SparkFest Brochure 22

9 MAY - 14 JUNE 2022

Welcome to Welcome to SparkFest This is an invitation to celebrate the creative work from students, alumni, staff and our collaborators across the School of Music and Performing Arts at Bath Spa University, produced by the School’s own production company Bath Spa Productions in partnership with Bath Festivals.

Our creative and cultural landscape is still rebuilding from challenging times and SparkFest is a welcome reminder that original and visionary work is being made by new creatives to give you hope, inspiration, reflection and purpose ...or just a big belly laugh!

This six week festival brings audiences, the creatives of tomorrow, today. They perform in the streets, across the city and beyond; The Egg or YouTube, Zoom or Widcombe Social Club, the Mission Theatre or Holburne Museum Gardens, Komedia or Old Theatre Royal and of course our own beautiful Amphitheatre and performance spaces at Newton Park Campus. We are offering live and digital experiences throughout the festival and we invite you to watch our performances, participate in our workshops and debate in our panel events.

We make it with our talent and passion, our skill and determination, but most of all we make it for you. Come and join us.

How to book Book tickets at Bath Spa Live: www.bathspalive.com or Bath Box Office (paid events only): www.bathboxoffice.org.uk or Tel 01225463362 *booking fees apply These shows will be shown on Youtube premiere, booking will be required and a link will be sent to you.

These shows will be only shown once.

These shows will be live events, booking for these shows is essential.

Help empower and support our SparkFest performers and creatives to forge forward in their professional careers. Every ticket sold will include a 50p donation to NewSparks see back page for full details on what NewSparks is all about. @sparkfest_bath @SparkFest @sparkfestbath

SparkFest & Bath Spa Productions SparkFest is the largest and most ambitious project produced by Bath Spa Productions throughout the year. Its guiding principle is to champion the work of all the artists who participate in the festival. However SparkFest offers more than a stage to showcase work, through our 2022 programme we are offering: Artist Support Our NewSparks initiative runs throughout the festival. Each ticket sold will include a 50p donation to support the creatives of the future and their work.

Artist Development Our range of workshops offer you everything from mindfulness to professional development. Also make sure you catch our scratch event, platforming new developing work. See our website for full details.

Artist Perspectives We have invited our associate producers, industry partners and collaborators to programme a range of talks that explore and champion the voices and visions of the artist that will rebuild and reshape our creative industry. From the early career to the established professional we are looking to the future together.

See www.sparkfest.co.uk for full details of this programme

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9 MAY 7:30PM MICHAEL TIPPETT CENTRE £10 | CONCESSION £8 | BSU STUDENTS FREE

UFQ (Urban Folk Quartet)

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The Urban Folk Quartet’s distinguishing features have much less to do with the traditional idea of genre. Yes, this is fiddle-led music that draws heavily from celtic dance forms and traditional song but from there on in it is unlike any folk band you have ever heard. Just as English country dance unassumingly met with big band jazz musicianship in the mid 20th century, The UFQ’s approach to the folk ethos is to embrace any and every influence that genuinely makes sense of their time and place and makes sense in their music.

From funk grooves to middleeastern melodies, afrobeat to north Indian rhythms.

10 MAY 7PM FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

11 MAY 7PM FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

The Wardrobe At The End Of The Bed

The Tigress

A story left unseen… Until now. Witness this new documentary short featuring interviews with the many strange creators and stars, as well as footage from the infamous and unfinished horror film The Wardrobe At The End Of The Bed. A short film by Frank Hussey.

An audio drama set in a magical fantasy world following a slice of the life of Kat, the twelfth-born princess of Pryse who rejects her royal duties to make a life of her own by hunting monsters and uncovering ancient treasures.

She enjoys nothing more than killing monsters and getting drunk. As she finds herself in the rugged town of Blackfall, an elven woman, known as Lady Shiredove, approaches her to investigate an uprising amongst the workers of the iron and coal mine she owns.

Kat must battle the demons of the rich, of the poor and of herself. This audio drama is a must-listen for fans of, The Lord of the Rings, The Witcher, Dungeons and Dragons, and the like.

12 MAY 7PM FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

Lost in Sound Tackle Two men brought together by their love of fishing are met with the kindness and cruelty of mother-nature.

Once We Tackle That brings you their debut performance as voice over artists, Lost in Sound, a series of short stories written and performed by Bath Spa alumni Jasmine Chiswell and Jacob Ruddle.

Our company was founded in one of the many lockdowns of Covid19, as two actors (and friends) come together to pull each other through with voices, sketches and of course everything under the sun.

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

13 MAY 5PM - 8:30PM HOLBURNE FREE

14 MAY 2PM - 5PM HOLBURNE FREE

Play the Museum

Lazy on the Lawn

Part of Party in the City

Join us on the back lawn of the majestic Holburne Museum and soak up a feast of musical and performance treats. From mellow Jazz to moving cello concertos which will entertain the garden visitors. SparkFest provides an afternoon of free music and performance in what was once the pleasure gardens of Bath, sit back, relax and let the vibes flow over you.

Masters students from three programmes; MA Dance, MA Fine Art and MA Composition, will respond to the collection, the space and the history of the Holburne Museum in a cross disciplinary collaboration.

The building will be reanimated with contemporary artwork and site-specific performance that takes as its starting point the possibilities and limitations of translation from one form to another: space – sound – movement – object.

A playful, if not irreverent, approach will be taken, drawing on the original use of the building and grounds as the Sydney Hotel and Pleasure Gardens.

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16 MAY 7PM THE MISSION £5 | BSU STUDENTS £3

A Falling Star

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16 - 18 MAY 16 MAY 1:30PM - 9:30PM 17 MAY 2PM - 9PM 18 MAY 2PM - 5:30PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE FREE (NO BOOKING REQUIRED)

‘Distance means so little, when someone means so much’

Third Space

A Falling Star is a heart-warming original play written by Ryan Carroll, performed by BA Acting graduating students. Ben is excited to start a family with his girlfriend Mia, a bright astrologist with passion for the stars. After she suddenly passes away, he embarks on a journey to all of her favourite places, hoping to preserve her memory and ease his grief. But will his intentions be changed by who he meets along the way? Or is it all written in the stars?

Join us for Third Space 2022, the annual Bath Spa Dance degree shows. This year’s emerging artists have drawn on their creative skills to be able to demonstrate the imaginative potential of dance. The programme includes 3 days of live performances and short films that show how dance offers a powerful way to explore, question and re-present the world around us.

17 MAY 7PM FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

Lost in Sound Narrate My Day This performance is based on true stories sent in by you.

Once We Tackle That brings you their debut performance as voice over artists, Lost in Sound, a series of short stories written and performed by Bath Spa alumni Jasmine Chiswell and Jacob Ruddle.

Our company was founded in one of the many lockdowns of Covid19, as two actors (and friends) come together to pull each other through with voices, sketches and of course everything under the sun.

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

17 MAY 7PM THE MISSION £5 | BSU STUDENTS £3

4’s A Crowd Two’s company, three’s a party, four’s a crowd. Follow Will, Clara and Immy as they discover how a polyamorous relationship can blossom and how jealousy forms. When adventurous and flirtatious Leo is introduced, new romances arise while old insecurities are unearthed, leaving the group broken and divided. Will love prevail or is four a crowd?

Presented by BA Acting graduating students.

17 MAY 9PM THE MISSION £7 | CONCESSION £5 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Fifteen Years of Granite ‘That was the beginning of it all, that first night in The Barn. The start of the whole thing with Alex and me and that ghost…’

Sam’s got a confession, fifteen years in the making. Are you ready to listen? Join Fifth Knuckle Theatre in their nailbiting one-man show about the disappearance of a boy on Dartmoor, a haunted barn, and the kind of secrets best left buried.

Outstanding, thrilling storytelling ***** Brilliant. Kept me on the edge of my seat **** Bold, innovative theatre *****

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18 MAY 7PM THE MISSION FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

19 & 20 MAY 7PM THE MISSION £8 | CONCESSION £5

19 MAY 9PM THE MISSION £5 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Acting Showcase: Sitcom (Screening)

Ghost Orchid

It’s Not The End Of The World

Join us for an evening of short sitcoms and recorded media from graduating students of BA Comedy and BA Acting.

The final year students have been tasked with exploring the collaborative process of creating original material for their Sitcom projects and interpreting text for short extracts of recorded media.

A new play by Rachel Pownall, staged by Agapanthus Productions Liz spends her days fretting over her family; Stefan works too hard, Freya can’t wait to leave home, Tomasz won’t pull his weight on the farm and Ewa keeps running off to play in the forest, a place of magic and danger. Ghost Orchid is set over an eventful midsummer weekend when Liz’s life gets turned upside down, again.

This deeply moving and richly textured play explores the way trauma echoes across the generations of a farming family in rural Gloucestershire.

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Have you ever wondered what happens when you die? When your own world ends? And will it feel like the end of the world? In this darkly comic and reflective original script

by Katie-Victoria Turner, five strangers meet somewhere between life and death in a bid to discover what happens next.

20 - 21 MAY 7PM (ALSO 2PM 21 MAY) OLD THEATRE ROYAL £10 | CONCESSION £8 | BSU STUDENTS £6

Songs for a Summer Night Join us for a perfect summertime treat with a programme of great pieces of iconic musical theatre, opera anthems and lesser known gems.

Spend a couple of hours in the historic auditorium of Bath’s first Theatre Royal, an architectural jewel nestled just off the cobbles of Old Orchard Street and enjoy performances from Bath Spa University Music Performance students.

The worlds of opera and musicals merge in an evening of solos, duets and strong ensemble numbers all backed by a full orchestra in this most theatrical of settings.

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

21 MAY 3PM THE MISSION FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

Mirage Mirage uses the languages of Indian Classical and contemporary dance to tell stories about the subtle discrimination that women still face in a society which endorses “Equal Rights For All”.

21 MAY 5PM THE MISSION £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Violet

The suppression and mockery of women has been so casual, that it has ceased to offend us anymore.

However, we cannot afford to ignore the darkest hypocrisy of all: The goddess they worshipped and the infant they murdered were both women.

Reimagining erased history, Violet explores the lesbian identity in 20th century France. Adapted from Édouard Bourdet’s The Captive (1926), this new writing follows Irene through her struggles with identity, relationships and violence. Irene’s secrets stick with her for 20 years, and the conflict surrounding her own identity pushes her to live lives she never imagined.

Bourdet’s original text was banned due to controversy, but Violet is a new story that centres the all important voices of queer women and brings them to life on stage.

Performerd by BA Dance graduating students.

(Content warning: violence, alcohol & drugs) Performed by BA Acting graduating students.

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21 MAY 7PM FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

Lost in Sound 9:07. Wake. Eat. Sleep. 9:07.

Wake. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Once We Tackle That brings you their debut performance as voice over artists, Lost in Sound, a series of short stories written and performed by Bath Spa alumni Jasmine Chiswell and Jacob Ruddle.

Our company was founded in one of the many lockdowns of Covid19, as two actors (and friends) come together to pull each other through with voices, sketches and of course everything under the sun.

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21 MAY 7PM THE MISSION £5

Milked

By Simon Longman Paul is trying to find a job.

Snowy is trying to find himself. But when Snowy stumbles across a poorly looking cow stuck in a local field, he ropes Paul into trying to help the cow, either to improve its lot or to put it out of its misery.

What follows is a hilarious procession of failed suffocations, experiments with a saw and a trip to the train tracks, in this funny and moving black comedy about friendship, unemployment and a cow called Sandy.

21 MAY 9PM THE MISSION £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Bath Time A daft, semi-improvised crashcourse through the history of the City of Bath (World Heritage Site).

Highly educational. Jawdroppingly so, in fact.

Five comedians, Evan, George, James, Kes and Kobe, improvise, clown, sing and dance their way from the age of the dinosaurs to the tearooms frequented by Jane Austen, and from the Roman invasion to Hitler’s decision not to invade (ish). Pigs in mud, red noses and Bath buns.

Think Horrible Histories but with less commercial success.

Presented in association with The Last Hurrah.

22 & 29 MAY 3PM BOOKING REQUIRED VIA BATH BOX OFFICE £5

23 MAY 5PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Home Beasts and

by Nadia Fall Beauties

by Carol Ann Duffy the brekkie box and dramatised by Inside presents ‘Home’ by Nadia Fall.

Melly Still & Tim Our piece explores the life of today’s diverse youth living in a Supple Missed it live? Join us for this special screening of the show recorded during the run at The Mission Theatre last December.

Come and join us for an evening of Brothers Grimm and European fairy tales that will make you laugh with delight and shiver with glee. A prescription that is both grisly and gruesome, hilarious and hair raising !

Directed by Barra Collins.

London hostel Target East. Our concept is to utilise the use of cardboard creating parallels with the life of the homeless. While exploring what home really is we invite you (the audience) to ask yourselves what home means to you and how it would feel if this didn’t exist. We are incorporating this verbatim text with music and choreography to widen the scope of truth we can tell through these stories.

Contains violence and adult themes. This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

23 MAY 6:30PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

The Girlfriend Experience

by Alecky Blythe Sex, Sex, Sex! Four women, one gnome and a phone open their doors (and legs!) to the men of Bournemouth from the comfort of their seaside brothel. Tessa, Suzie, Amber and Poppy offer an array of filthy experiences with golden showers, Mars Bars, and leather gloves, these women share their innermost secrets of living as a sex worker.

This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

Contains violence and adult themes.

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23 MAY 9:15PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Home

by Nadia Fall When you have no home, where do you go? Home by Nadia Fall is the raw, true to life verbatim play about youth homelessness in East London. They all strive to gain their own home whilst dealing with the issues around homelessness, as well as the death of a resident. Home explores the voice of youth in London and comments on issues such as parenting, the government and rehabilitation whilst keeping the hope and resilience alive with these young people.

This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

Contains violence and adult themes.

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24 MAY 1PM - 5PM MICHAEL PENNIE GALLERY FREE

24 MAY 6PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE (SCREENING) FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

Display

Browsing

Bath Spa University second year dancers and musicians collaborate in a series of new pieces made especially for the Michael Pennie Gallery, Locksbrook Campus.

Taking links between the visual, sonic and kinetic as a starting point, the work explores patterns of behaviour and ways of viewing in the former furniture factory which is now home to the University’s art school.

What happens when one woman’s unwavering desire to embrace the horror of pensioners ‘e-dating’ has her mind set on finding the one? Uploading her hilarious, heartfelt rants catapults her online influencer career, but will Mr Right tune in and bite?

‘Browsing’ is a response to the play ‘Cruising’ by Alecky Blythe.

This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

24 MAY 6:45PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

24 MAY 8:15PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

25 MAY 5PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Cruising

by Alecky Blythe

The Girlfriend Experience

The Girlfriend Experience

Who says the elderly can’t have a bit of fun?

It’s 2006 in Bournemouth, and four mature women- Tessa, Suzie, Amber and Poppy, run a self-owned seaside brothel. As the women navigate the fine line between their sex work and their personal lives, they begin to ask the question: Will they ever get to experience being girlfriend’s themselves?

Scope Theatre present this real-life “stunning account,” recorded at a parlour on Bournemouth seafront.

Following 4 working girls getting by providing ‘the girlfriend experience’ to their customers.

When home and work collide Tessa, Suzie, Poppy and Amber must figure out how to manage their professional relationships whilst their personal lives are hanging on by a thread.

A conglomerate of geriatric love junkies find themselves yearning for connections…

70 years old and still in their prime, these old fogeys battle the taboo of rejection and raunchiness, through their avid search for: love, sex and companionship.

This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

Contains violence and adult themes.

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

Contains violence and adult themes.

Contains sexual imagery.

This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

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25 MAY 7PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

25 MAY 8:30PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

26 MAY 8PM BURDALL’S YARD £6 | CONCESSION £5 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Home

by Nadia Fall

The Girlfriend Experience

Stand Up and Sketch

With the number of homeless youths at an all time high in 2013. What does home mean to you?

“Real brothel, real prostitutes, real stories: come and enjoy the FULL girlfriend experience.

Explore the unique work and personal lives of four witty women you would never expect, and their… peculiar clientele.

With the use of shadow puppetry, colorful over-the-top costumes, and comic characters, this production will make you reflect on your assumptions of UK sex workers.

Are you looking for something exciting to do in the mad month of May?

Tw: sexual harassment and assault, alcoholism & references to self-harm and suicide.

Book your tickets now to avoid disappointment at the door!

Let us take you on a tour of Target East, as you listen to the voices that society chooses to ignore, whilst they tell their stories of what they call home.

This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

Contains violence and adult themes.

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This one-off performance is part of BA Drama’s Making Performance Showcase.

Come and see the BA (Hons) Stand Up & Sketch Comedy 2022 show! This graduating class of stand-up and sketch comedians will delve into their back catalogue and present spanking new, original comedy. You won’t want to miss it!

27 MAY 7PM BURDALL’S YARD £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

27 MAY 9PM BURDALL’S YARD £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

1 JUNE 7PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £7 | CONCESSION £5 | BSU STUDENTS £5

Are you sorry for what you’ve done?

Foul is Fair

Fateful Friendship

The story of the Macbeths is known and loved by millions all over the world, but the lives of the unfortunate castle guards are not as familiar.

In this short, two-hander comedy, the characters that Shakespeare left out finally get their time to shine, as they share their thoughts and opinions on the murder of King Duncan. Fans of Macbeth will get to relive the gruesome murder and turmoil, but with a mix of wordplay, farts and The Lion King.

Two friends discover a bond to last lifetimes.

Are You Sorry For What You’ve Done? is an immersive and explosive dark comedy.

Experience the flawed rehabilitation of six young men serving their individual sentences, and witness the frantic story of desperate prisoners scrambling to uncover the events of the night before. Discover their twisted stories, the grey justifications they give, and witness the dramatic consequences of a broken system and the victims it leaves behind.

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

This two woman show brings together some of Shakespeare’s feisty, witty and adventurous female characters to tell a newly formed tale of two young women dabbling in a touch of magic to discover what their future might hold!

Combining the thoughts of a variety of well loved characters from multiple Shakespeare plays, Momentum Acts presents a story about the strength of friendship and sisterhood in the face of unknown possibilities.

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1 - 3 JUNE 5PM KOMEDIA (BOOK DIRECTLY WITH KOMEDIA) £6 FOR 3 DAY PASS OR £3 PER NIGHT

Commercial Music Soundout Festival returns from 1st-3rd June with 3 back-to-back nights of independent music at Bath’s most prestigious arts venue.

Over 30 bands spanning all-genres will pack the main auditorium and the lively Electric Bar stage.

Presented by the ever-present arts coordinators, Sparkfest and showcasing talent from all years of Bath Spa University’s Commercial Music course - this year’s festival promises to be the biggest and best yet.

Presented by Bath Spa Commercial music.

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1 JUNE 9PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

1 JUNE 8PM MICHAEL TIPPETT CENTRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

2 JUNE 7PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Lock up your sons. Daughters run free!

Josef and Joseph

Signs

In the 20th Century; piano virtuoso Josef Hofmann was described by his contemporaries as ‘Legendary’, the ‘Greatest’ and even ‘A God’; but we have few recordings and little is known of Hofmann who retired from the stage in 1948 and who was also a teacher and even an inventor with over 70 patents

What defines healthy communication? This family of five discover their communication between each other through the simple things in life. Through stylised movement and physical theatre, we express the activities of everyday occurrences through the spoken and unspoken, and the heard and unheard. Using aspects of sign language and abstract movement, we aim to raise awareness of the deaf community, bringing a unique style of theatre and a new way of observing everyday life around us.

A monologue collage of newly written feminist work, dealing with sexual assualt through humour and a hopeful outlook to the future. Raising awareness for both men and women. We invite you to an after show discussion.

Four women on stage. Sharing their stories, uninterrupted.

This is their space, their time. A perfect night out, a nightmare, a perfect relationship, blurry lines, where is the line? Every woman has a story.

Recommended 16+ BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

With a live host, this evening is dedicated to Hofmann’s life and legacy and the evening brings together archive footage and recordings with live piano performance from pianist Joseph Segal of pieces by Rachmaninoff, Moszkowski, Rubinstein and Hofmann himself.

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3 JUNE 7PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Acting Showcase 2 (Screening)

I Have More Souls Black Thoughts and Dark Needs Than One

The First screening of two collections created by our graduating acting students.

The final year students have been tasked with exploring the collaborative process of making a new performance piece, either from an existing text or an entirely new work.

Have you ever been hurt in a relationship? How about causing hurt in a relationship?

Perhaps you’ve done both…

I Have More Souls Than One is a devised contemporary dance and drama performance, exploring the complexities of human relationships.

This story flows between the abstract and naturalistic worlds of two young women struggling with their insecurities and vulnerability.

Despite the pain and miscommunications is there still room for compassion and hope?

Films be screened: UNI: How to Make Money, Manly Adventures of Leslie Hicks, and Focus.

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3 JUNE 9PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

2 JUNE 9PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Have you ever wondered why people kill?

What makes people do terrible things?

Come for a pint and find out what drove some ordinary people to murder. .

AWAITING IMAGE

4 JUNE 2PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

4 JUNE 7PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

4 JUNE 9PM WIDCOMBE SOCIAL CLUB £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Acting Showcase 3 (Screening)

The Grand Deception of Tyson Jones

Bath Time

The second screening of short films created by our graduating acting students.

The final year students have been tasked with exploring the collaborative process of making a new performance piece, either from an existing text or an entirely new work.

Films to be screened: Adventures in Derali, Skin to Skin, and Everybody Has.

Luther Glenn has a saloon, Tyson Jones is the biggest small time outlaw the west has ever seen. Luther can’t cope with Tyson anymore and enlists the help is of his adventurous, inventive sister Daisy Glenn, to bring Tyson’s reign to an end. Tyson’s reckless and dangerous but Luther and Daisy are cunning and tricky. Can they outwit Tyson or will Tyson’s grip on the town remain?

A daft, semi-improvised crashcourse through the history of the City of Bath (World Heritage Site).

Highly educational. Jawdroppingly so, in fact.

Five comedians, Evan, George, James, Kes and Kobe, improvise, clown, sing and dance their way from the age of the dinosaurs to the tearooms frequented by Jane Austen, and from the Roman invasion to Hitler’s decision not to invade (ish). Pigs in mud, red noses and Bath buns.

Think Horrible Histories but with less commercial success.

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

Presented in association with The Last Hurrah.

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5 JUNE 2PM BATH STREET FREE

The Wave The ship, Wave Goodbye to Your Sanity, has been lost at sea for weeks, or perhaps it is years? Crewed by three buffoonish, broken, musical playing sailors, they need your help on a journey of incredible highs and sudden lows as they battle against the stormy seas. Brought alive through sea shanty, drums, guitars, harpsichords, and song. An adventure for all the family, as we sail over madness and wave goodbye to our sanity.

Come and join us for this great free outdoor event for all the family.

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6 JUNE 7:30PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

7 JUNE 7:30PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

Constellations

by Nick Payne

Blue by Joe Ward Munrow

Every choice, every decision you’ve ever and never made exists in an unimaginably vast ensemble of parallel universes.

A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet at a barbecue.

The rest might be history, or it might not, but one thing is for sure - Marianne LOVES honey.

Constellations explores one relationship through the infinite multiverse. Every possible future is ahead of them, but do they have time?

Follow band-three support worker, Anna, on her first days navigating the harsh reality of life within an inpatient mental health facility. Anna’s experiences offer a striking insight into the working life of the facility, and the limitations of the National Health Service in caring for individuals with complex needs. Joe WardMunrow’s Blue provides an account of everyday life, staff relationships and the ongoing battle to survive.

This event is part of DramaFest - BA Drama’s performance project.

This event is part of DramaFest - BA Drama’s performance project.

Performed with kind permission on Nick Hern Books.

Performed with kind permission on Nick Hern Books.

8 JUNE 7PM FREE (BOOKING REQUIRED)

Plus Minus Plus Minus play new pieces for clarinet, cello and piano by our MA composers, recorded last week in the Michael Tippett Centre. The work was made through a workshop collaboration with Plus Minus Ensemble and the MA composers, and features work

by Gerry Barnett, J Downey, Liam Hayes, Jeannette Owen, Gary Owston, Billy Snipp and Glyn West.

Vicky Wright (clarinet) Alice Purton (cello) Mark Knoop (piano)

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

8 JUNE 7:30PM UNIVERSITY THEATRE £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

9 JUNE 6PM & 8PM MAIN HOUSE, NEWTON PARK CAMPUS £5 | CONCESSION £3 | BSU STUDENTS £3

The Chamber

The Space Inbetween

The Chamber Four Brides One strangled, one stabbed and the other suffocated.

The next, an unsuspecting young virgin . . .

This event is part of DramaFest - BA Drama’s performance project.

Sweeping staircases, cramped claustrophobic closets or a star dazzled sky. What do you think of when space comes to mind ?

In the historic location of Bath’s Spa’s Newton Park Grade 1 listed Main House, journey through the various rooms to experience the different spaces we inhabit, both literal and figurative.

With soundscapes and performances provoked by the mansion and all its spaces both small and large, this unguided tour of discovery bears witness and shares the composer’s own particular response on how these beautiful spaces have inspired them.

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9 - 11 JUNE 9 & 10 JUNE 7PM | 11 JUNE 10:30AM & 2:30PM THE EGG £10 CHILDREN £8 | FAMILY £30 (MAX 2 ADULTS, 2 CHILDREN | BSU STUDENTS £6

Rats’ Tales Rats’ Tales mixes traditional European fairy tales with some brand new stories written by ex Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy performed by BA Acting graduating Students.

Centred around the tale of the Pied Piper, Rats’ Tales deliciously confronts the dark side of the imagination with characters that have powered the play of children over the centuries . Filled with venomous tales it embraces childhood with all its present joys and wonderful memories, proving that sadness cannot prevail and that there is always hope of a joyous celebration of the “Happy Ever After”.

A dark and magical cycle of tales packed with thrills, laughs, loves and more than a bit of magic. Rats’ Tales explores the power of story-telling to guide children through the exciting and yet dangerous adventure through the forest of life.

Copyright © Carol Ann Duffy and Melly Still 2012.

Reproduced by permission of the author c/o Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd., 20 Powis Mews, London W11 1JN. 22

10 - 12 JUNE 10 JUNE 6PM | 11 JUNE 3:30PM & 6PM 12 JUNE 1PM & 3:30PM NEWTON PARK CAMPUS £8 | CONCESSION £6 | BSU STUDENTS £6

A Moving Grove The Mechanicals of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, flushed with success from their debut performance, are taking on Macbeth! Mixing comedy, clowning and drama, an all-female cast weave an unexpected and intriguing spell.

Whether you’re a Shakespeare first-timer or already a fan, escape with us into another world and immerse yourself in this novel twist on these famous plays. In an entertaining Shakespearean promenade, amidst beautiful outdoor surroundings, you’ll walk short distances as our actors playfully guide you between scenes.

11 JUNE 6PM AMPHITHEATRE NEWTON PARK CAMPUS FREE

Mayfly

13TH JUNE BURDALL’S YARD SINGING VESSELS: WORKSHOPS : 11.30AM & 2.30PM £5 EACH SCREENING: 6PM FOLLOWED BY Q&A £3.50

A poetic story exploring the fleeting, ephemeral nature of life and how our survival is inextricably linked to our environment.

Singing Vessels

The stage comes to life with water effects and leaping fountains. The fountains provide numerous metaphors, representing obstacles in our lives, the ever changing landscape in which we all live, that nothing stays the same, that we can stand up, overcome and create change.

Vessels are offering creative workshops for you to come and discover their processes of creating for film - inclusive of insight into somatic based work, opportunities to learn repertoire from their film ‘Singing Vessels’ and to glimpse into their creative practice.

Kapow Dance Theatre will be working with BA and MA Dance students to present a new site-specific performance for Bath Spa University’s stunning campus.

This new work forms an exciting double bill with Kapow’s Mayfly; a spectacular fusion of water, dance and song.

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

We wish all people regardless of experience and age to come along !!

There will also be an opportunity in the evening to come to watch the screening of ‘Singing Vessels’ created by Vessels which will be followed by a Q&A for you to ask the cast and crew any questions We can’t wait to see you there!

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Talks throughout

14TH JUNE 7PM OLD THEATRE ROYAL £5/ £3

The Trial of the Shell 7 A rehearsed reading of a verbatim play by Margaret Heffernan.

“Shell knew, Shell lied, Shell knows still, who were the criminals?”

In April 2019 a group of Extinction Rebellion supporters smashed the front doors of Shell’s headquarters on the London South Bank.

The protest lasted two days with seven people being arrested and charged with criminal damage. Tonight’s rehearsed reading of Margaret Heffernan verbatim drama tells the story of the trial, built from dramatised court transcripts, actuality and interviews.

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Throughout SparkFest we are presenting a programme of talks that profile work and explore best practice of professional collaboration in creative projects. The talks are with industry professionals from a range of disciplines including designers, music directors and writers (to name a few) who will be interviewed by theatre director Sita CalvertEnnals.

These informal hour-long talks are held online and offer a great way to get close to the work of these practitioners and find out how they do what they do, including an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the talk.

18 MAY 7PM DAN CRANHAM WORKING WITH A MOVEMENT DIRECTOR Dan will discuss his experience and process as a performance maker/ movement director Dan Canham is a contemporary performancemaker and choreographer. Through his company, Still House, he makes socially engaged work that foregrounds underrepresented stories and celebrates those performing at its heart.

25 MAY 7PM MARY STEADMAN

1 JUNE 7PM SAM HALMARACK WORKING WITH A SOUND DESIGNER/ MUSICAL DIRECTOR Sam will discuss his experience and process as a sound designer / musical director and he will discuss different ways sound designers / musical directors collaborate.

WORKING WITH PERFORMANCE MAKING

7 JUNE 7PM MATTHEW BULGO

Mary Steadman, founder and artistic director of Red Room Productions discusses her work and research around performance practice and the development of new dramaturgies of the Eerie

WORKING WITH A WRITER Matthew is a writer and actor and co-founder of a new writing theatre company Dirty Protest. Matthew will be telling you about his work and process and discuss different ways into writer-director collaborations.

9 JUNE 7PM REBECCA WOOD WORKING WITH A DESIGNER Rebecca will discuss her experience and process as a designer and the building blocks of design through to production and how designers work with directors.

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

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VENUES

University Theatre/ Michael Tippett Centre Newton Park Campus Bath Spa University Newton Park Newton St Loe Bath BA2 9BN LocksBrook Campus Michael Pennie Gallery Locksbrook Road Lower Weston Bath BA1 3EL

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The Egg Saw Close Bath BA1 1ET Tickets: www.theatreroyal.org 01225 448844 Widcome Social Club Widcombe Hill Bath BA2 6AA Holburne Museum Great Pulteney Street, Bath BA2 4DB

The Mission Theatre

Corn Street Bath BA1 1UF

Komedia 22-23 Westgate Street, Bath BA1 1EP Old Theatre Royal

12 Old Orchard Street Bath BA1 1JU Burdall’s Yard

7a Anglo Terrace Bath BA1 5NH

Celebrating Music and Books in a Beautiful City

13-21 MAY 2022

AN SC E

M

BOOK NOW

thebathfestival.org.uk 01225 463362 @thebathfestival #thebathfestival

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DIARY

Book tickets at Bath Spa Live: www.bathspalive.com or Bath Box Office (paid events only): www.bathboxoffice.org.uk or Tel 01225463362 *booking fees apply

Performance

Date

Time

9/5

7:30PM

The Wardrobe At The End Of The Bed

10/5

7PM

The Tigress

11/5

7PM

Lost in Sound: Tackle

12/5

7PM

UFQ (Urban Folk Quartet)

MTC

Play the Museum

H

13/5

5PM - 8:30PM

Lazy on the Lawn

H

14/5

2PM - 5PM

A Falling Star

M

16/5

7PM

Third Space

UT

16 - 18/5

TIMES VARY

17/5

7PM

MAY

Lost in Sound: Narrate my Day 4’s A Crowd

M

17/5

7PM

Fifteen Years of Granite

M

17/5

9PM

Acting Showcase: Sitcom

M

18/5

7PM

Ghost Orchid

M

19/5 | 20/5

7PM

It’s Not The End Of The World

M

19/5

9PM

20 - 21/5

TIMES VARY

Songs for a Summer Night

OTR

Mirage

M

21/5

3PM

Violet

M

21/5

5PM

21/5

7PM

21/5

7PM

Lost in Sound: 9:07 Milked

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M

Performance Bath Time

M

Beasts and Beauties

MAY

Time

21/5

9PM

22 /5 | 29/5

3PM

Home by Nadia Falls

UT

23/5

5PM

The Girlfriend Experience by Alecky Blythe

UT

23/5

6:30PM

Home by Nadia Fall

UT

23/5

8:15PM

MPG

24/5

1PM - 5PM

Browsing

UT

24/5

6PM

Cruising by Alecky Blythe

UT

24/5

6:45PM

The Girlfriend Experience

UT

24/5

8:15PM

The Girlfriend Experience

UT

25/5

5PM

Home by Nadia Fall

UT

25/5

6:45PM

The Girlfriend Experience

UT

25/5

8:30PM

Stand Up and Sketch

BY

26/5

8PM

Are you sorry for what you’ve done?

BY

27//5

7PM

Foul is Fair

BY

27/5

9PM

Fateful Friendship

WSC

1/6

7PM

Commercial Music

K

1 - 3/6

5PM

Display

JUNE

Date

Lock up your sons. Daughters run free!

WSC

1/6

9PM

Josef and Joseph

MTC

1/6

8PM

Signs

WSC

2/6

7PM

Acting Showcase 2 (Screening)

WSC

2/6

9PM

I Have More Souls Than One

WSC

3/6

7PM

Black Thoughts and Dark Needs

WSC

3/6

9PM

BOOK AT WWW.BATHSPALIVE.COM

29

JUNE

Performance

Date

Time

Acting Showcase 3 (Screening)

WSC

4/6

2PM

The Grand Deception of Tyson Jones

WSC

4/6

7PM

Bath Time

WSC

4/6

9PM

The Wave

BATH STREET

5/6

2PM

Constellations by Nick Payne

UT

6/6

7:30PM

Blue by Joe Ward Munrow

UT

7/6

7:30PM

8/6

7PM

Plus/Minus The Chamber

UT

8/6

7:30PM

The Space Inbetween

NP

9/6

6PM | 8PM

E

9 - 11/6

TIMES VARY

A Moving Grove

NP

10 - 12/6

TIMES VARY

Mayfly

NP

11/6

6PM

Singing Vessels

BY

13/6

TIMES VARY

OTR

14/6

7PM

Rats’ Tales

The Shell 7

LOCATION KEY WSC Widcombe Social Club E

The Egg

H

Holburne Museum

K

Komedia

NP

Newton Park Campus

BY

Burdall’s Yard

OTR

Old Theatre Royal

UT

University Theatre

M

The Mission

EVENT KEY Live event Youtube premiere, booking required

MPG Michael Pennie Gallery (Locksbrook Campus) See page 26 for venue details

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TEACHER EDUCATION We’re one of the largest providers of teacher training in the region, with over 70 years of experience in training outstanding teachers.

PGCE PRIMARY AND EARLY YEARS Primary and Early Years (3-7) Primary and Early Years (5-11)* Primary and Early Years (7-11)*

OTHER PATHWAYS School Direct Teach First

* Also available as part-time courses PGCE SECONDARY Secondary Art and Design Secondary Biology Secondary Business Studies Secondary Chemistry Secondary Computing Secondary Design and Technology Secondary Drama Secondary English Secondary Geography Secondary History Secondary Mathematics Secondary Modern Languages Secondary Music Secondary Physical Education Secondary Physics Secondary Religious Education

Join the next generation of teachers.

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NewSparks is an exciting new funding initiative that we are running alongside our SparkFest festival of live and digital performance this spring.

Money raised through a ticketing donation will be available to graduating Bath Spa students and alumni who have participated in SparkFest. Now more than ever these future creatives need our support. Your donation can make a huge difference in a creative’s future and will help ensure that their creative voice is heard. This is important not just for them as artists but as a way forward for them to contribute in rebuilding the creative industries in the UK. We are inviting you to invest in the creatives of tomorrow.