Diary: A Head Start

In 'The Juniper Tree', a boy, enticed by his wicked stepmother, is tricked into putting his head into a heavy wooden chest, only for his stepmother to slam down the lid and decapitate him. Kerry plays the unfortunate child, and to create the effect of her head being severed from her body in performance it has been decided that a fake but realistic looking copy is needed: this is why Kerry is here. Bill sits her in a high chair whilst he and his two assistants, Simon and Jill, prepare her for the operation. Her clothes are covered with black bin liners and her hair with a thin but strong plastic film; then the edges are sealed to her skin with Vaseline, whilst her ears are stopped with cotton wool. Working quickly, the three begin to apply a green lumpy mixture, the consistency of porridge (it is in fact dental alginate, the material used to make false teeth) to Kelly's head and face. Taking care to leave tiny but vital holes for Kelly's nose so that she can breathe, they apply the mixture quickly, smoothing it with their hands. Some of it sticks, the rest falls to the floor with a splat. After a few minutes Kelly is unrecognisable, her head resembling a giant brussel sprout. To the spectator, it all looks very unpromising!

The next stage involves laying moistened strips of plaster bandage, one at a time, over the whole area of Kelly's head. As this is being done, Simon places his hand on one side of Kelly's increasingly heavy head in order to help her hold it still and give much needed support whilst the wait for the plaster to dry begins.

About 45 minutes later Bill judges that the time is right to split the plaster cast in two and remove it. Taking it off proves quicker and easier than putting it on, and, after Bill has carefully run his fingers up a crack in the side of the plaster deliberately left for that purpose, Simon eases off the back half, exposing Kelly's head. The front is then removed, but only after Bill has dimmed the lights so that Kelly isn't temporarily dazzled. She's been cut off from light and sound since the process began; it's an eerie and uncomfortable process, but the final effect is worth it. Simon holds the front of the head and there, imprinted into the green alginate, are the uncannily realistic features of Kelly. It looks alarmingly like a death mask. Kelly's relief is palpable; she confesses that she almost panicked when she couldn't tell whether her eyes were open or closed. That night she dreamed that she was a mole.