright by a giant jellyfish. The performer's upper body, wearing just an Elizabethan neck-ruff, emerges from the centre of collaged seascape suspended from elastic rope. The performance is marked by the continuous tears of the drowned man. *Untitled (Silence of the Lambs) - a performance based on the Jame 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb character in the novel '' Silence of the Lambs'' who is making himself a "lady-suit". Hanging above the performer is a washing line on which are pegged pieces of skin from various body parts, all made of latex (breasts, buttocks, genitalia or both sexes, stomach, scalp, face and generalised squares of skin). There is a full length mirror and hundreds of pieces of white sticking plaster. The performance consists of trying out the body parts in various combinations and not strictly in anatomically correct positioning. Between trials the parts are all removed but the sticking plaster always remains. *Observation Tank - a commission from Diego della Palma for the international cosmetics trade fair,

CosmoProf Cosmoprof is a series of beauty and cosmetics trade shows that occur in locations around the world. The flagship event in Bologna has been in existence since 1967 and draws 2,300 exhibitors from seventy countries and more than 170,000 visitors. F ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. Three naked performers in a glass enclosure, , with tree trunks stripped of their bark to reveal, in the wood the tracks of parasitical insects. *Aphonic - an interactive performance made for the opening of a photographic exhibition of work by Sergio Smerieri in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and repeated for 'Poesia Festival',

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

2010. Channing stands on a slowly revolving plinth and is naked but for a pair of 1950s Y-front underwear. The guests at the gallery use coloured marker pens to draw and write on the head, body and underwear of the performer. *

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...

- performance commissioned by the Benozzo Gozzoli Museum, Castelfiorentino,

Province of Florence The province of Florence ( it, provincia di Firenze) was a province in the northeast of Tuscany region of Italy. The city or ''comune'' of Florence was both the capital of the Province of Florence, and of the Region of Tuscany. It had an area of ...

. A living sinopia placed in a Gozzoli Tabernacle and reliving the emotions of his life story over the course of a day.

Italian theatre

As performer / director / designer

*The Little Withinsight House (original title: Tectus ad Spectrum) - contemporary theatre. A four-sided structure. An installation. A 'hut' containing a live performance in interaction with a hand-made film. Miniatures are projected as human size. There are flames, puppets, drawings, tears (rips), etc. and Channing himself appears filmed in miniature or in gigantic proportions in interaction with his live self. The performance is viewed through holes in three of the hut's walls. Each viewing hole is in the centre of a small autobiographical or historical element (a photograph, a letter, an object or a toy) specific to the performer. The film and its accompanying live interaction trace autobiographical themes. *Mona Lisa in Delirium Totus - theatre show. The creation, life, death and triumphal return of a cultural monster. Freely inspired by the myth of

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

and

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

's ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

''. An ironic discourse on the lack of, and search for, an identity in the space made by an excess of the same. The piece traces the story of high and popular art. *Italy for Beginners - a theatre show made in collaboration with Francesco Bifano of Slava's Snow Show. A clown duo - one intellectual and one stupid – an historian and his assistant explaining Italy, its history and its connections with the new world. The show uses puppets, quick change, masks, music, and interrupted exposition. Episodes include:

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

and the

Queen of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

and immigration,

’O sole mio "O sole mio" () is a well-known Neapolitan song written in 1898. Its Neapolitan language lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro and the music was composed by Eduardo di Capua (1865–1917) and Alfredo Mazzucchi (1878–1972).. The title transl ...

and

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and

tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...

, the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

and

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

, the

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

and

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. *Something like a Life - theatre show. A life danced in 15 minutes. The performer emerges from a suspended cotton sack wearing leather shoes, a business suit, a shirt and a tie. The clothes are completely cutaway all around the body between the chest and hips revealing a pink surgical corset.

As director / choreographer / designer

*MeRememberMe / MiRicordandoMi - created for the physical performer Patrizia Marcato. A show in which the fictional former Paris variety star, Victoria MaBel, comes upon her old acrobatic-dance apparatus (a fixed hoop) under a dust sheet and relives several of her successful numbers. *Spettri dell'animo (Shadows in the Soul) - from the novel ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'' by

. Adapted, designed and directed by Chris Channing for a company of ten actors. Staged in the disused Church of St Frances in

San Giovanni in Persiceto San Giovanni in Persiceto (from 1912 to 1927: ''Persiceto''; Western Bolognese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, northern Italy. Located in the northern part of the Metropolitan City, bordering with the provinc ...

, Bologna. From Christmas Eve to the 31 December at midnight every night. The show is a promenade production following

Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghost of ...

(and his bed) around the empty building. *Healing Hearts - the Balcony Scene from

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

with additional texts by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

, Cecco Angiolieri and other 13th century vulgarians. Set in a psychiatric hospital. Romeo is ill. Juliet is his therapist. She and a chorus of ghosts from his past, represented as pregnant and baby cradling nurses, take him through his first day of treatment. * Babar the Little Elephant by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

. For the Arena del Sole, Bologna. Narrator - Alessandro Bergonzoni. Chris Channing - stage director and lighting design (Orchestral players all individually lit). Aikoros Orchestra / Maestro Fabio Marco Brunelli. *Memories and Obsessions - a dance-theatre piece using ten performers: five dancers and five actresses. Direction, choreography and design by Chris Channing. Original music score by Andrea Montalbano. The piece uses dance, mime and vocal and physical acting as well as recorded speech and soundscapes to create a collage of images and atmospheres. It is based on archive records and photographs of the hysterics, "mad women" and women committed for "social reasons" to mental asylums and similar institutions during the 18th and 19th centuries. Performed originally in a sunken pit of a stage surrounded on all sides by the audience. *One Long Scandal (The Music of Revolution). The Story of Rock 'n' Roll. A theatre show performed by 30 young adults between the ages of 16 and 30. Devised and written on a commission from ten collaborating town councils. The story of rock 'n' roll… Really the story of the development of popular music from the point of view of the scandal created by each music style and associated dance craze: from the waltz through to psychedelic rock, via the can-can/ ragtime/ jazz/ blues/ country and western/ rock 'n' roll/ progressive rock. Characters include a master of ceremonies/narrator, 'rock' himself, a poet, the guardian of moral values. A six piece band, vocal soloists, backing singers and a dancing / mime chorus.

Collaborations

*Matteo Bianchi - contemporary Italian poet. Chris Channing has ''translated two volumes'' of his work.La Poesia italiana del Secondo Novecento - The Italian Poetry of the second half of the 20th century - Matteo Bianchi
/ref> *Giardino Barocco (Baroque Garden) - Chris Channing is ''artistic director and creator of the concept'' behind Henry White's white-effect, period costume, performance project. *Moonlight Invasion (Invasioni Lunari) by Francesca Krnjak. Chris Channing collaborated on the realisation of this project ''creating choreography, the make-up design and costume designs'' *The Doge's Ball, properly called, 'Il Ballo del Doge'. Proprietor and creator: Antonia Sautter. Chris Channing is ''Master of Ceremonies, and sometime staging collaborator'', at this annual Venice event and at other regular Venetian events under the same banner.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Channing, Chris 1962 births Living people English theatre directors Entertainers from Preston, Lancashire L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq alumni