‘Spontaneous Combustion’ is a series of entirely improvised performances that we have created since 2004. So far there have been 30 performances in the series. Though the majority have been in Huddersfield, there have also been shows in Warwick, London, Cardiff, Mexico City, Melbourne, Canberra and Berlin.

Sometimes a ‘Spontaneous Combustion’ will involve a third performer working musically alongside the two of us. Our most frequent collaborator is Eilon Morris, an extraordinary percussionist and superb improvisor. We have also worked with guitarist Giuliano Mogdiliano, accordionist Warren Burt and other occasional guests.

We approach an improvisation by attempting to empty our minds of expectations. We have no plans, no objectives, no structures. One or both of us will enter the space and see what presents itself. There are sounds to react to, flashes of imaginative inspiration, memories, physical impulses and, of course, the audience.

The audience is central - we make with our audience. We talk with them, react with them, play with them. Together, the two (or three) of us, and those who have chosen to come and watch, will sculpt from the empty space a unique, personal performance that can only, possibly, exist in the moment of its creation. It is an unrepeatable experience because no moment repeats.

Often the work is funny, though sometimes not. Often it is driven by narrative and character, though sometimes not. Always it is based in the performing body - neither of us knows how to find a performance unless we locate it and sculpt it through our awareness of our own bodies. Sometimes the two of us work closely with one another, sometimes narratives unfold in parallel. Always there is a journey.

When we make a ‘Spontaneous Combustion’, we trust to the moment to reveal a possible performance. Yet we continually research and develop our skills, together and apart, to make sure that when that moment presents itself we can apply the highest level of performance skill to forging a unique and highly crafted theatrical/dance/aural improvisation.

We are always looking for exciting contexts to create new Spontaneous Combustions. We need an empty space, an attentive audience, a floor to work bare foot on. Beyond that, the show will be what the show will be.