Chasing Ghosts

Designated Company was a work-in-progress commissioned by Turf Projects in July 2024. It was performed at 6 out of the 158 bus stops without seats or shelters in Croydon to highlight that travel in our Borough has not been fully accessible since 2021.

I read the planning reports which are more for “advertising” than “people”, left one star Google bus stop reviews (yes, you can), and wrote emails to see if the Council could give me updates (no, they cannot).

Then in a fabulous and inconvenient dress, with my own chair, I spent a day sitting at some of these bus stops or, as I like to call them, ghost shelters…waiting.

I then walked to the Council itself in the soaking wet – but still fabulous – dress, just to check that the people I had emailed really do exist.

No one was there to talk to me. 

So, the performance was

a fleeting moment, a reminder, 

to make visible 

the waiting 

for things 

that are yet 

to return,

for the people

without shelter or rest, had to leave.

ghosts were made to make money,

ushering in Culture with one hand and removing support with another. 

those who left  

are not mentioned in planning documents

where the story is hard, made of grey, steel, metal and black.

So I make a chair that is soft and bright

stitching late into the night, waiting, for a medicated shift 

and put on a dress that gets in the way.

I have to pick it up so I do not trip.

I have to carry my own chair

I have to pick it up so I do not trip.

I have to carry my own chair. 

and so then 

it was

not just  

bus stops 

waiting, for hours in hospital rooms

waiting, to not be locked in

Where the dress is beautiful 

not expected, revealing, 

revealed.

“That is a beautiful dress, that is a colourful chair…

Thank you, now let us think about what is missing…”

not just

bus stops

lost seats 

lost shelters,  

but all of the fucking things

waiting, for the stage to have stairs

waiting, for the lifts to be repaired 

waiting, to be let in 

waiting, for appointments and letters 

waiting, for calls and permission and power.

I wash off the grit 

picked up 

on the hem 

of a dress

that has travelled 

but difference 

but beauty

but us  

without space 

to support

Go unseen,

waiting, for new stories to sink into the flesh

vulnerable with

the weight of our waiting. 

waiting for keys, to gates we cannot open

waiting for doctors, to give us information too late

unravelled yarn and unfolded sequins

Waiting, for laughter for

for the space for  

for fuck’s sake for

a lighter hearted version of the story 

a softness and a spark   

a fleeting moment, 

a reminder,

that 

someone 

is

waiting. 

On Wednesday 24th July, new plans were proposed at a Croydon Council Cabinet meeting to finally hand the ghosts back to TfL for installation and management.

No date was set at this meeting for this work to begin.

Artist Bio:

Anita Wadsworth is an artist who uses text, textiles and everyday objects in one to one events and public interventions that aim to connect and comfort. Gentle instructions are often used as “scores” for the audience to re-frame everyday actions.

Her work has been shared in different settings including libraries, art galleries, shopping centres, theatres and pubs. She was awarded Arts Council Funding in 2021 to explore how neurodiversity can be made visible, explored and regulated through art.

As a facilitator, she has delivered workshops in the community and for organisations such as The Southbank Centre, the V&A, DanceWest, Stratford Circus Arts Centre, Apples and Snakes and the National Autistic Society. She also co-created SLiDE Dance in Croydon as a platform for dance and creatively for all.