Action Hero is the collaboration between Gemma Paintin & James Stenhouse. They make live art and performance that is interested in pop cultural mythologies, people being together in a room and the absurdity of standing in front of some strangers and doing something. Their work often has a sense of the epic, even though it is played out through a raw, DIY, lo-fi aesthetic.
Action Hero think about performance as an event, as a temporary community, and enjoy using audiences as collaborators and co-conspiritors. They have developed a reputation for creating performance that is distinctive and invigorating, and have created work for theatres, parties, clubs, galleries and public spaces.
Gemma and James have been making performance together as Action Hero since 2005, and live and work in Bristol. They have shown their work throughout the UK, Europe and in the US.
“Action Hero’s work to date has always been generous, accessible and wryly amusing.” Time Out
“a beautiful pipe dream of a show.” **** Guardian on ‘A Western’
“Superb, muliti-layered little show…Very sharp: brash, brutally absurd.” **** Guardian on ‘Watch Me Fall’