Today we’ll share 100 questions that were written for a project in 1997, a year before we started.  We’ve used variants of them in many Quarantine projects since.

The way that we originally used them was to ask 10 questions at the start of each rehearsal day for the first 10 days.  Answers were written in private in notebooks. At the end of each set of questions each day, each collaborator would then ask 5 questions of their own.

We can’t remember why some questions are in brackets.

We learned that often people reveal more through the questions they choose to ask than the answers they choose to give.

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Monday 1

What have you forgotten?

What was the date of your last act of violence?

Where is home?

Name a part of the body where you have a physical scar from childhood….

Name a part of your body that you rarely touch….

Who makes you laugh?

Who can you shout at?

Write down the date of the last time you lost your temper…

Who taught you to read?

What was the last song you sang?

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Tuesday 1

What was the date of the last time you wrote a poem?

At what age did you become an adult?

Whose death do you fear most?

What was the date of the last time you cried?

What was the name of the best teacher you ever had at school?

Name something you only ever do in private…

Write down a word that makes you feel happy…

What does love feel like?

Name three things that would improve your life…

Where do you hide?

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Wednesday 1

Write down a secret that you can’t tell anybody (then cross it out so that we can’t ever see)…

Who loves you?

What stops you?

Who did you last shout at?

Name three events that have shaped your life…

Name something that you believe in…

What was the last lie you told?

Which parts of you are beautiful?

What was the date of the last time you really laughed?

Name something that made you feel guilty recently…

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Thursday 1

Picture the face of someone you love.  Now write down their name.

Who should you make more effort with?

Where will you spend New Year’s Eve 1999?

Name three people you really trust…

What was the first thing you thought of this morning?

What was the last thing you thought of last night?

Write down something that keeps playing on your mind…

What age do you wish you were?

Write down three words that a stranger might use about you, having met you for the first time…

Name three people who irritate you…

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Friday 1

When was the last time you were brave?

(What’s the first thing you can remember?)

Who was the last person you were cruel to?

What do you do to bring yourself luck?

What was the last church service you attended?

Name three of your friends who practice a religion…

Who can you ‘phone when you feel sad?

What was the last thing you celebrated?

How old were you when you learned to swim?

Write down the names of all the people you can currently say “I love you” to?

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Monday 2

How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?

Who was the last person you danced with?

Write down three things you are sure are true?

Have you lied in response to any of these questions?

Name someone who really knows you…

What colour eyes does/did your mother have?

How did you find out that Santa Claus didn’t exist?

Write down a sexual fantasy that you may never fulfill…

Do you believe in life after death?

What was the occasion of the last time you felt lucky?

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Tuesday 2

Where will you be sitting in ten years time?

What is your earliest memory?

What do you never show to anyone else?

Name the last person to hit you…

(Where did your first sexual experience take place?)

Where are you going?

Do you believe in God?

What are you capable of?

What hurts you?

What was the date of the last time you felt wonderfully happy?

What decision are you putting off right now?

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Wednesday 2

Do you enjoy being with children?

What’s the longest time you’ve passed without seeing another person?

What was the title of the last book you read?

What was the last gift you gave?

What was the last gift you received?

Picture yourself having sex.  Who else is in the picture?

What do you want?

What do you need?

Name three people you really admire…

Name three people who have significantly influenced you…

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Thursday 2

Name the three people who are most often in your thoughts…

If you could fly, where would you go to right now?

Name an honest person…

Name a dishonest person…

Write down something that you would change if you could…

What was the last thing that you stole?

Where were you sitting/standing the last time you heard really bad news?

Who was the last child (under 10) that you had a conversation with?

Who was the last old person (over 75) that you had a conversation with?

Name three things that you will never tell your parents…

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Friday 2

What was the date of the last time you wished you had told the truth (instead of a lie)?

What was the date of the last time you wished you had told a lie (instead of the truth)?

Name three people you have lost touch with that you wish you hadn’t…

Name three people that you see regularly that you wouldn’t miss if you never saw them again…

What kind of questions do you not like answering?

What kind of questions do you enjoy?

Picture yourself in a wonderfully happy state.  Who is with you and where are you?

Whose life have you changed?

What was the date of the last time you abused someone’s privacy?

Who could you show your answers to?