theatre fest west 2016 - salisbury · pdf filewelcome to theatre fest west, 2016. ... bradford...

THEATRE FEST WEST 2016

Celebrating theatre makers from across the South West

18 March – 2 April

Salisbury Playhouse

In partnership with

Salisbury Arts Centre

The Pound arts centre, Corsham

Trowbridge Arts

Wiltshire Music Centre

Come and celebrate with us this Easter!

Welcome to Theatre Fest West, 2016.

Now in its 5th year, Salisbury Playhouse’s annual celebration of South West work

has steadily grown, reflecting the diversity and excellence of theatre making in our

region. This year’s festival has been brilliantly curated by our Resident Assistant

Director, Jo Newman, and includes theatre makers from Cornwall, Bristol,

Gloucestershire, Devon and, of course, from right here in Wiltshire. In addition, this

year we are delighted to be working in partnership with Salisbury Arts Centre, The

Pound arts centre, Corsham, Trowbridge Arts and Wiltshire Music Centre.

Over 34 events will take place across all five venues and there really is something

for everyone. There is new writing (including the return of Pipeline Theatre who

wowed audiences at last year’s festival), contemporary theatre (Breach Theatre's

The Beanfield – Total Theatre Award in Edinburgh 2015), dance (Neon Dance’s

Empathy), multi-disciplinary performance (Karla Shacklock’s The Happiness) and

work-in-progress sharings from some of the region’s most exciting theatre makers.

As the second week of the festival takes place over the Easter holidays we have

made sure there is plenty to delight, inspire and captivate our younger audiences.

Look out also for a fantastic outdoor programme of work on Easter Saturday,

generously supported by Blencowe Scaffolding.

Much to celebrate and much to enjoy!

Gareth Machin,

Artistic Director, Salisbury Playhouse

VENUE INFORMATION and HOW TO BOOK

SALISBURY PLAYHOUSE

Malthouse Lane, Salisbury, SP2 7RA

www.salisburyplayhouse.com

Tel. 01722 320 333

Salisbury Playhouse is a leading regional theatre that produces a range of work here

in Wiltshire and offers audiences some of the best touring productions. It is proud to

champion original drama inspired by the South West and help develop a range of

writers, director and artists.

SALISBURY ARTS CENTRE

Bedwin Street, Salisbury, SP1 3UT

www.salisburyartscentre.co.uk

Tel. 01722 321 744

Sited in a beautiful church whose origins date back to the 13th century, Salisbury

Arts Centre makes the most of its wonderful acoustics and stunning surroundings to

showcase theatre, music, dance, comedy, family shows, films, exhibitions and

workshops. It regularly offers free activities – from Live Lunches to Exhibition

viewings – so people can try things without worrying about money. Salisbury Arts

Centre believes that the arts make life better and that everyone should have the

opportunity to experience them.

THE POUND arts centre, CORSHAM

Pound Pill, Corsham, SN13 9HX

www.poundarts.org.uk

01249 701 628

Pound Arts do three things: A gorgeous arts centre, quirky festivals and inspiring

Rural Touring throughout Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire. We offer residencies

and present outstanding, small scale theatre.

TROWBRIDGE ARTS

Trowbridge Town Hall, Market Street, BA14 8EQ

www.trowbridgearts.com

01225 774 306

Trowbridge Town Hall is being developed as a centre for arts, culture and heritage,

hosting a programme of professional performance, visual art and participation.

WILTSHIRE MUSIC CENTRE

Ashley Road, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1DZ

www.wiltshiremusic.org.uk

01225 860 100

Wiltshire Music Centre is a 300-seat concert hall in Bradford on Avon, presenting

over 100 concerts a year featuring internationally renowned classical, folk, world and

jazz artists and young musicians.

South West Theatre Symposium

Friday 18 March, 10am – 5pm

The Rehearsal Room at Salisbury Playhouse

Salisbury Playhouse, Theatre Bristol, Take Art and Activate invite

anyone working in theatre* in the South West to come together for a day to celebrate

the launch of Theatre Fest West. Expect a day of lively, meaningful conversations to

share ideas about opportunities for the future. Join artists and industry professionals

from across the South West who will lead discussions and sessions, give talks,

present case studies and facilitate lots of opportunities for ideas sharing. These

include exploring new touring models, breaking down producing hierarchies,

cultivating sustainable practice and celebrating theatre in the South West. And

please bring your ideas too. This day is about thinking around corners and working

together to make even more brilliant work for audiences across the region.

Speakers/session leaders include: Stephanie Jalland from Hoodwink, Gareth

Machin from Salisbury Playhouse, Katie Keeler and Mel Scaffold from Theatre

Bristol, Kate Wood from Activate, Sarah Peterkin and Mark Helyar from Take Art

and Phil Hindson from Arts Council England.

The symposium will be followed by a rehearsed reading of Stand Fast’s

Motherland by Silva Semerciyan at 5pm and a showing of Theatre Ad

Infinitum’s brand new piece Bucket List at 7.45pm (All South West Theatre

Symposium ticket holders will be able to book Bucket List for only £9)

* by theatre, we mean any kind of live performance - dance, circus, puppetry, live art.

By anyone we mean anyone making theatre happen in any way,

including producers/ theatre makers/ programmers/ promoters/ funders/ directors/

writers/ artists

Tickets: £10 (includes lunch and refreshments)

Stand Fast

Motherland (a rehearsed reading)

Friday 18 March, 5pm


Stand Fast Theatre is delighted to present initial scenes and ideas for Motherland

(working title) - an insightful exploration of Chernobyl’s Dead Zone, thirty years on. At

the heart of the play is the extraordinary story of those who remain and thrive in one

of the most toxic places on earth.

Written by dynamic Bristol-based Silva Semerciyan (shortlisted for the Bruntwood

Prize) in collaboration with director Katie Henry, Stand Fast is a new theatre

company that aims to redress the gender imbalance, onstage and off.

FREE – limited spaces

Theatre Ad Infinitum

Bucket List (work in progress)

Friday 18 March at 7.45pm

The Salberg at Salisbury Playhouse

Bucket List tells the story of Mexican orphan, Milagros, her journey from the

sweatshops of Cuidad Acuña to Harvard University, and what happens when the

promise of a better life begins to unravel.

Part rags-to-riches, part revenge story, Bucket List utilises an extreme style of

physical storytelling, live instrumental music and song, to explore themes of social

mobility, neo-colonialism and freedom versus fate in modern Mexico.

Tickets: £13.50 (under 25s £9)

Folio Theatre Company

Unearthed

Friday 18 March, 7.30pm at Trowbridge Town Hall

Tuesday 22 March, 7.45pm in The Salberg at Salisbury Playhouse

Following the sell-out success of its 2015 production, Folio Theatre's five star

production of Unearthed comes to Trowbridge and Salisbury.

Directed by Kim Pearce (The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time) and

starring Lizzie Stables (The Inbetweeners), this comedy-drama tells the heart-

warming story of estranged siblings who, once torn apart by caring for their father in

his illness, are brought back together through a series of hilarious tasks left for them

in his will.

Developed in consultation with the Stroke Association and Carers Trust UK, Alys

Metcalf's celebrated new play sensitively straddles the line between humour and

heartbreak, shining a light on issues we can all relate to.

Tickets: Trowbridge Town Hall: £10 (concessions & groups 4+ £8)

Salisbury Playhouse: £13.50 (under 25s £9)

Karla Shacklock

The Happiness

Saturday 19 March at 7.45pm


Fast, fun, thoughtful and physical, this is a provocative and entertaining adventure to

make you laugh, weep and squirm with recognition.

Combining breakneck choreography, spoken word, live sound and ever-transforming

images, the work throws happiness up for all to question.


Neon Dance

Empathy

Sunday 20 March, 7.30pm at Wiltshire Music Centre (accompanied by 4 live

musicians)

Tuesday 29 March, 8pm at Salisbury Arts Centre

A touching and emotionally charged performance from Neon Dance bringing art and

science together.

What makes our behaviour uniquely human? Taking inspiration from the work of

Simon Baron-Cohen, Empathy reflects on what influences us to sympathise with

others.

Exploring the human spectrum through movement, sound and set, five dancers jostle

for position – folding, lifting and balancing against one another as they navigate

through an entangled web of behaviour.

“Mesmerising” East London Dance

This performance at Salisbury Arts Centre is kindly supported by Fletcher and

Partners

Tickets: Wiltshire Music Centre: £14, under 18s £7, multibuy £13

Salisbury Arts Centre: £12 (concessions £10); Members £11/£9

The Heroine Project

Over The Top

Monday 21 March at 7.45pm


The true story of a forgotten Wiltshire heroine. Salisbury 1915: Aspiring journalist

Dorothy Lawrence returns from a mysterious assignment to Paris suffering from a

nervous complaint, and harbouring secrets the War Office forbids her to tell.

What made Dorothy brave enough to defy convention and follow her ambition?

And what price did she pay?

Based on original research, the astonishing story of a remarkable woman is brought

to life by two performers on a music hall stage.


A work in progress extract of this piece was shown at TFW 2015

Salisbury Playhouse and Wiltshire College

BTEC Variety Performance

Monday 21 & Tuesday 22 March at 6pm


A showcase of up and coming young artists from the Salisbury Playhouse BTEC

groups, part of Salisbury Playhouse’s ever expanding Performing and Production

Arts courses in partnership with Wiltshire College. Join them as they present for your

delight a combination of devised work, physical theatre pieces and rehearsed

readings of new short plays. It promises to be an enthralling mix of styles, form and

entertainment.

FREE – limited spaces

Bring Your Own

Iron M.A.M.

Tuesday 22 March at 7.30pm

Trowbridge Town Hall

Caught somewhere between a TED talk and a coming-of-age action thriller, this one

man theatre event explores the rarely discussed world of drone warfare, and why the

Iron Man films might just be the perfect metaphor.

Owl is military aged, but he's also a geek. He's not a soldier, but he does play a lot of

video games, and that's got him thinking. As he looks back over his childhood,

examining the links between masculinity, technology and warfare, he finds himself

asking the question: would he use a drone?

Tickets: £10 (Concessions & groups 4+ £8)

Meet the Programmers

Wednesday 23 March at 1pm


An opportunity for theatre makers to meet Jo Newman (Salisbury Playhouse), Russ

Tunney (The Pound arts centre, Corsham) and Tracy Sullivan (Trowbridge Arts),

Theatre Fest West venue partners who formed part of the selection panel for the

festival. Join them for a cup of tea, an informal conversation about how programming

works in each venue and how the festival programme was put together.

FREE (limited spaces – book your free place through Salisbury Arts Centre box

office)

Folio Theatre Company & Dom McDonald

Memories of WW1 (a rehearsed reading)

Wednesday 23 March at 7.30pm

Trowbridge Town Hall

New writers have been researching stories of local people during WW1 and have

based original performance based writing work on what they’ve discovered. Please

join us to hear their work first in the rehearsed reading, performed by Trowbridge

Arts associate company Folio Theatre Company.

Staged in the atmospheric environment of the Town Hall Court Room, the rehearsed

reading will enable local communities to appreciate and feedback on the ideas and

development of local writers of the Trowbridge Arts Writing Group as well as to

commemorate the actions and people involved in World War One.

Tickets: £6 (or £10 for two)

Spitz & Co

Gloriator

Wednesday 23 March at 7.45pm


A riotously funny show revealing just what happens when a glamorous French

actress and her hapless assistant stage their version of Hollywood

blockbuster Gladiator - an awe-inspiring production of bravery, honour, and

costumes made out of cardboard. Russell Crowe may not be available, but they are

determined it will be a show you’ll never forget.

Wonderfully inventive, physical, and very silly, Gloriator was created by

French/English female comedy duo Spitz & Co. with the help of Spymonkey’s Aitor

Basauri and Publick Transport’s Angus Barr.


Pipeline Theatre

Transports

Thursday 24 & Saturday 26 March, 7.45pm

(no performance Friday 25 March)


In the late seventies a volatile fifteen year old is shunted into her final foster home.

Her widowed foster mother has a hint of a foreign accent and a trunk full of secrets.

As youth plays cat and mouse with age, two parallel sets of revelations collide with

devastating consequences.

Weaving film and a powerful underscore, jumping in time between the 1970s and the

Second World War, Transports, by turns funny and moving, is a journey not quickly

forgotten. It was inspired by the experiences of designer Alan Munden’s mother, a

Kindertransport refugee.


Breach Theatre

The Beanfield

Thursday 24 March, 8pm at Salisbury Arts Centre

Saturday 26 March, 7.30pm at The Pound, Corsham

Total Theatre Award Winner 2015: Best Emerging Company. Thirty years on from

the Battle of the Beanfield - a brutal clash between riot police and a convoy of New

Age travellers on their way to set up the 1985 Stonehenge Free Festival around the

summer solstice.

Armed with a camera, a map and home-made riot gear, Breach set out to mark the

anniversary with a historical re-enactment.

Blending documentary footage with new writing, Breach presents a multimedia show

about stare violence and national heritage, in a new kind of fusion theatre.

There will be a post-show chat after the performance.

Tickets: Salisbury Arts Centre: £12; £10 concessions (Members £11 & £9)

The Pound arts centre, Corsham: £10 (£9 concessions)

Hand to Mouth

Flights of Fancy

Saturday 26 March at 11am, 2pm and 3.30pm

Out and about near Salisbury Playhouse

If only we could fly....

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to fly?

That’s what the newly-hatched baby Glovebird thinks too...

Using an original open-stage hand puppet technique and live music Flights of Fancy

tells the tale of a baby Glovebird learning to fly, while the earthbound puppeteer and

stick-in-the-mud musician attempt to get the show off the ground.

All accompanied by live music on the hurdy-gurdy.

Outdoor events supported by Blencowe Scaffolding

FREE – just come along on the day

Two Destination Language

Landed

Saturday 26 March 11am-1pm & 2pm-4pm

Outside Salisbury Playhouse

Join Two Destination Language in an intimate encounter which reveals what love

has left, as we glimpse what might have been, once was and is forever gone.

Working with performers’ memories of the loves that passed them by, the loves that

endured and those that still burn today, each experience is a glimpse of hope and

the extraordinary in human nature.

Landed is a performance for one audience member at a time, in a specially

constructed chamber. The experience lasts about 10 minutes, and there’s an

installation to explore afterwards.

Outdoor events supported by Blencowe Scaffolding

FREE (10 minute slots can be reserved at Salisbury Playhouse Ticket Office from

Friday 18 March and on the day at the Landed booth).

SISATA

Tess of the d’Urbervilles

Saturday 26 March at 3pm

Sensory Garden, Trowbridge Town Hall

SISATA's interactive and engaging performances aim to make universal classic tales

interesting and enjoyable for all ages, and hopefully encourage an enthusiasm for

Thomas Hardy's work.

We bring to life the Wessex of the past and honour the beautiful countryside where

the story takes place, whilst also highlighting the timeless issues that this story

presents.

Four actors play multiple roles in what is an enigmatic and fast paced telling of virtue,

love and injustice, but above all the impact of this on the human condition. However,

in true SISATA style there will still be fun, interaction, laughter and song to tie

together this heart-breaking tale.

This production will take place in the Sensory Garden behind Trowbridge Town Hall,

so please bring seats, blankets, flasks and food (there is an indoor alternative if the

weather is too inclement).

Tickets: £10 (concessions £8)

Travelling Light

Into the West

Tuesday 29 March at 2.45pm & 7pm


Imagine a glorious white horse comes out of a sea-mist and into your troubled life.

Imagine trying to keep her on the 14th floor of a Dublin tower block. Now imagine the

police are after you, and your only escape is to ride into the west…

To celebrate the play’s 20th anniversary, Travelling Light are bringing to a new

generation of audiences their internationally-acclaimed story of grit and magic, love

and loss, hope and discovery.


Ages 7+

Theatre Undertow

Research &Development Sharing

Saturday 2 April, 9.45am– 11.30am (at 15 min intervals) at The Pound arts centre,

Corsham

Saturday 2 April, 2.45pm – 3.30pm and 4.45pm-5.30pm (at 10 minute intervals) at


A hidden world can be found in the bellows, cries and songs of an accordion. Using

inventive puppetry and a blend of traditional and original music, Theatre Undertow

will have audiences captivated by their fantastical stores.

Come as a family, with friends, with a lover or as a brave individual – choose your

tale, and let your eyes and ears be enthralled by forgotten stories and songs as old

as the hills.

This work-in-progress performance is suitable for all ages.

Tickets:

The Pound: £5 (£4 concessions)

Salisbury Arts Centre: £5 (£3 concessions ),£10 family of 4 (Members: £4 | £2 | £8

family ticket for family Members)

Raised Eyebrows

The Little Bookshop Boy

Tuesday 29 March, 3pm at Trowbridge Town Hall

Wednesday 30 March, 2pm at The Pound arts centre, Corsham

Thursday 31 March, 11am & 2pm at The Salberg, Salisbury Playhouse

A boy falls out of a book and the pages slam shut behind him. He's lost and doesn't

seem to know which story he belongs in. There's only one way to fix that - time to

dive into another book and see if he fits.

Using puppetry, music and storytelling, Raised Eyebrows presents this charming,

spellbinding show for those of us - big or small - who have ever worried about fitting

in.

Tickets: Trowbridge Town Hall: £8

The Pound arts centre: £7 (£6 concessions), £24 family ticket

Salisbury Playhouse: £9 (groups 6+ £7)

Ages 5+

Light Theatre

The Magic Beanstalk

Wednesday 30 March, 11am & 2pm


Jack, his mum and their cow Daisy are in trouble. Their house is leaking, the phone's

cut off, there’s no food in the fridge - and they’ve got nits! Something’s got to change

and what happens next is an exciting adventure for all girls and boys who believe in

magic.

Set in present day Cornwall, beautiful hand carved puppets, illusion and amazing

experiments are used to re-tell the classic story of Jack and the Giant who lives

through the clouds and over the rainbow.

Tickets: £9 (groups 6+ £7)

Ages 5+

Theatre Fest West Special

Practice

Wednesday 30 March at 7pm


An evening of dance and theatre extracts of works in progress. Enter with an open

mind, discover up to four fantastic companies testing out new works in development

and contribute your thoughts to what you’ve seen.

Tickets include a free drink and a post-show discussion with the artists.

Tickets: £7 (£5 concessions); (Members: £6 | £4)

Tickets include a free drink

Pins and Needles Productions

The Bear

Thursday 31 March, 11am at Trowbridge Town Hall

Saturday 2 April, 11.30am and 1.45pm at Salisbury Arts Centre

Ever wondered what it would be like to sit on a polar bear's lap, ride on its back or

give it a bath? Looking after a bear is exhausting stuff as Tilly finds out when one

night an enormous snowy white bear climbs into her bedroom. It has a big black

tongue and a yawn as big as your head. But Tilly's not scared.

With dazzling puppetry, delicious music, dreamy storytelling, and dozens of laughs,

The Bear is an unforgettable experience for the whole family and a perfect

introduction to theatre for little ones.

So bring a bear, and join Tilly and her great big white friend on a wild and magical

adventure.

Tickets:Trowbridge Town Hall £8

Salisbury Arts Centre£10 (concessions £8), Family of 4 £32

Ages 4+

Broken Spectacles

Head in the Clouds

The Peregrinations of Marie Marvingt

Friday 1 April at n11am & 2pm


Come on an odyssey of the skies and discover the incredible life and adventures of

France's first female aviator, otherwise known as 'The Fiancée of Danger.’

Told through puppetry, story-telling and physical theatre with live piano, accordion

and guitar, this is the greatest true story that history forgot.


Ages 8+

Scratchworks Theatre

Nel

Friday 1 April, 8pm at Salisbury Arts Centre

Saturday 2 April, 7.30pm at The Pound arts centre, Corsham

Nel brings films to life through sound. In her world a tyre-screech is a hot water bottle

and an epic fight scene is a symphony of snapping celery and frozen cabbages.

But her real world isn’t turning out so well. Her cat’s died and she accidentally

poisoned her fish. She needs a friend. But for someone who spends her day making

sounds with vegetables, finding one is proving difficult.

Nel is a beautifully crafted mix of Foley artistry, live music and dynamic movement

examining identity, friendship and what it means to be an introvert.

Tickets: The Pound arts centre, Corsham: £10 (£9 concessions)

Salisbury Arts Centre: £12 (£10 concessions); Members: £11 | £9

Paddle Boat

According to Arthur

Saturday 2 April at 11am & 2pm


Meet Arthur – an odd old man who lives all alone in his attic. He never ventures into

the outside world; instead he spends all of his time with his friend the moon. But

now, Arthur needs your help!

The clouds have covered the sky and the moon is nowhere to be seen, and without it

Arthur’s life suddenly feels empty.

Bring your unbounded imagination as together we try to help Arthur find the moon

again – and in doing so, we might just remind Arthur that an empty life can be filled

again...


Ages: 4+

OTHER EVENTS TAKING PLACE DURING THEATRE FEST WEST

Ways of Making Visual Art Exhibition at Trowbridge Arts for the duration of the

festival. For all dates and info visit www.trowbridgearts.com

Barnstormers Comedy

Friday 25 March 8.30pm (bar opens 7.45pm) at Salisbury Arts Centre Tickets: £12 |

£11 concessions | £14 on the door (Members: £11 | £10| £13 on the door)

Altar Club

Saturday 26 March 8pm (bar opens 7.30pm) at Salisbury Arts Centre

Tickets: £5 in advance | £7 on the door (Members : £4 | £6 on the door)

Hijack Open Mic

Thursday 31 March 5-7pm at Salisbury Arts Centre

This event is free.

http://www.trowbridgearts.com/

THANK YOU…

to everyone who has helped make this celebration of theatre from across the

South West such a huge success

Headline Sponsor (Outdoor Programme)

Blencowe Scaffolding

Associate Sponsor

Trethowans

Venue Partners

Salisbury Arts Centre, Trowbridge Arts, The Pound arts centre, Corsham and

Wiltshire Music Centre

Symposium Partners

Theatre Bristol, Take Art and Activate Performing Arts

Theatre Fest West is generously supported by Frank and Elizabeth Brenan

theatre fest west 2016 - salisbury · pdf filewelcome to theatre fest west, 2016. ... bradford...

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