London Grilling: Tassos Stevens and Marie Klimis from CONEY.
This October a spectacular free event will transform The City of London’s streets with a huge programme of theatre, games, and performance. It will feature over 100 performers, with family-friendly highlights including a mass treasure hunt, 16 doors into a ‘maze’ of adventures, three carnival-inspired fairs, and creative street theatre.
A line-up of landmark Square Mile public spaces and iconic sites will be included in the programme, alongside secret hideaways, and subterranean adventures in the historic heart of the capital. It is the first major event planned by the City of London Corporation under its new flagship Destination City programme.
This magical London experience has been pioneered by BAFTA award-winning arts and heritage charity CONEY in collaboration with The City of London Corporation, which is the governing body of the Square Mile.
CONEY are a collection of makers creating interactive theatre, games and adventures where people can choose to take a meaningful part. Their mission is to spark change through play and their work takes place in theatres, schools, museums, on the streets and online.
London Living were lucky enough to chat to two of the creative minds from Coney; Tassos Stevens, Director and JCEO, and Marie Klimis, Senior Producer
Tell us a bit about yourselves; where are you from, what you do, and what led you into your current role at Coney?
Marie:
I'm Marie. I'm originally from Belgium and I'm a producer specialising in site specific immersive work, taking theatre to all kinds of weird and wonderful places. What led to involvement with Coney? I was just very, very excited about the diversity of the work that Coney does. But also there is something about the principle of loveliness, which is at the heart of Coney. This really drew me to it. So was a was a beautiful encounter.
Tassos:
So my name's Tassos and I'm originally from the north and I'm director of Coney and then a maker often, but not always, on the pieces that we make. I'm probably the closest to a founder. Although the origins are slightly shrouded in mystery.
Tell us about Coney; the purpose and mission of the company and the service it provides.
Tassos:
We make all kinds of Play. Anything people can take part in, in play, whether that's theatre of an interactive, immersive participatory kind, or games or adventures. We always like to try to spark change and follow our principles of adventure, curiosity, and loveliness. Everything is very open to people, nothing forces you to play in a particular way, it's always up to you how you choose to play and we make all different kinds of work. Sometimes in London, sometimes beyond.
Where was the first ever London Coney event?
Tassos:
Our first ever immersive event in London was 17 years ago. The audience received letters, which 10 days later led them on an adventure, which started in a theatre and culminated in the Guildhall yard. So there’s a lovely serendipity that we are now here again centering our work around the Guildhall and other places around there. This one was completely under the radar though. The Guildhall didn't know that it was happening. It's a little bit different to be invited in!
The Square Mile programme is a huge deal, set to put London back on the map as a world-leading, vibrant leisure destination. How did Coney come to be the lead producer of this amazing initiative?
Marie:
So we were approached by The City Of London Corporation to develop an event that would explore the secrets of the city and the city as a space. We are based in Tower Hamlets, so we are neighbours and we have worked in the city. It's a very mysterious and elusive place that people don't know very well, so we were very excited. So yeah, we got on board to explore the diversity of the secrets of the city.
With over 100 performers involved in the Square Mile event, who is your absolute favourite?
Marie:
I think it's just very hard to say, because I think one of the things that makes the event very exciting is not one individual performer. It's the fact that there are so many and they are all so different and they are across the square mile. So I would really struggle to pick one and also we want to make it a surprise. You'll have to come and see!
Tassos:
I'll do a spoiler on this one by picking at least one space. In the Great Hall of The Guildhall I’m really excited to be having an adaptation of a really, really brilliant installation piece called Home Sweet Home. We'll be making home sweet home’s future city, kinda a future city of London which will also be presided over by the future council and there'll be a performance at the end, by the future council. There will be some brilliant young performers who’ll be playing the Members Council 25 years in the future. There’s a little bit of radical vision!
That sounds amazing! Who came up with the concept?
Tassos:
As with all of this, we basically pitched what we thought would be exciting, but it's been a dialogue with City Of London throughout.
Is there anything else that you’d like to tell us about the Square Mile project? Any inside info?
Tassos:
I'd like to talk about one other part of the project that Coney is making, which is a treasure hunt for a golden key. It's a quest to find the heart of the City of London which is presided over by a dragon. I don't know if you know this, but dragons are actually real. They're also shape-shifters and this one has taken human form. She's called Clessa, and she's expecting us.
Who is the Square Mile event for? Can anyone go and do we need tickets?
Marie:
You do not need tickets. The event is completely free. And really the goal was to develop an event for everybody, where everybody is welcome. I think there is that perception that the square mile is an exclusive space, a space that's closed over the weekends, a space only for people who work so we really wanted to create an event where everyone feels welcome. People taking part will primarily be Londoners, just due to the proximity, but it’s also for everybody in the UK and beyond. There is a real diversity in the type of events taking part. We have events targeting primarily people who live in the square mile, people from all over London, we have a lot of events for families, we have some parts of the musical adventures that are for adults only. We have very, very, very different types of events for everybody really!
What’s next for Coney following the Square Mile?
Tassos:
A holiday! But then after the holiday we've got quite an extensive program of work that's happening with young people in Tower Hamlets and other places in the UK, but to be honest, so much is on pause right at this moment and we are really looking forward to coming back after the holiday and deciding what comes next.
And the next Coney event?
Marie:
We've got a really exciting piece at The National Archive called The Ministry of Time Travel which is an adventure for families exploring the archives and the story of London. So if you have a family, it's a really nice way to get to know Cooney’s way of playing and all connections to history and a little taste of what's coming up. Tickets are available on the national archives website.
What is your favourite London landmark and why?
Marie:
The Courts of Justice. I'm not from the UK so the justice system is very, very surreal to me. And the first time I went in on a weekday and you feel like you're in a maze and you are in a world that is very, very different, with everyone wearing wigs. You can enter courtrooms and you can enter the maze and you feel a little bit like you are in Harry Potter. It was one of the first places that got me very, very excited. It is like a world of mystery. There are lots of little corridors, it's a very beautiful place.
Tassos:
This is slightly weird but I love the Greenwich foot tunnel. I first went years ago. I did this brilliant route with my folks when they visited where we took the DLR down to Island Gardens and then walked under and got the boat back up into town. I did that route a couple of times with different friends as it was the most exciting journey through London. My partner then lived on the other side of it, so over the pandemic, I would often cycle over to see her using this route. It became a kind of commuter route, after being somewhere which was magical and mysterious. In a way this parallels what we hope will happen in the city. We want people to feel that this is ours, to feel more comfortable and familiar around the square mile, after having experienced the magic and mystery.
Best roast dinner in London?
Marie:
The Mayflower in Rotherhithe! It’s a very old, 16th century pub by the river. They have a very good roast dinner and it’s perfect for beautiful candlelit evenings as well. It’s very beautiful, old and mysterious.
Tassos:
Well I'm Vagen (vaguely vegan). So I wouldn't use my meat pass on a roast actually, I would use my meat pass on any of the Turkish barbecue temples, Testi being a particular favourite in that respect. But in terms of a roast, vegan roasts are pretty amazing. I think maybe The Crooked Billet in Clapton.
Where are we most likely to find you on a hot summer's day?
Tassos:
I would ideally be in the London Fields Lido swimming. But everyone else would think that it was closed, so it wouldn't be packed. That would be my ideal spot!
Marie:
Well, I've got little ones, so that answer is very different now than it was a few years ago. I’m thinking of some kind of outdoor free arts festival, like Greenwich and Docklands Arts festival, which is coming up soon, where they can roam freely and you can also enjoy yourself.
For more information on the #DestinationCity programme and the Square Mile event, click here or give Coney a follow
London has it all - the best nightlife, food, drink, events, markets, everything. But how do you keep on top of this? By signing up to receive our blog posts straight to your inbox that's how!