Mayfest
Adventurous theatre for playful people 7 – 22 May 2010 mayfestbristol.co.uk
“A mix of work so tasty it makes you want to up and move to Bristol permenantly” The Guardian on Mayfest 2009
Mayfest is produced in collaboration with
With funding from
Hello
Welcome to a fortnight of theatrical magic from extraordinary theatre artists who are daring to dream. In flourishing partnerships with Arnolfini, Tobacco Factory and our co-producing partner Bristol Old Vic, we bring you a feast of bold and beautiful new work from over 40 artists and companies in our most playful and audacious line up to date.
Some of these shows were made around the corner from you, some come here from over the seas. From intimate encounters to wide-eyed spectaculars – we hope you will be as entertained, surprised and moved by these artists as we are.
Experience a fly by night hotel on Bristol’s Harbourside for David Rosenberg’s astonishing Electric Hotel. And don’t miss Nic Green’s already legendary Trilogy in the Bristol Old Vic Theatre. And as for all the rest…. and yes, it is possible to see every show in the festival… well, there are some real treats in store. And remember to always keep an eye on mayfestbristol.co.uk for news of new things as they unfurl. Because they always might… Kate Yedigaroff and Matthew Austin
The Mayfest Team
Directors: Kate Yedigaroff and Matthew Austin Production Manager: Jo Cuthbert Assistant Producer: Pete Phillips Marketing and Producing Intern: Dion Wilson Mayfest is produced in collaboration with With funding from
Festival Partners
Sponsored by
ARNOLFINI TOBACCO FACTORY THEATRE
Media Partner
How to Book
There are some handy symbols which appear next to the events in this brochure to show you where to book your tickets.
Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 bristololdvic.org.uk King Street, Bristol, BS1 4ED
10am – 8pm Mon – Fri 12pm – 8pm Sat A 50p transaction fee applies to all credit/debit card bookings and £2 for online bookings.
Tobacco Factory/The Brewery 0117 902 0344 tobaccofactorytheatre.com Tobacco Factory Theatre, Raleigh Road, Bristol, BS3 1TF The Brewery, 291 North Street, Bristol, BS3 1JU
10am – 6.30pm Mon – Sat Card handling fee of 50p for 1 ticket or £1 for 2 or more tickets applies for all card transactions. £2.50 fee per transaction for online bookings.
A Arnolfini
0117 917 2300/01 arnolfini.org.uk 16 Narrow Quay Bristol BS1 4QA 9.30am – 6pm (telephone) 11am – 6pm (in person) 75p per ticket for online booking. For tickets £10 and above the charge rises to £1.50 per ticket.
Our thanks to: Emma Stenning, Tom Morris, Nigel Gardner, Simon Godwin, Sharon Clark and all at Bristol Old Vic; Ali Robertson and all at the Tobacco Factory; Tom Trevor, Sarah Warden, Jane Connarty and all at Arnolfini; Jan Winter at Ciromedia, Bex Wade for the brilliant photos running through this brochure; Jill Paskins and Liesel Corp, Dan Pidcock and all at Glow Media, Katie Keeler, Tanuja Amarasuriya, Mike Martins, Seth Honnor at Theatre Bristol, Dave Higgit and all at Venue, Claire Teasedale, Jennifer Crook, Phillipa Haynes at Bristol City Council, Phil Hindson and Paul Goddard at Arts Council England, Residence, Belal Awad, Eleanor Wratten, Laura Márquez, Tom Wainwright, Katie Lyle, Emmie Pryde, Fiona Watts, all our volunteers and ushers, and to everyone who has made this possible. You know who you are.
Fri 07, 7pm til late Bristol Old Vic Tickets: Free. Entry on a first-come first-served basis. After last year’s riotous free opening party, we thought we’d do it all over again. Join us at Bristol Old Vic for a good old knees up to get things started. Line-up to be confirmed, but whatever happens it’ll be an awful lot of fun. Keep an eye on mayfestbristol.co.uk, twitter.com/mayfestbristol and facebook.com/mayfestbristol
LOVE AND WAR
CARNY VILLAGE
Fri 07 – Sat 08, 8pm Tobacco Factory Theatre Tickets: £10/£7 T
Fri 07–Sat 08 and Fri 14–Sat 15, from 8.30pm The Island, Silver Street, BS1 2PY Tickets: £12/£8 Booking: bristolticketshop.co.uk
THE MARK BRUCE COMPANY THE INVISIBLE CIRCUS
“Bruce’s choreography has never looked more inventive, with classically based moves twisted into ferocious gestures of destruction or strung out into decadent ennui” The Guardian on Sea of Bones
In this heart-searching dance work of savage beauty, Mark Bruce uses theatre-in-the-round to plunge the imagination into a raw arena of the otherworld. Time shifts and figures from myth and ritual collide; Gods emerge amongst frenzied cheerleaders, murderous strangers, dogs of war and bedraggled homecoming queens. Featuring a soundtrack which includes Sparklehorse, The White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age and Gyorgy Ligeti. The Mark Bruce Company are Associate Artists at the Tobacco Factory and Affiliated Artists of Merlin Theatre Frome.
“A heady mix of acrobatics, vaudeville and wacky sideshows… downright spectacular” Venue
The Invisible Circus return as the late night spectacle for Mayfest 2010. Offering a selected showcase from the immersive extravaganza Carny Ville, the company have created its road show progeny Carny Village as a touring production for the 2010 summer season. As the sun sets the revels of the eternal night begin. The spectral stars of the golden age grace the boards for one last finale and the band stike up for one last cabaret!
With dazzling and gravity-defying circus acts and a plethora of interactive theatre installations, live music and DJs, The Invisible Circus invite you into another world for the night of your life…
Mark Bruce Company photo: Stephen Berkley-White. Opening Party photo: Richard Andersen
MAYFEST 2010 OPENING PARTY
What is this picture? Find out on page 23…
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FOREST FRINGE MICROFEST Sat 08 – Sun 09, from 7pm Bristol Old Vic Tickets: £10/£7 One ticket gives you access to all performances
Winners of a Herald Angel, Fringe First and the Peter Brook Empty Space Award 2009
“This is the future” Neil Cooper, The Herald
“An ongoing miracle” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
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From an old church hall in the heart of Edinburgh, Forest Fringe has spent the last three summers creating a revolutionary new kind of space – run by artists for artists. A space full of wild ideas and daring experiments. Its exciting and unpredictable programme has won it a cult following and numerous awards.
This Spring Forest Fringe is going travelling, creating a series of four weekend-long Microfestivals in four different cities – London, Glasgow, Swansea and right here in Bristol. Each event is a totally unique miniature festival, giving audiences a taste of the magic created in Edinburgh every summer.
Forest Fringe will be filling public and hidden spaces throughout Bristol Old Vic with one-on-one encounters, intimate performances, works-inprogress, audio and video installations, and much, much more. Grab a ticket and you’re free to explore the building, discovering new artists and new experiences as you go. Artists include: Melanie Wilson and Abigail Conway, Peter McMaster, Stoke Newington International Airport with their phenomenal Live Art Speed Dating, Search Party, Residence, Tim Etchells, Tinned Fingers and Action Hero.
DREAM-WORK BODIES IN FLIGHT
DREAM-HOME INTERNAL
ONTROEREND GOED IN ASSOCIATION WITH RICHARD JORDAN PRODUCTIONS LTD
Sun 9 – Tue 11, various times from 2pm-9pm See mayfestbristol.co.uk for full details of times and location Tickets: £10
“A powerful, disarming exercise in human interaction … memorably different” The List
Show of the Year 2009 – BBC Newsnight Review
We welcome back the genre-defying Ontroerend Goed with another visceral and provocative performance experience. Here’s a letter from them to you…
Dear Spectator, We are five performers in search for a partner. We’d like to invite you to the next performance of Internal, our individual playground, where you can get to know us in a cosy and spontaneous atmosphere. We guarantee you an intimate and highly personal treatment. Please, inform us in time if you are unable to control your feelings. We will provide an elegant and discrete solution. Yours sincerely, The Actors. Presented with the support of the Flemish community, the Province of East Flanders and the city of Ghent. Limited capacity. Book early to avoid disappointment. Age guidance: 16+
SPELL #7
Tue 11 – Fri 14, 8am, 9am, 10am & 4pm, 5pm, 6pm Meeting Point: St James’ Place, Broadmead Tickets: £16/£12 (for both performances) £10/£7 (for one performance) See mayfestbristol.co.uk for full details
This year we are working once again with Arnolfini to present three extraordinary new projects by inspirational artists. The first of these projects is a collaboration between Bristol-based Bodies in Flight and Singapore-based Spell #7.
DREAM–WORK 8am, 9am, 10am Travelling through Bristol’s streets, this performance walk explores the everyday thought patterns and concerns of the half-asleep commuter. Wearing wireless headsets, watch and listen as performers use movement, sounds and text to create a unique sound world of the daily journey from dreamtime to real time. DREAM–HOME 4pm, 5pm, 6pm Dream-Home explores the return home at the end of the working day and how, once released from work, our desires and hopes transform our immediate environment into a space for adventure and possibility. Limited capacity. Book early to avoid disappointment. Dress for the weather.
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JOHN MORAN AND HIS NEIGHBOUR SAORI… IN THAILAND PUB ROCK
CARTOON DE SALVO
Tue 11 – Thur 13, 9pm A local boozer not far from Bristol Old Vic. Check mayfestbristol.co.uk for venue details Tickets: £10/£7
“There’s only one word to describe the gloriously theatrical Cartoon de Salvo – and that’s delicious” Wall Street Journal
Following their hugely successful show Hard Hearted Hannah and Other Stories (Mayfest 2009), Cartoon de Salvo are back in Bristol with their new show Pub Rock. A unique rock ‘n’ roll theatre event set in a local boozer not far from Bristol Old Vic.
For twenty years, One Trick Pony have been rockin’ all over the UK, giving audiences exactly what they want. So what makes tonight different? Leaps in the dark and guilty pleasures are on the set-list in this intimate epic about a musician who can cover any track, except the track of his own tears. Cartoon de Salvo is one of the country’s most respected theatre companies. Their cocktail of script-defying improvisation, live music and exceptional storytelling has won critical acclaim and a devoted following.
Cartoon de Salvo’s Hard Hearted Hannah and Other Stories was one of the Daily Telegraph’s Top 10 Comedy Gigs of 2008. 6
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Mon 10 – Tue 11, 8pm Tobacco Factory Theatre Tickets: £10/£7
“I am convinced that there is no more important composer working today, than John Moran. His works have been so advanced as to be considered revolutionary” Philip Glass
“With a one-hour show, he has reaffirmed his reputation as one of the most important figures in the avant-garde” Time Out New York
The stunningly original performances by New York composer John Moran and his Japanese neighbour Saori were the sleeper hit of Mayfest 2009. Now they return from further adventures: this time exploring the lights (and darkness) of Bangkok, Thailand. Music, dance and theatre fuse seamlessly in their now trademark style. Don’t miss these special preview performances before the world premiere at The Arches, Glasgow. Co-produced with The Arches, Glasgow & Theater im Pumpenhaus, Münster.
6.0: HOW HEAP AND PEBBLE TOOK ON THE WORLD AND WON DANCING BRICK
Mon 10 – Thur 13, 6.30pm The Brewery Tickets: £8/£6
“Brilliant… intelligent and poignant” The Guardian ##### Edinburgh Guide ##### Fringe Review ##### Three Weeks
The extraordinary story of two ice dancers in a world without ice.
Dancing Brick return to The Brewery with a new play about loss, sport and what happens when our environment fails us. With poetic images, mime and comedy, 6.0 is a climate change parable for our time, holding the sportsman up as someone who does not accept defeat, who continues in the face of adversity, even when their sport has melted into spring. Winner of the Arches Brick Award and shortlisted for a Total Theatre Award 2009.
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LONE TWIN THEATRE Wed 12 – Thur 13, 8pm Bristol Old Vic Studio Tickets: £13/£11
“The Festival is a triumph… and its blend of song, silliness and emotional acuity is theatrical magic” The Times ####
“A delightful show from a company that seems to have optimism, rather than blood, running through its veins” The Guardian
When two lives cross at a festival of music and song, a chain of events discretely alters a private world to devastating effect. The Festival is a simple story of love and expectation, of family and companionship, of the mundane and the extraordinary.
Having begun with Alice Bell and continued with Daniel Hit By A Train, The Catastrophe Trilogy asks simply; what are the key events in a life and how do we show them, on stage, in front of other people? Lone Twin Theatre have developed a style which is quietly joyful, moving and performed with a beautiful simplicity. Commissioners: barbicanbite10, London; Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Brussels; The Point, Eastleigh; Uovo Performing Arts Festival, Milan; and the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster. Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Also supported by The Royal Exchange, Manchester; the Corn Exchange, Newbury and The Basement, Brighton.
The Festival will be BSL interpreted on Wednesday 12 May 8
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Photo: Francis Loney
THE FESTIVAL
The final part of Lone Twin Theatre’s Catastrophe Trilogy comes to Mayfest following a critically acclaimed run at The Barbican.
EVERYTHING MUST GO
OR THE VOLUNTARY ATTEMPT TO OVERCOME UNNECESSARY OBSTACLES KRISTIN FREDRICKSSON Thur 13 – Sat 15, 8pm Tobacco Factory Theatre Tickets: £10/£7 “Funny, inventive and touching” Time Out #####
“I scanned the house for a dry eye but I couldn’t find one anywhere ... Fredricksson evokes her father so vividly and unsentimentally that by the end you feel like you know him; and for a moment or two, after the stage has gone black, you’ll grieve his passing as if he were an old friend” The Scotsman ####
An athletic-puppetic duet between father and daughter. Cinefilm, clowning, puppetry and hurdling are used to explore a father’s life – from dosshouse childhood to dancing on graves. In this meditation on love, loss, memory and play, we see Dad training for the Olympics by day and dragging up by night. With age his money-saving schemes become increasingly elaborate, from the secrets of free water to newspaper-stealing shoes. But eventually EVERYTHING MUST GO. Winner: Total Theatre Award (Devised performance) 2009 and The Arches Brick Award 2009.
DEAN GIBBONS AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF DEATH OR THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY INCONVENIENT SPOOF Fri 14 – Sat 15, 6.30pm The Brewery Tickets: £8/£6
An irreversible and chaotic shift in the world’s climate system is already under way. A shadowy cabal of the global elite conspires to bring about a drastic solution. An eminent primatologist demonstrates the remarkable abilities of a newly discovered species - the Giant Mountain Bonobo.
Based on the claims of evolutionary psychology and set amidst the twin threats of Peak Oil and Climate Change, this darkly comic new show combines live action, puppetry, a fact-packed text and striking visual effects in a provocative and compelling work of social-science-fiction. Performed and devised by Silvia Mercuriali (Rotozaza) and Matt Rudkin, with direction from David Woods (Ridiculusmus).
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AUSFORM
Join us for a double bill of work in progress performances by exciting Bristol-based companies. Tue 11 – Wed 12, 6.30pm Bristol Old Vic Basement Tickets: £5
DOGGER, FISHER, FAERO ORBITA
Come aboard the good ship Orbita and join our salty seafarers, Dogger, Fisher and Faero – three sailors trapped on a boat, aimlessly drifting, looking for land. With a curious combination of animation, puppetry and sea shanties, Orbita take us on a voyage of discovery to uncharted seas full of adventure, romance and spindly killer fish. Developed in association with Mayfest.
THE LAST ROMANCE CLUB (EVER) TINNED FINGERS
We are hopeful. We are looking for love. We want to get lucky. We want to serenade you outside your window at night. We want to give you our last rolo. We can’t sing, but for you, we’ll try. 10
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SPORADICAL
LITTLE BULB THEATRE
Thur 13, 9pm Bristol Old Vic Paintshop Tickets: £8/£6
Wed 12, 9.30pm Bristol Old Vic Paintshop Tickets: £8/£6
“Boundlessly enthusiastic, insanely optimistic and inexpressibly charming” The Guardian
It’s the Welles-Ferry family reunion 2010 and some of the more active members have gone all out with this years’ entertainment. Arias, sea shanties, ballads and beat poetry can only mean one thing… that’s right, an Epic Cardboard Folk Opera.
Mermaids will rot in brine, sea captains will sport beards and bravado and runaway brides do what they do best. So grab a drink and raise your glass as the threads of the family history are woven together in a glorious twist-laden climax.
Hold my hand, don’t let go. It’s too dark, but don't turn back. We’re beneath a blue moon.
Welcome to Ausform – an imaginary landscape full of beauty. An evening of puppetry, performance art, films, physical theatre and the extraordinary.
Since September 2009, curator Lina B. Frank has been staging Ausform Platform of Performance at the Cube Microplex. For a special site specific Mayfest edition we welcome it into Bristol Old Vic’s Paintshop. Full line-up will be announced on ausform.co.uk and mayfestbristol.co.uk
WHERE WE LIVE AND WHAT WE LIVE FOR FIVE FAT FISH
KINGS OF ENGLAND
JASMINE LOVEYS
WE ARE NOTHING LIKE BIRDS THE MASTER CHAYNJIS Sat 15, 4pm Bristol Old Vic Paintshop Tickets: £6
I have always wanted to be a synchronised swimmer. I have formed a team. The only problem is, it’s currently a team of one. I am inviting you to join me for the first ever meet of the Bristol Synchronised Swim Team. We need to overcome unthinkable obstacles to achieve our dreams of international glory. Nonswimmers welcome. Five Fat Fish uses a ‘make do’ approach to transform the ordinary, weaving personal experience with fictional narrative to create a celebratory and hopeful piece of theatre. Jasmine Loveys is a member of Bristol-based company Tinned Fingers.
For Mayfest, father and son Peter and Simon Bowes make a last return to the stage. In 2009 Kings of England performed at SPILL National Platform, BAC, and celebrated Peter's 75th Birthday at Forest Fringe.
Sun 16, 9.30pm Bristol Old Vic Paintshop Tickets: £8/£6
Tender, intimate, and all covered in bird shit; The Master Chaynjis return to Bristol Old Vic for their first live show in 2010.
After raising the roof at last year’s Mayfest opening party, the noirish Bristol band will transform the Paintshop at Bristol Old Vic into an oversized nest to sing songs of loss, escape and redemption. Developed in association with Mayfest.
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Master Chaynjis photo: Richard Anderson
Thurs 13 – Sat 15, 6.30pm Bristol Old Vic Basement Tickets: £5
In 1958 he jumped from the rocks toward the sea, the photograph catching him partway down. In 2001, he went cycling in the hills near his home, suffered a transient ischemic attack, fell from the bicycle and for one hour, forgot his name, where he was and where he lived. After the fall he is increasingly forgetful. This show is a modest attempt to give him something back. Inventing what we cannot remember, together we consider how to get better with age.
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THE MOMENT I SAW YOU I KNEW I COULD LOVE YOU
NO IDEA
Sat 15 6pm, 7.10pm, 8.20pm, 9.30pm Sun 16 1.30pm, 2.40pm, 3.50pm, 5pm Arnolfini Tickets: £10/£7
Fri 14 – Sat 15, 8pm Bristol Old Vic Studio Tickets: £10/£7
CURIOUS
“A thousand beautiful moments…a rich and rewarding experience” Total Theatre
An atmospheric, disorientating and sometimes unnerving show in which film and live action merge with sampled sound and siren song. The audience is cast adrift with only stories and half-remembered truths to sustain them. It’s about gut feelings; fight, flight and freeze reactions; impulse, love and undefended moments. Set inside the belly of a whale.
This is how I dream it. This is how it feels. And I am not a sailor. I cannot steer a craft. I cannot tie a reef knot. I cannot swim. But still, this is how it ends. I am out here with the lost mariners, the castaways, the shipwrecked and the sea-swallowed. Formed in 1996 by Leslie Hill and Helen Paris, Curious have developed a reputation for edgy, humourous interrogations of contemporary culture and politics. Their work as Curious has embraced performance, installation, publication and film. Co-presented with Arnolfini.
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LISA HAMMOND AND RACHAEL SPENCE WITH IMPROBABLE
This is a picture of Rachael and Lisa. They wanted to make a theatre show but couldn’t think of an idea. So, armed with a tape recorder, Rachael and Lisa went on to the streets and asked people to take a good look at them and imagine what their show could be about. Who should play the main character? Who should be the funny one? What should the story be? Should it be comedy, tragedy or sci-fi adventure?
What they heard and recorded was funny, heartfelt, sometimes jaw-dropping but always very revealing about what we can (and can’t) imagine when we look at someone. An Improbable Associate Artist Project, directed by Lee Simpson.
No Idea will have a BSL signed performance on Saturday 15 May. Please contact Bristol Old Vic for further details.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
THE POOF DOWNSTAIRS
Sat 15 – Sun 16, For details of where and when to find Famous Last Words, visit mayfestbristol.co.uk. Tickets: £3, door sales only
Sun 16, 8pm & Mon 17, 9.15pm Bristol Old Vic Basement Tickets: £8/£6
GREG MCLAREN
An automatic gameshow-cumcult induction ceremony, ingeniously built into an innocuous looking caravan.
Famous Last Words explores the desire for success and the language of coercion by inviting contestants to take part in a gameshow that will change your life. There are no performers, each player is responsible for the ascension of the other through the impossible seeming environments within the caravan. Can you make your way from befuddled contestant to confident host in only fifteen minutes? Do you want to succeed? The answer is yes, of course you do.
JON HAYNES
“Very, very funny, a darker descendant of Tristam Shandy with Haynes putting in a magnetic performance that’s by turns dry, flamboyant, self-mocking and near to the nuckle…exceptionally polished” Time Out When Jeremy moves back into his parents’ home he finds little has changed. He is still dominated by a nagging mother and bewildered by a distant father who dreams of going fishing at Rhyl. In the conflict that inevitably follows Jeremy becomes the focus of his parents’ struggle for supremacy. A circuitous and ambiguous black comedy, The Poof Downstairs is the first play by the co-founder and Joint Artistic Director of the award-winning Ridiculusmus. Commissioned by and developed at BAC.
CIRQUE DE LÉGUME Sun 16, 2pm & 6pm Bristol Old Vic Studio Tickets: £10/£7
50 minutes of absurd comic mayhem. Two idiots put on a Cirque-du-Soleil type show using only a chair and a box of cast-off vegetables. Marvel at the Veget-animal! Enthrall at the Leek of Power! Fantasize over the Onion Strip Tease! In these acts and more the award-winning Cirque de Légume finds a hidden beauty in cast-off vegetables and shows us how beautiful life can be if we only stop to play with it. A hilarious love story between two clowns, their vegetables, and us. Winner Bewley’s Theatre Award at Dublin Fringe 2009.
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TRILOGY THE ARCHES PRESENTS NIC GREEN
Expect passion, beauty and up to 100 female volunteer dancers in this radical performance, delivered with relentless, raw energy.
Trilogy is a celebratory venture into modern-day feminism. This performance triptych examines and interrogates the joys and complexities of being a young woman today, whilst driving steadfast into the future with commitment and hope. Part anarchic celebration, part educational presentation, part reaction to the raucous, extraordinary 1970s feminist panel discussion Town Bloody Hall (featuring Germaine Greer and Norman Mailer), Green and her superb company give their all in a thrilling show designed to challenge, inspire and make way for positive change. 14
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Fri 14 – Sat 15, 7.15pm Bristol Old Vic Theatre Tickets: £13/£11 “Sometimes you see a piece of theatre that makes your heart sing … Nic Green's Trilogy is such a work” The Guardian
“This is the bravest, most powerful and truly subversive show” Metro
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“Joyous, life-affirming stuff” The List
Herald Angel Award Winner 2009. Shortlisted for Total Theatre and Scotsman Fringe First Award 2009.
“It's a moment of shared experience that is moving and joyful...tears come more readily as do the whoops and hurrahs” The Herald
If you would like to participate in Trilogy, please contact Dion Wilson at assistant@mayfestbristol.co.uk
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Supported by Made in Scotland and Scottish Arts Council.
ELECTRIC HOTEL FUEL PRESENTS
CONCEIVED AND DIRECTED BY DAVID ROSENBERG CHOREOGRAPHED AND CO-DIRECTED BY FRAUKE REQUARDT Wed 19 – Sat 22, 9.45pm Bristol Harbourside. See mayfestbristol.co.uk for details Tickets: £18/£15 Please note that this is an outdoor performance. Dress for the weather.
The flagship event of this year’s programme sees Mayfest collaborate with Fuel and Arnolfini to stage our most ambitious and high profile outdoor event to date.
As night falls over the harbourside, the lights will go on in a uniquely designed, four-storey, fly-by-night hotel, brought to vivid life through dance and sound. Sitting on the outside looking in, the audience snatch glimpses of the do-notdisturb lives unfolding behind the floor to ceiling windows. Wearing headphones to eavesdrop on the internal spaces of the building they watch the residents in their private rooms: the natural habits and unnatural fantasies. The privilege and thrill for the voyeur is seeing the bigger picture.
Electric Hotel is brought to you by the creative team of David Rosenberg (director and cofounder of Shunt) and Frauke Requardt (choreographer, Pictures from an Exhibition at Sadler’s Wells/Young Vic) with Börkur Jónsson (designer, Woyzeck at Barbican, Metamorphosis at Lyric Hammersmith). Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and Without Walls. Funded by Arts Council England and a Wellcome Trust Arts Award. Supported by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation www.jerwoodcharitablefoundation.org. Research supported by Jerwood Studio at Sadler’s Wells and the UCL Ear Institute. Subsidised Rehearsal Space provided by Jerwood Space. Developed at Cove Park.
Presented in Bristol in collaboration with Arnolfini, with funding from Bristol City Council.
PEGGY SHAW AND CLOD ENSEMBLE
Mon 17 and Tue 18 May, 8pm Bristol Old Vic Studio Tickets: £10/£7
“Exquisite… This is open-heart surgery of the artistic kind, performed without anaesthetic” The Guardian
Renowned for her own gender bending autobiographical work, she recounts her extraordinary experiences of the medical profession from her current perspective as a 65 year old lesbian grandmother. MUST weaves together the stories of a lifetime - giving birth on the way to Woodstock, her mother’s electric shock treatment in 1950s America, the loss of a loved one – with projected microscopic images, and live musicians performing a powerful score for piano, double bass and violin.
By Suzy Willson and Peggy Shaw Performed by Peggy Shaw Directed by Suzy Willson Music by Paul Clark Designed by Sarah Blenkinsop Lighting by Hansjörg Schmidt Musicians include John-Paul Gandy and Calina de la Mare Produced by Fuel Supported by a Wellcome Trust People Award. This project is part of a nine-month UK-wide season of activity about identity from the Wellcome Trust. See theidentityproject.org.uk
Image: Manuel Vasson
MUST THE INSIDE STORY
In collaboration with the celebrated Clod Ensemble, legendary New York performance artist Peggy Shaw takes the audience on a journey across the landscape of her own body.
…FALLING FOR YOU SYLVIA RIMAT & KATE ASHMAN
Tue 18 – Wed 19, 6.30pm Bristol Old Vic Basement Tickets: £5
…the gentle fall of snow…a man falling from the World Trade Centre…the fall of the Berlin Wall…falling in love…falling over…fallen from grace…
Performance artists Kate Ashman and Sylvia Rimat set out to explore the intertwined connections of falling on a literal, political, personal and physical level. (Re)creating and engaging with environments of falls, they search to understand and learn from the moment of transition, the sense of timelessness and the loss of control. A freefalling experiment with an open-ended outcome. Anything can happen and something inevitably will… Developed with the support of Arnolfini and Mayfest.
SS ARCADIA
STAND AND STARE COLLECTIVE Tue 18 – Sat 22, 7.30pm Sat 22, 3pm and 7.30pm Secret City Centre Location Tickets: £10/£7
SS Arcadia is a floating dream town where luxury comes as standard. The life of royalty awaits you with our dazzling array of entertainments, decadent cocktail lounges and devilishly delicious cuisine. Total escapism from the outside world, your safety is our utmost priority, so spoil yourself, set sail with us and leave all your worries behind. Stand & Stare Collective invite you to enter their immersive world of bizarre, wonderful and sometimes dark truths about love, light entertainment and the state of humanity. Set in a secret location in central Bristol, SS Arcadia layers theatre, art, music, dance, food and even hairdressing.
Directed by Rob Tannion (Stan Won’t Dance, DV8, Complicite) and Greg Banks (West End, Broadway, Minneapolis Children’s Theatre). With a cast of international performers, this is Stand & Stare’s Bristol debut. Formed in Feb 2009 in Gloucestershire, the Collective has a fresh and attentive approach to making theatre, which has already attracted a following across the Southwest. Developed in association with Mayfest. Limited capacity. Book early to avoid disappointment.
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TRIPTYCH
KEEPERS
Wed 19 – Sat 22, 7pm The Brewery Tickets: £8/£6
Tue 18 – Wed 19, 8pm Tobacco Factory Theatre Tickets: £10/£7
WATTLE & DAUB FIGURE THEATRE
Three stories about love, loss and letting go. A small, lonely figure is lured by the elusive and dangerous promise of flight; a witch within the heart of a tree demands a Faustian bargain for safe passage through her forest; and the oldest man in the world stumbles into a Paris jazz club for one last dance. Triptych fuses innovative storytelling with a distinctive combination of visual theatre, puppetry and masks. Magical, lively and somewhat dark. Wattle & Daub are a Bristol-based puppetry and visual theatre company who play with strange structures, striking visual imagery and the interconnections between puppet and puppeteer.
Developed through Mayfest’s Taste, Bristol Ferment at Bristol Old Vic and the Tobacco Factory Theatre and Theatre Bristol’s Prototype.
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THE PLASTICINE MEN
Two hundred years ago, two men live and work in a wooden box, seventy feet above the dark ocean…
Using little more than a ladder and a trapdoor, two performers and a musician conjure up the confines of the infamous Smalls Lighthouse and the secrets it guards. A stormy tale of companionship and loss unfolds between the sweeping flashes of the lamp that the keepers tend each and every night.
The Plasticine Men are a collective of theatre-smiths, scouring the land for stories that beg to be told onstage. They challenge themselves to simply create the extraordinary worlds that lurk on the edge of hearsay and history.They are Associate Artists of New Greenham Arts, Newbury, and supported by the Nightingale Theatre, Brighton and the Tobacco Factory/Theatre Bristol Prototype initiative.
THE HUMAN COMPUTER WILL ADAMSDALE AND FUEL
Wed 19 – Thur 20, 8pm Bristol Old Vic Studio Tickets: £10/£7
“Poetic and poignant as well as extremely funny” The Times
“Adamsdale is creating a body of work that rides roughshod over the boundaries between comedy and theatre, making us laugh even as it asks the big questions” The Guardian ####
Human Computer image: Sheila Burnett
I’ve never had a happy time with computers. I’ve avoided them for as long as I could but recently this has become an impossible position. This is a show about computers, by someone who knows nothing about them. Lots of it isn’t about computers. It’s stories. It’s a cardboard cabaret. A skewed stand-up quest to the wiry heart of the cyber web, and into the reasons I once hit a 7 year old girl with a stick (I was 6 and she was annoying). Will Adamsdale is a Perrier and Fringe First award winner.
A BAC Scratch Commission. Supported by Arts Council England.
WHO KNOWS WHERE? EDWARD RAPLEY
Thur 20 – Sat 22, 6.30pm Bristol Old Vic Basement Tickets: £5
My gills are clogged with ink and I am drowning. Finally. About time.
Different every night – a show of fireworks or perhaps self-immolation. An unstoppable flow of lava. A dinner party. A car crash. Or something beautiful. From a pit of snakes that bite differently because they are questions, squirming over each other, demanding answers, I write to tell you – I don’t know anything.
A snap shot, a blurred and out of focus ultrasound, a smudged impression. A faltering and a fumbling. I promise to try my best. To leave everything on stage. I’ll be honest with you: Th-th-th-that’s all folks! The final part of a trilogy of shows which began with Ten Ways to Die on Stage, and continued at Mayfest 09 with The Middle Bit. Edward Rapley is a Bristolbased performer, Arnolfini Associate Artist and member of residence.org.uk Developed in association with Mayfest and Bristol Ferment.
mayfestbristol.co.uk
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STAY!
+ AROUND THE WORLD IN A LUNAR DAY STACY MAKISHI
CUTTING THE CORD FLYING EYE
Fri 21 – Sat 22, 7pm Sat 22, 3pm and 7pm Bristol Old Vic Paintshop Tickets: £8/£6 Where do you come from? Where are you going? When you are miles away from the place of your birth, can you ever feel truly at home? Confused, fatalistic, loyal, Sachi is a young Japanese woman on a personal journey to find a ‘home’.
Inspired by true life stories, Cutting the Cord reveals Sachi’s comedic yet sincere need to belong. Humorous, touching and delightfully understated, this intimate solo show is performed up close, personal and partly promenade. With magical theatricality, Flying Eye invites us all – whatever our background - to celebrate this universal human aspiration.
“This magical piece made us feel like the lucky few to catch a glimpse of a mini masterpiece….” OneTaste
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Fri 21 – Sat 22, 8pm Bristol Old Vic Studio Tickets: £10/£7
A dinner party has had one drink too many and now Elizabeth Taylor lifts the petticoats of a love affair that’s gone to the dogs. Film noir collides with Pet Rescue in this hilarious examination of codependence, malicious domination and the subversion of the natural order. STAY! draws its inspiration from the paintings of Paula Rego, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf and Lassie Come Home.
Stacy Makishi is a Hawaii-born, London-based artist. Whether she takes on a horror film, fashion show, immigration border, or psychic intervention, her work is infused with surreal humour. Developed with Lyric Hammersmith.
“Incredibly funny and immensely touching” Edinburgh Festival Magazine 2009 …And we’re very lucky to be getting a sneak peak of a work-in-progress of Stacy Makishi’s new show… AROUND THE WORLD IN A LUNAR DAY An upliftingly sad and elegiac tale of love, loss and moonlight.
“Stacy Makishi was simply astounding… she ruptured the building…bringing the audience to creative climax. Makishi took us on a journey through a rollercoaster excavation of modern anxieties and ironies” EAR Magazine
EVERYTHING FALLS APART NEW INTERNATIONAL ENCOUNTER Fri 21, 6.30pm & 9pm Sat 22, 4pm & 8pm Tobacco Factory Theatre Tickets: £10/£7 Promenade performance.
“NIE has distinguished itself as the maker of really exciting multilingual musical theatre.” The Stage
“This exceptional ensemble combines exquisite, highly physical acting and wonderfully integrated live music.” Daily Telegraph on The End of Everything Ever
Everything Falls Apart follows the story of two boys smuggled into the UK hoping for a better life and one man’s focused pursuit of justice at all costs. Exposing hidden stories from the murky depths of New Europe’s black economy, join us on the London Underground for a compelling clash of cultures and the explosive end of two dangerous journeys. Featuring the Total Theatre and Herald Angel award-winning NIE’s trademark mix of physical theatre and live music, this show explores the stories behind the headlines and the place where they catastrophically collide. Limited capacity. Book early to avoid disappointment.
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No theatre, no actors, no set. Running throughout the festival are two performance experiences which place you centre stage. Wander through the aisles of a supermarket or create a miniature performance with a friend in your kitchen sink…
WONDERMART ROTOZAZA
Fri 7 – Sat 22, £5
Wondermart takes a mischievous swipe at the dominance of supermarket culture and consumerism. This interactive audio tour takes you on a journey of rediscovery through the familiar surroundings of your local supermarket. Wearing headphones, you are guided around the aisles immersed in a private world, as the carefully constructed soundscape overlays a fictional world that blurs the real with the imaginary.
Book your audio tour by visiting mayfestbristol.co.uk or by calling Bristol Old Vic or Tobacco Factory Box Office. You can either download the specially created track onto your MP3 player, or borrow one off us. For more information, visit the Mayfest website.
Once – arts & ceremonies present a new piece in their Table Top Theatre series… You will receive a mystery parcel in the post containing all you need for you and a friend to create a unique miniature performance in your own kitchen.
Once are creators of poetic happenings and magical performances, marking the day to day and the extraordinary of our lives. Their Table Top Theatre series also includes Valentines for 2, which begins when two strangers meet on a train; Picnic, an outdoor British seaside adventure; and On a Winter’s Night, a woodland fable.
By Silvia Mercuriali with Tommaso Perego and Matt Rudkin.
Rotozaza return to Mayfest with another playful audio performance experience.
KITCHEN SINK DRAMA
ONCE–ARTS&CEREMONIES Fri 7 – Sat 22, £15
A voyage from plughole to rolling seas, Kitchen Sink Drama transports players and their kitchen sinks out of the humdrum and onto enchanting journeys – turning your washing up into a meditation on your ambitions and place in the world.
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Book delivery of your parcel by calling Bristol Old Vic Box Office or order online from once.uk.com
Get Involved
This being a festival, there will of course be a hive of additional activity taking place around and about the shows detailed in this brochure. Live music, workshops, post-show discussions, artists breakfasts, secret parties and more will all be bursting onto the performance calendar this May. Sounds great - how do I find out what’s going on?
Regular updates on mayfestbristol.co.uk, facebook.com/mayfestbristol and twitter.com/mayfestbristol will flash breaking news of what each day and night has to offer including ticket deals, impromptu performances/interventions and any other important information. A strand of
discussion events curated in collaboration with Theatre Bristol – all free - will be popping up left right and centre. And a sprinkling of skills-based workshops led by some of our visiting artists will also be on the menu. So if you fancy getting involved in some of these, or you just want to come along and meet the artists - we’ve laid it all on. You can join us on pretty much any web 2.0 buzz site there is: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MySpace, Vimeo and Flickr. But as ever, the best way to find anything out is to pop into one of our host venues and ask us. See you there.
What Is That Picture? Those places and spaces revealed… p2-3: Mayfest Office
p4-5: Corridor at Bristol Old Vic
p6-7: The Brewery
p9: Barrel in the bar Tobacco Factory
p10-11: Bristol Old Vic Paintshop
p12: Arnolfini
p13: Royal Crest at Bristol Old Vic
p17: Noticeboard at Tobacco Factory
p18-19: Rollerdoors at The Brewery
p20-21: Bristol Old Vic
p22: The Tobacco Factory Theatre
p23: Rehearsal room at Bristol Old Vic
saturday 1 may friday 30 april wednesday 7 april lee ‘scratch’ perry and ré trao ia rok jerry dammers’ rim pilg y bill et reggae’s most swe spatial a.k.a influential father ‘arguably the most orchestra figure and musical st mo , iting exc jerry dammers trailblazer. catch an afric live ing thrill and his 19 piece .’ his thrilling live und aro w sho sic mu orchestra pay tribute shows while he’s still time out to the cosmic touring. tickets: £17.50 jazz of sun ra and doors 8.30pm, spiritual reggae of tickets: £25 cedric ‘im’ brookes. tickets: £21, £19, £17, students £10 hall.org ) 922 3686 www.colston boxoffice +44 (0 117
friday 7 may the passion of joan of arc adrian utley (portishead) and will gregor y (goldfrapp) plus special guest musicians perform their new score for the classic 1928 silent film. 8pm, tickets: £17, £5
Event Management 路 Production Services 路 Theming 路 Special Projects
Diary
Arnolfini
Ticket Deals and Offers Remember to keep an eye on mayfestbristol.co.uk, twitter.com/mayfestbristol and facebook.com/mayfestbristol for ticket deals and offers.
FRIDAY 7
Bridewell Island
Carnyvillage, 8.30pm
Bristol Old Vic Paintshop
Mayfest 2010 Opening Party, 7pm
Bristol Old Vic Basement Bristol Old Vic Studio
Bristol Old Vic Theatre The Brewery
Tobacco Factory Theatre Site-specific Site-specific Site-specific
Arnolfini
Bridwell Island
Bristol Old Vic Basement Bristol Old Vic Paintshop Bristol Old Vic Studio
Bristol Old Vic Theatre The Brewery
Tobacco Factory Theatre Site-specific Site-specific Site-specific
SATURDAY 8
SUNDAY 9
MONDAY 1
Forest Fringe Microfest, from 7pm Forest Fringe Microfest, from 7pm Forest Fringe Microfest, from 7pm Forest Fringe Microfest, from 7pm
Love and War, 8pm
Internal, 2pm - 9pm
6.0: How H
John Moran
Wondermart / Kitchen Sink Drama SATURDAY 15
SUNDAY 16
MONDAY 17
TUESDAY 1
Five Fat Fish, 6.30pm
Jon Haynes 8pm
Jon Haynes 9.15pm
‌Falling Fo
No Idea, 8pm
Cirque de... 2 & 6pm
MUST, 8pm
The Moment I Saw You..., various times Carnyvillage, 8.30pm
Where We Live... 4pm Trilogy, 7.15pm
We Are Nothing... 9.30pm
Dean Gibbons, 6.30pm
Everything Must Go, 8pm Famous Last Words, various times
Wondermart / Kitchen Sink Drama
Keepers, 8
SS Arcadia
Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 bristololdvic.org.uk King Street, Bristol, BS1 4ED
10am – 8pm Mon – Fri 12pm – 8pm Sat A 50p transaction fee applies to all credit/debit card bookings and £2 for online bookings.
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TUESDAY 11
Tobacco Factory 0117 902 0344 tobaccofactorytheatre.com Raleigh Road, Bristol, BS3 1TF
10am – 6.30pm Mon – Sat Card handling fee of 50p for 1 ticket or £1 for 2 or more tickets applies for all card transactions. £2.50 fee per transaction for online bookings.
WEDNESDAY 12
Dogger, Fisher, Faero/The Last Romance 6.30pm Sporadical, 9.30pm The Festival, 8pm
Heap and Pebble Took on the World and Won, 6.30pm
n and His Neighbour Saori, 8pm
Arnolfini 0117 917 2300/01 arnolfini.org.uk 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
9.30am – 6pm (telephone) 11am – 6pm (in person) 75p per ticket for online booking. For tickets £10 and above the charge rises to £1.50 per ticket.
THURSDAY 13
BSL interpreted performance
Five Fat Fish, 6.30pm Ausform, 9pm
The Festival, 8pm
Everything Must Go, 8pm
FRIDAY 14
Carnyvillage, 8.30pm
No Idea, 8pm
Trilogy, 7.15pm
Dean Gibbons... 6.30pm
Dream-Work / Dream-Home, 8am, 9am, 10am & 4pm, 5pm 6pm
Pub Rock, 7.30pm
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WEDNESDAY 19
or You 6.30pm
THURSDAY 20
Who Knows Where, 6.30pm The Human Computer, 8pm
8pm
FRIDAY 21
Triptych, 7pm
, 7.30pm (matinee 3pm Saturday)
Electric Hotel, 9.45pm
Cutting the Cord, 7pm STAY!, 8pm
SATURDAY 22
Cutting the Cord, 3 & 7pm
Everything Falls Apart, various times
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