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W E LC O M E TO
Ten years is a long time. The world has changed beyond recognition since the inaugural Mayfest programme at Bristol Old Vic in 2003; changes of government, wars, global financial collapse, births, deaths, marriages. In ten years of Mayfest we’ve invited artists to blind-fold you, build you a hotel, send your messages across the water with flags, dance with you. We’ve invited artists to tell you intimate stories whispered in your ear, to shout loudly, to sing, to be completely silent. We’ve welcomed artists from all over the world to this brilliant city. Mayfest 2013 is our biggest programme ever. We mark the move into double figures with ten new commissions based on the senses and a programme that features a roster of Mayfest artists and companies from the last ten years. We get to play in Bristol Old Vic’s beautifully refurbished auditorium once again, three years after Nic Green invited 100 naked women to celebrate their femininity in Trilogy. And as ever, we mix local voices with national and international ones in spaces and sites across the city. At the heart of it all though, is you, our curious, adventurous, trusting audience. We couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks. Matthew Austin and Kate Yedigaroff matthewandkate@mayk.org.uk
THE MAYFEST TEAM Matthew Austin and Kate Yedigaroff – Artistic Directors Richard Aslan – Audience Engagement Coordinator Kerrie Avery – Project Manager Annie Bell – Bristol University Placement Becky Hall – Assistant Producer Ruth Holdsworth – Participation Coordinator Claire Skelcey – Marketing and Sales Manager Chris Swain – Production Manager Sarah Watts – Mayfest Intern
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T he M ayfest 2013 O penin g party Mayfest Café Come and grab a bite to eat and have a chat about this year’s programme with other like-minded, peckish individuals with a thirst for adventure. Located only a stone’s throw from many of the Mayfest venues, this is a convenient place to re-fuel and find out the latest festival gossip. The café is now in its third year, and like everything else Mayfest-related, has grown in size, so we’re taking over The Big Room at The Parlour Showrooms!
Thu 16 May, 9pm until late
The Parlour Showrooms, 31 College Green, BS1 5TB
It’s our birthday, so we are going to celebrate in style at our opening party with live music, drinking and dancing. And, for downright silly reasons, we are holding what can only be described as THE BEST competition in the world, direct from Australia:
The Blind Tiger
So You Think you Can Interpretive Dance? The Suitcase Royale
Our favourite feline hangout is back, and she’s sharpened her claws and preened her fur to make this the most exciting year yet. The Blind Tiger promises music, entertainment, impromptu improvisation and a lot of surprises.
Competitors and spectators of all ages and skill are welcome to take part in this hilarious competition that celebrates the awesome power of interpretive dance. The stage is yours, Bristol! You’ve trained your whole life for this moment...
Come on down, grab a drink and relax. You’ll be glad you came.
Get your birthday hats and dancing shoes on. You know you want to.
Bristol Old Vic, King Street, BS1 4ED
Bristol Old Vic. Tickets are free, first come first served.
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B eo w ulf – A T housand Y ears of B a g g a g e BBB – Banana Bag & Bodice “...a thrashing, bashing rendition of the ‘Beowulf’ story…with music that demands to be described as demented...” New York Times
Venue Trinity Centre, Old Market Tickets £13/£11 Advance booking recommended. Door sales cash only. Booking Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 Running Time 70 mins Website bananabagandbodice.org
Fri 17–Sun 19 May, 7.30pm Sat 18 May, 2pm We return to the Trinity Centre following last year’s sell out hit The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart with this exhilarating song-play based on the 9th century epic poem. Direct from New York City, the Herald Angel Award-winning Beowulf – A Thousand Years of Baggage harks back to the raw and rousing style of storytelling in the old Scandinavian mead halls, turning the stage into a cacophonous swirl of explosive original music combining Weillian cabaret, 40s jazz harmony, punk, electronica and Romantic Lieder. We saw Beowulf at the Edinburgh Festival in 2011 and are thrilled to be joining Brighton Festival in presenting limited UK dates of this stunning show.
“Joyfully raucous and silly... brings out the power and the colour of the legend.” The New Yorker
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“An outstanding show; clever, ruthless, compassionate, and full of political insight… with a subtlety and humanity that sometimes takes the breath away.”
The Scotsman
“A truly intelligent and magical performance.”
The Arches present
Edinburgh Evening News
B E AT S By Kieran Hurley Fri 17–Sat 18 May, 10pm Sun 19 May, 8pm In 1994 the Criminal Justice Act effectively outlawed raves, banning public gatherings around amplified music characterised by “the emission of a succession of repetitive beats.” Beats is an award-winning new play written and performed by Kieran Hurley; a coming-of-age story exploring rebellion, apathy, and the irresistible power of gathered youth, with techno. Lots of techno. Featuring a live soundtrack from DJ Johnny Whoop and psychedelic 90s-inspired visuals from VJ Jamie Wardrop, BEATS tells the story of Johnno McCreadie, a teenager living in a small suburban Scottish town at the time of the Act. Kieran Hurley returns to Mayfest following last year’s brilliant Hitch. WINNER: Best New Play at the Critics Awards For Theatre In Scotland (CATS)
Venue Bristol Old Vic Studio Tickets £12/£8 Booking 0117 987 7877 Running Time 60 mins Website thearches.co.uk
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B rand N e w A ncients Kate Tempest and Battersea Arts Centre “A gifted and distinctive performer, whose mixture of passion, lyricism and modesty makes her a truly fresh and compelling voice.”
Evening Standard
Venue Bristol Old Vic Theatre Tickets £13/£11 Booking 0117 987 7877 Running Time 80 mins Website katetempest.co.uk bac.org.uk
Fri 17 May, 8pm. Sat 18 May, 2pm. The gods are in the betting shops, the gods are in the café, The gods can’t afford the deposit on their flat ... Winged sandals tearing up the pavement, Me, you, everyone, Brand New Ancients. Unfolding on the edges of the city, Brand New Ancients discovers the myths of modern times in the lives of two families as they collide, connect and come apart - all racing towards a violent conclusion. Poet and rapper Kate Tempest tells an everyday epic over an exhilarating live score played by tuba, cello, violin, drums and electronics, that finds the gods of today all around us and reveals that our true heroes are much closer that we think. Brand New Ancients took London by storm last year. We are working with Kate Tempest and Battersea Arts Centre to re-work the show especially for Mayfest in Bristol Old Vic’s beautiful auditorium. Winner of the Off West End TBC Award 2012. Winner of The Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2013. A Kate Tempest and Battersea Arts Centre co-production. Co-commissioned by the Albany. Supported by Arts Council England.
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“Ockham’s Razor’s unique blend of robust poetry leaves a beautiful scar.” The Stage
“There is something so unguarded and exhilarating about their joyous physical ease that you find yourself smiling broadly throughout. The whole show is a little miracle of co-operation.” The Guardian
N ot U ntil We A re L ost Ockham’s Razor Fri 17–Sun 19 May, Tue 21 May Fri, 7.30pm. Sat, Sun, Tue 2pm & 7.30pm The internationally acclaimed Ockham’s Razor, who trained at Bristol’s own Circomedia, return to Mayfest with their second full-length piece. Not Until We Are Lost uses aerial movement to create jawdropping physical theatre in a series of short stories that explore what it means to be lost. Get right to the heart of the action in this new promenade performance where aerial sculptures transform around us.. Not Until We Are Lost has an original score by Graham Fitkin (twice winner British Composer awards) and features a community choir from Bristol brought together especially for the show.
Venue Circomedia, Portland Square Tickets £13/£9 Booking Colston Hall 0117 922 3686 Running Time 60 mins Website ockhamsrazor.co.uk
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sense Ten new commissions to mark Mayfest’s tenth anniversary To mark the tenth anniversary of the festival, we have teamed up with Bristol Ferment to commission ten brilliant artists to make a new work in response to one of the senses. These ten new commissions, woven through the festival programme, invite you to explore new spaces and sensations, and offer ten new perspectives on how we experience the world around us Artists: Richard Allen Jo Bannon Benji Bower Lucy Cassidy Laura Dannequin Sam Halmarack Kathy Hinde Tom Marshman Sleepdogs Tom Wainwright Full details (including times) on mayfestbristol.co.uk and look out for a special SENSE programme during the festival. Commissioned by MAYK and Bristol Ferment.
Tickets ÂŁ10 for all ten pieces Booking Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 Further information mayfestbristol.co.uk
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H O O K , S K I P, R E P E A T Jeremiah Krage and Heidi Dorschler
Venue Across Bristol. See mayfestbristol.co.uk for details Tickets Free Website facebook.com/hookskiprepeat
Thu 16–Sat 18 & Fri 24–Sun 26 May Maritime history and crochet come together in this year’s Mayfest and Theatre Bristol commission, Hook, Skip, Repeat by Cornish artists Jeremiah Krage and Heidi Dorschler. Appearing around Bristol during this year’s festival will be several large-scale rope ‘doilies’, structures created by Krage and Dorschler in collaboration with the people of Bristol. Using brightly coloured rope and a giant crochet needle, the artists will invite passers-by to help them weave these eye-catching spider’s web-like creations – a playful and interactive celebration of collaborative effort. Inspired by Bristol’s history of rope making and ship building, combined with the traditional ‘woman’s craft’ of doily making, Hook, Skip, Repeat is an invitation to make something together, with friends and strangers that we can proudly display for everyone to see. Details of where to join Jeremiah and Heidi will be published on www.mayfestbristol.co.uk, or follow @mayfestbristol on Twitter for updates. Commissioned by Mayfest and Theatre Bristol.
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Amusements
97 Years
Turning the Page
Sleepwalk Collective
Jo Hellier
Stand + Stare and Professor Tim Cole, University of Bristol
Fri 17–Sat 18 May, 8pm Like some backroom carnival ride, or lo-fi sci-fi pleasure machine, Amusements is an intensely sensorial and breathlessly seductive headphone-theatre spectacular that asks what exactly we might want from our entertainment, and what it might want from us. With the audience plugged wirelessly into its beating heart, the performance is both a hypnotic dance towards the limits of pleasure and an unsettlingly voyeuristic tribute to our private desires.
Fri 17–Sun 19 May, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm In an interactive installation, one performer delicately works through a series of conversations between her and her grandfather. Whilst she celebrates and maps his ageing process a confused world is built around her. A tender, delicate investigation of mental health that invites an engaged audience to decipher a confused mind. Funded by Arts Council England. Part of the SPILL National Platform 2012 and SPILL Showcase 2013.
“Hauntingly gripping ... an awe-inspiring, sexually-charged “A promising emerging artist with a performance.” The Stage captivating performance style and an eye for detail.”
Mon, Tue & Thu 10am–5pm, Wed, Fri & Sat 10am–4.30pm, Sun 1pm–4.30pm Imagine if your well-thumbed guidebook could talk. Think of the stories it would tell about the places it’s been, the characters it encountered and all the narrow escapes along the way. This intimate installation invites you to take a seat at a desk in Bristol Central Library and investigate clues within a guidebook that magically comes to life as you turn the pages. “Original, different and downright delicious.”
Edfest Magazine on Stand+Stare’s The Guild of Cheesemakers
Jo Bannon; Performance Maker and Producer at In Between Time
Venue The Cube Tickets £10/£7. Door sales cash only Booking Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 Running Time 45 mins Age Guidance 14+ Website sleepwalkcollective.com
Venue RWA Tickets £7 Advance booking recommended Booking 0117 973 5129 Running Time 45 mins Website johellier.com
Venue Bristol Central Library Tickets Free Booking No need to book, just turn up Running Time Up to 15 mins Website standandstare.com
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Flâneurs Jenna Watt
Zilla Andy Field
Fri 17–Sat 18 May, 6pm
Part One: Sat 18, 5.30pm. Parts Two & Three: Sun 19 May, 6pm
Jenna’s friend was the victim of a violent attack on the streets of London. Discovering that there were bystanders at the scene, Jenna began to explore why we choose to intervene, or not, and asks whether ‘one punch is enough’ to provoke an intervention. Flâneurs is a new piece of live-art theatre that deconstructs the “bystander effect”, which states “the larger the crowd the less likely it is that anyone will intervene.”
An epic three-part disaster movie for the stage. A story of heroism and tragedy told with Lego figures, dinosaur slippers, microphones, business cards and Google Street View. Each part can be watched separately or experienced as a single piece spanning multiple evenings and multiple locations. Andy Field returns to Mayfest following last year’s Motor Vehicle Sundown. Created by Andy Field and performed by Ira Brand and Christopher Brett Bailey.
Winner Scotsman Fringe First Award 2012
“Tiny yet epic; a homespun disaster flick and a poignant elegy to cities.”
“An affable, generous, and beguiling performance, it packs a punch.”
Dumbshow Theatre The Herald
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website
The Brewery Theatre £10/£7 0117 902 0344 50 mins jennawatt.co.uk
BSL interpreted performance 18 May
Venue Tickets Booking Website
Unit 15, The Brewery Theatre £12/£8 (Whole experience) £10/£7 (One part) Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 lookingforastronauts.wordpress.com
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Sam Halmarack and the Miserablites
Mayfest at The Wardrobe Theatre
Sun 19–Mon 20 May, 9.30pm (doors 9pm)
Mon 20–Fri 24 May, 6pm
Back by popular demand!
Tucked up in the intimate Wardrobe Theatre, this is your chance to be entertained by inspiring new theatre talent for just a fiver. Every night is different, all the work is brand new, and you can drink beer while you’re watching. Bonus!
Located somewhere between a theatre show and a stadium pop concert, Sam Halmarack & The Miserablites are the bombastic pioneers of interactive stadium pop. Get ready for handclapping anthems and electro music to move and inspire. With songs, stories and a little help from you we will all come together to offer a unique take on what it means to be redeemed by music. A lightning-fast journey from the depths of failure to collective euphoria in the space of just a few songs. Singing is believing. Join in the feeling. Sam Halmarack and the Miserablites was originally presented at Mayfest 2011. We’ve brought it back because we think it’s brilliant.
“Sam Halmarack’s vulnerable little gem of a show drips with courage, comedy and openhanded honesty. A hero in the making. ”
We launched our collaboration with the Wardrobe Theatre in 2012, and it was such a success we’ve decided to bring it back. Full show information available at www.thewardrobetheatre.com Mon 20 May, The 100m Sprint. By Tumbling Hat Theatre. Tue 21 May, Echo Beach. By Hannah Sullivan, in a double bill with Our Dads. By Stephen Voake and Troy Orchard Wed 22 May, Maskboy. By James Wheale Thu 23 May, Wealth’s Last Caprice. By Chris. Dugrenier (pic), In a double bill with If Things Don’t Change. By Amy Louise Webber Fri 24 May, There May Be Explosions. By Carrie Rhys Davies
Venue Magazine
Venue Tickets Booking
Age Guidance
The Exchange £10/£7 Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 bristolticketshop.co.uk Door sales cash only 18+
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website
The Wardrobe Theatre £5 tickets@thewardrobetheatre.com Around 60 mins thewardrobetheatre.com
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The Great Spavaldos By Silvia Mercuriali and Simon Wilkinson An Il Pixel Rosso production Mon 20–Sun 26 May, 2pm–5pm, 6pm–9pm 30 min slots (two people per slot) Before their mysterious disappearance, the Spavaldo brothers performed their flying trapeze daredevil stunts without a safety net for over a quarter of century. Now they are back to tell their story and dare audience members to join them inside the big top, high up on the flying trapeze! The Great Spavaldos is an immersive experience for two people. Fitted with video goggles and headphones you will be given instructions to take the lead role as a circus performer. Not suitable for people with heart conditions or fear of heights.
“Dizzying and hilarious... a brilliant immersive performance.” Independent
Total Football Ridiculusmus Tue 21–Wed 22 May, 8pm Post-show talk 21 May More Beckett than Beckham. As sports world bigwigs prepared to descend on London for the 2012 games, and bureaucratic busybodies tried to figure out how best to exploit the national fervour, Ridiculusmus created its very own satirical take on it all. Picking over football systems, political wrangling and changing room banter, Total Football tackles the big questions of life; immortality, happiness and why England always lose. Ridiculusmus make funny, multi-award winning theatre. Total Football is a wickedly clever, mischievously sharp, and acutely observed meditation on our times. Co-commissioned by the Barbican, in association with Belfast Festival at Queens, National Theatre Wales and National Theatre of Scotland. Funded by Arts Council England “Provocative surrealists Ridiculusmus are the last men on the planet you’d want to run your soccer team – which is what makes Total Football so enticing.” Time Out London
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Age guidance Website
The Island £7 Advance booking recommended Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 25 mins 14+ ilpixelrosso.org.uk
Venue Tickets Booking Running Website
Bristol Old Vic Studio £12/£8 0117 987 7877 45 mins ridiculusmus.com
BSL interpreted performance 22 May
14 Ontroerend Goed, Laïka, Richard Jordan Productions Ltd and Drum Theatre Plymouth present
All That Is Wrong Tue 21–Thu 23 May, 7.30pm Belgian provocateurs Ontroerend Goed (The Smile Off Your Face, Mayfest 2009 and Internal, Mayfest 2010) return to Mayfest with the third part of their ‘Teenage Trilogy’, All That Is Wrong.
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website Age Guidance
Arnolfini £12/£9 0117 917 2300 60 mins ontroerendgoed.be 16+
All That Is Wrong looks at the world from the point of view of a bored and lonely eighteen-year-old called Koba Ryckewaert. Koba knows that all sorts of things are wrong with the world, including her. She resorts to resolving these wrongs the best way she knows how, without a computer, without a family, without a lover. Fixing things on her terms. Total Theatre Award Winners 2012 “Ryckewaert’s chalk is a master-stroke. A brilliant performance that will leave you feeling inspired and incited to social change.” Three Weeks Edinburgh
Goodbye Thailand (Portrait of Eye) John Moran Tue 21–Thu 23 May, 6pm Composer and choreographer John Moran presents the final in a series of theatrical portraits. Goodbye Thailand (Portrait of Eye) tells the story of Eye, a 19 year old in Bangkok who struggles to find a safe place for herself. Goodbye Thailand (Portrait of Eye) is accompanied by a live score by Derevo’s sound designer Daniel Williams, who adds his improvisational sensibilities to Moran’s precision choreography and sound-work.
Venue Tickets Booking
The Brewery Theatre £10/£7 0117 902 0344
Moran has been a Mayfest regular since 2009, with previous works including John Moran and his Neighbor, Saori, and Etudes: Amsterdam. “Moran remains one of the leading vanguards of American music and theater.” The New York Times
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C ookin g Ghosts Beady Eye
Venue Tobacco Factory Theatre Tickets £12/£8 Booking 0117 902 0344 Running Time 75 mins Age Guidance 14+ Website kristinfredricksson.mfbiz.com
Tue 21–Thu 23 May, 8pm Winter, 1974. A little girl waits for her mother to come home with a new baby. It’s twins! Summer comes and the three girls are caught on cinefilm, playing in the garden. Cooking Ghosts is the moving story of a woman who has no choice but to leave her children. A tale of tenderness and laughter turns to sadness and confusion, and the children abruptly lose their innocence. In this surreal and raucous show, an attempt to understand the past becomes a daring journey through the veils of memory that yields surprises and awakens ghosts. Cooking Ghosts is a fusion of visual story telling, puppetry, archive film footage and a specially created soundscape.
“A delicate patchwork of visual storytelling that is…breathtaking.” The Stage
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Still Night – Bristol Berlin, Nevada
Wild Thing I Love You Ella Good and Nicki Kent
Tue 21–Thu 23 May, 7pm
Tue 21–Thu 23 May, 6.30pm & 8pm
How is it that you know of this city? It is only now that I have dreamt of it.
In September 2011, we took a trip across America to see if Bigfoot is out there. We’d like to tell you about it.
Still Night - Bristol, inspired by Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, casts the city in the leading role.
Wild Thing I Love You examines our experiences of searching for a legendary mythical creature in rural America. Using recordings of conversation from people we met on the way, film, animation and live performance, we cross into a world where the wild and unknown can exist.
The show begins as a seminar on Bristol, seen through the eyes of a foreigner. The city slowly drifts into the distance of our imagination as, in near darkness and surrounded by luxurious sound, we find ourselves in a corner of the gardens of Xanadu, considering the empire of the Great Kubla Khan.
Held in an intimate tent with a limited audience this is a beautiful exploration of the things we cannot see, the spaces they might exist in, and our desire to believe.
Created and performed by Gemma Brockis and Silvia Mercuriali. Sound design in collaboration with Lewis Gibson. “You feel Still Night brush against your skin, tingle in your veins, shiver through your body the way an ice-cold cocktail does.” Maddy Costa, Dialogue
Venue Tickets Booking Website
City Hall £10/£7 Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 berlinnevada.com
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time
Centrespace Gallery £10/£7 Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 Advance Booking Recommended 60 mins
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P ra x is M akes P erfect Neon Neon and National Theatre Wales Thu 23 May, 8pm In a double first for Bristol, we welcome National Theatre Wales to the city, and we stage theatre at Motion, the vast club in the heart of the new Enterprise Zone. And what a show it is too.
“Left wing political activism never sounded so much fun.” The Guardian
Enter the unique world of Praxis Makes Perfect. Become part of an immersive gig imagining the life of Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, the millionaire Italian communist at the heart of many of the most extraordinary events of the 20th century. Smuggle a manuscript out of Russia, be tortured by the CIA, play basketball with Fidel Castro. With Feltrinelli, anything is possible. Conceived and performed by Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip of Neon Neon. Written by Tim Price. Directed by Wils Wilson (The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Mayfest 2012). Neon Neon/Musician Gruff Rhys Neon Neon/Musician Bryan Hollon Choreography by Scott Graham Designed by Chloe Lamford Lighting by Natasha Chivers Sound by Michael Brennan Part of a series of Bristol Temple Quarter commissions, coordinated by Watershed, Knowle West Media Centre and MAYK, with support from Bristol City Council and Arts Council England.
Venue Motion Tickets £15 Advance booking recommended Booking Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 bristolticketshop.co.uk
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The oh fuck moment Hannah Jane Walker and Chris Thorpe Tue 21–Thu 23 May 7pm & 9pm You just fucked up. Now what? Sometimes, fuck-ups are so massive, there’s no way back. In this Fringe First winning show, poet Hannah Jane Walker and Chris Thorpe examine the poetic guts of mistakes in a bundle of words and strip lighting. Fucking up is the truest, funniest, most terrifying moment you can experience. The oh fuck moment is a conversation around a desk for brave souls to hold their hands up and admit they fucked up, or for people to laugh at us because we did. Produced by Ric Watts (originally produced by Emily Coleman). Developed at The Nightingale Theatre and The Junction. “A brilliant celebration of our mistakes & evolutionary reflexes.” The Guardian
west Paper Cinema Residency Mon 20–Sat 25 May Performance Sat 25 May, 5pm The utterly brilliant Paper Cinema (King Pest & Night Flyer, Mayfest 2009) are in residence at Mayfest 2013, where they will be working with Bristol-based animators and artists to create West, an entirely new show inspired by the city we call home. Paper Cinema will create a laboratory of creativity in the heart of Bristol’s creative industrial home. Nestled between Bristol Old Vic’s workshops, Puppet Place and Spike Island, Bristol Diving School will be brought to life with paper, scissors, pencils and music. Acting as a companion piece to their 2009 show East about London’s East End, West will be a reflection of contemporary Bristol, conjured up with their trademark animation, projection and live music. There’ll be chances throughout the week for you to join in and help make the show, and everyone is welcome on the final day of the festival for the world premiere of the show. Details of open studio hours will be posted on www.mayfestbristol.co.uk. Developed in association with Mayfest Funded by Bristol City Council’s Creative Seed Fund.
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website Age Guidance
Arnolfini £10/£7 0117 917 2300 Advance booking recommended 80 mins hannahjanewalker.co.uk 18+
Please arrive 15 minutes before the performance
Venue Tickets Booking Website Age Guidance
Bristol Diving School £7 (for the performance on 25 May) Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 Cash only, on the door. thepapercinema.com 10+
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Gym Party Made In China
The Forest & the Field Chris Goode & Company
Fri 24–Sat 25 May, 6pm
Fri 24–Sat 25 May, 7.30pm
‘These are the brains of Those Who Have Passed. Those who could not keep up. Those who lost, the disqualified, the eliminated-from-heats. The dead: the dead-to-us-now.’ Amidst the litter of brains of Those Who Have Passed, Jess, Chris and Ira vie for success. Gym Party is at once a delicate and violent three-way contest and a hilariously confused call-to-arms. It will explore the psychology of winning and the nature of pride: the desire to be and get the most, in all its triumphant and ugly incarnations. Presented here as a work-in-progress showing. Participation in awkward teenager dance following the performance is optional. Commissioned by and developed at Battersea Arts Centre. A Pulse, Mayfest, Sprint and Sampled co-commission. Developed with support from the National Theatre Studio and the Almeida Theatre. Funded by Arts Council England.
The Forest & the Field is a gently seductive, immersive piece of storytelling. Relaxed and informal, yet passionate and provocative, The Forest & the Field opens up an irresistible invitation not only to theatre makers and thoughtful audiences, but to anyone with an interest in how we live today. The Forest & the Field creates a space for reflecting on theatre, from inside the moment of its happening. It asks us to consider what happens when we meet in a theatre space. Chris Goode (The Adventures of Wound Man and Shirley, Mayfest 2009, and Open House, Mayfest 2012) returns to Mayfest with his new show The Forest & the Field. Produced in association with Ovalhouse. Supported by The Touchstone Trust, Judith E Wilson Drama Studio and Jerwood Space “A brilliant performance on theatre... as likely to move as it is to provoke.” Exeunt
“Not since Forced Entertainment burst on to the scene almost 30 years ago has a company arrived with such a fully formed and distinctive voice.” The Guardian
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website
The Brewery Theatre £10/£7 0117 902 0344 50 mins madeinchinatheatre.com
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Age Guidance Website
Arnolfini £10/£7 0117 917 2300 75 mins 18+ contains nudity chrisgoodeandcompany.co.uk
20 SKaGeN with Richard Jordan Productions Ltd in co-production with De Tijd & STUK Present
B i g mouth A solo performance by Valentijn Dhaenens
“Brilliant... a fascinating experience.” The Guardian
Fri 24–Sun 26 May 8pm, Sat matinee 2pm He who picks his words well, can turn the weakest argument into the strongest. In a virtuoso performance and sell-out hit from the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe, Valentijn Dhaenens pays tribute to 2,500 years of oration. Using fragments of well known and lesser known speeches, he shows that the tricks of the trade have hardly changed. Valentijn Dhaenens has received universal critical acclaim and been described as a one-man powerhouse for his thrilling performance in Bigmouth. We saw it at Summerhall in last year’s Edinburgh Fringe and knew immediately that we had to bring the show to Bristol.
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website
Bristol Old Vic Studio £12/£8 0117 987 7877 75 mins skagen.be
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Z ero Clod Ensemble Fri 24–Sat 25 May, 7.30pm
“Clod Ensemble is one of those innovative and anarchic companies thrusting its way through traditional boundaries of drama.” The Guardian
Clod Ensemble were part of the very first Mayfest in 2003. We’re thrilled to be welcoming them back ten years later with this new large-scale dance piece in Bristol Old Vic’s beautiful auditorium. Zero is a world where nothing is certain, where women can be tigers and men snakes and where families, marriages and friendships are laced with sibling rivalries, frustrated desires and murderous ambitions. Heavens open and lives fall apart. Here, we are all at the mercy of the stormy weather. At least we can still sing the blues.
Venue Bristol Old Vic Theatre Tickets £15
Visceral and emotional, Zero features an explosive cast of eleven performers and seven musicians. An exemplary band of musicians including, legendary harmonica-playing Bluesman Johnny Mars and trombonist Annie Whitehead playing Paul Clark’s original score.
Booking 0117 987 7877
Drawing on an eclectic range of references from the blues to Hurricane Katrina to King Lear, Zero is a turbulent mix of dance, music and theatre on an epic scale.
Website clodensemble.com
Commissioned by Sadler’s Wells and Brighton Festival in partnership with South East Dance. Produced in association with Fuel.
Running Time 70 mins
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A Thousand Shards of Glass Jane Packman Company
The Memory Dealer Rik Lander
Fri 24–Sun 26 May, 4pm and 6.30pm
Fri 24–Sun 26 May, 11am–4.30pm
A surround-sound action-adventure which happens mostly in your head...
You are meeting Eve at the cinema after she called you out of the blue. You cut contact with her when she got involved in the whole memory thing. The last time you heard from her, she was on the run accused of dealing mems. Now she wants to see you.
In a diminished world of screens and virtual-reality, join our resistance heroine as she sets out on a mission to break some glass and change the world. Inspired by graphic novels and insurrectionist texts, A Thousand Shards of Glass combines an extraordinary solo performance, evocative sound design and a rich rhythmic text, to take you into a fantastical world. Be prepared for time travel, for exotic climates…and to find yourself becoming complicit in a conspiracy. Jane Packman Company work collaboratively to create evocative performances that take you somewhere else. “Deft and imaginative” The Guardian, on Jane Packman Company “Like a pop up graphic novel adventure” Audience Member
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website
Secret location – see mayfestbristol.co.uk for details £10/£7 Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 70 mins janepackman.co.uk
Set in a world where mobile phones can record and replay memories, The Memory Dealer is an interactive experience. In multiple locations around the city centre, memories have become trapped in everyday objects and you’ll encounter members of the underground mem-user subculture. Eve is desperate to prevent the government giving a single corporation ownership of all recorded memory. How far will you go to help a friend? You will need an iPhone or Android phone. If you don’t have one, you may be able to borrow one for selected performances. Funded by Centre for Advanced Studies, University of Nottingham and the Arts Council England. Sponsored by DCRC and supported by the Doyle Collection, Caffe Gusto, Watershed and the Pervasive Media Studio.
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website
Start at The Watershed £15/£12 thememorydealer.eventbrite.co.uk On sale from 22nd April 2013 Approx. 90 mins thememorydealer.co.uk
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“This is world-class theatre, built on the guts of raw experience.” Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph on Belarus Free Theatre
“One of the most powerful and vividly resourceful underground companies on the planet.” New York Times on Minsk 2011
T rash C uisine Belarus Free Theatre
Venue Tobacco Factory Theatre Tickets £13/£11 Booking 0117 902 0344 Running Time 100 mins Age guidance 14+ Website belarusfreetheatre.com This show includes surtitles
Fri 24–Sat 25 May, 8pm. Sat, 2pm Following their incredible performance of Minsk, 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker as part of Mayfest 2012, Belarus Free Theatre returns with an inventive and moving drama where food becomes a multi-faceted metaphor for life, death, morality and human endurance... Using live music, choreography, stunning visual imagery and talent from Belarus, the UK and Australia, Trash Cuisine explores issues behind imprisonment and torture with particular focus on the death penalty in a dynamic, affecting and nerve shredding performance. Hugely well received at its première in Amsterdam in October 2012, Trash Cuisine was devised and developed from first degree research collected in Asia, Africa, U.S. and Europe by Belarus Free Theatre with the support of Amnesty International. A Belarus Free Theatre and Young Vic co-production supported by LIFT. Originally developed and presented at Stadsshouwberg, Amsterdam co-produced by the European Cultural Foundation. Researched with support from Amnesty International. Supported by Network for Social Change, The Attenborough Charitable Trust, the Kevin Spacey Foundation and the Pleasance Theatre Trust.
24 Temple Songs The Beautiful Machine Sat 25 May, 9.10pm The Beautiful Machine is an a-cappella chorus led by composer and director, Jennifer Bell. Throughout Mayfest, the ensemble will be staging original songs and soundscapes exclusively for staff working in the Bristol Temple Quarter. To mark the end of this series of flash close-harmony concerts, they are inviting all comers to an intimate, one-off performance in an empty office.
Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website
Secret Enterprise Zone Location £5 Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 25 mins jennifer-bell.com
As the sun goes down, this song cycle gives voice to the unspoken dreams and desires we have to keep the lid on in the workplace. Temple Songs is an intricate, heartbreaking celebration of the quiet victories of every day. Produced by Theatre Bristol as part of a series of Bristol Temple Quarter Commissions, coordinated by Watershed, Knowle West Media Centre and MAYK, with support from Bristol City Council and Arts Council England.
Gymnast Bodies in Flight Sun 26 May, 3pm and 4pm Bodies in Flight (Dream-Work, Mayfest 2010 and Who By Fire, Mayfest 2004) return to the festival with a specially staged version of Gymnast at Bristol Gymnastics Centre in Hartcliffe. Performed in the vast gymnasium, and featuring a choir and professional gymnasts, the piece responds to the 2012 Games by exploring the athlete’s drive and determination to achieve physical excellence. Acclaimed Bristol-based company Bodies in Flight have been making performance together since 1990. The company is led by choreographer Sara Giddens and writer Simon Jones. Venue Tickets Booking Running Time Website
City of Bristol Gymnastics Centre £10 / £7 Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 40 mins bodiesinflight.co.uk
Produced by Dance 4. Supported by Arts Council England.
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M A Y F E S T C L O S I N G PA R T Y Extended playthecube... with Heatsick
Bank Holiday Sun 26 May, 8pm until late The Cube as never seen before... one man and his Casiotone keyboard reimagine the Microplex as a multi-sensual party sphere. Berlin-based musician and sculptor Steven Warwick aka Heatsick channels the ecstatic highs of house music into a prolonged, hypnotic dancefloor odyssey. Tonight he inhabits all corners of the building to dream up a living, breathing, dancing installation that unfolds over the whole night, taking in sexual politics, panned-out disco, perfume and gaffer tape. Part of the playthecube residency series brought to you by Qu Junktions and The Cube. FFI visit www.qujunktions.com
Venue Tickets Booking
The Cube Microplex, 4 Princess Row, Bristol ÂŁ4 advance, ÂŁ5 on the door tickets.crackmagazine.net, Here Shop & bristolticketshop.co.uk
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INTRODUCING
THE SUITCASE PRIZE A new PULSE initiative aimed at encouraging theatre makers to think in an environmentally and economically sustainable way‌ Featuring new work which can be transported on public transport: Friday 31 May 2013
PULSE AD.indd 8
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28 Memory of theatre
Ab Ovo Jessica Warboys
Tue 21–Wed 22 May
Sun 19 May
Listen to memories and stories from Bristol Old Vic’s past in this new interactive experience using locative technology. Created by Bristol Old Vic’s Artistic Director Tom Morris, Bristol University’s Paul Clarke, Pyxis Design, Calvium and MAYK. Sound Design by Lewis Gibson.
Jessica Warboys presents a new spoken word performance and film in collaboration with Morten Norbye Halvorsen at the beautiful Gothic Revival National Trust property Tyntesfield, inspired by photographs of the dancer Helene Vanel at the opening night of the 1938 Exposition Internationale du Surrealisme. Presented by Spike Island, the National Trust and Mayfest.
You will need an Android phone and earphones. If you don’t have one, you can borrow one from the box office. Memory of Theatre is a Heritage Sandbox project funded by the REACT Knowledge Exchange Hub for the Creative Economy. REACT is a collaboration led by UWE Bristol, Watershed and the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Venue Tickets Booking Duration
Bristol Old Vic Free This event is not ticketed Up to 40 minutes
Venue Tickets
Booking Website
Tyntesfield £10 (includes return bus trip and entry to Tyntesfield), booking essential. Bus departs outside Spike Island at 12pm Spike Island 0117 929 2266 spikeisland.org.uk
M ayfest M ornin g s Ask the Directors
Crossing Contexts: Performance across the visual arts and theatre
Theatre as Meeting Place
Mon 20 May, 11am–12pm The Parlour Showrooms Free
Wed 22 May, 10.30am–12.30pm (including free gallery tour with Spike Island Curator). Spike Island, Associates Space.
Sat 25 May, 11am–12.30pm Arnolfini, Light Studio
An opportunity to ask Artistic Directors Matthew Austin and Kate Yedigaroff questions about Mayfest in the Mayfest café, over a nice cuppa.
Free, but booking advised as limited capacity (free coffee and pastries). This informal chat with contributions from Paul Clarke (Uninvited Guests/Bristol University), Jamie Eastman (Arnolfini), and Marie-Anne McQuay (Spike Island), considers approaches to performance in the visual arts and theatre.
Free, with free coffee and pastries. An informal discussion about the role theatre plays in building communities.
Funded by Bristol City Council Creative Seed Fund. For bookings and information please e-mail ruth@mayk.org.uk.
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venues and booking Arnolfini 0117 917 2300/01 arnolfini.org.uk 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA Daily (telephone), 9.30am – 6pm Tue – Sun (in person), 11am – 6pm 75p per ticket for online booking. For tickets £10 and above the charge rises to £1.50 per ticket. Bristol Central Library College Green, Bristol BS1 5TL Bristol Diving School Hanover Place, Bristol BS1 6TZ Bristol Old Vic 0117 987 7877 bristololdvic.org.uk King Street, Bristol, BS1 4ED Mon – Fri, 10am – 6.30pm Sat, 12pm – 6.30pm A 50p transaction fee applies to all credit/debit card bookings and £2 for online bookings. Bristol Ticket Shop 0870 44 44 400 bristolticketshop.co.uk 26 Union Street, Bristol BS1 2DP Mon – Sat, 10am – 6pm Thu, 10am – 7pm Centrespace Gallery 6 Leonard Lane, Bristol, BS1 1EA
Circomedia (book at Colston Hall) 0117 924 7615 circomedia.com Portland Square, Bristol, BS2 8SJ
The Exchange 72 – 73 Old Market, Bristol, BS2 0EJ The Mayfest Café at the Showrooms 31 College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TB
City Hall, College Green, BS1 5TR Colston Hall (booking for Circomedia) 0117 922 3686 colstonhall.org Colston Street, Bristol, BS1 5AR Mon – Sat, 10am – 6pm Colston Hall charges an 8% booking fee plus £1.50 per transaction. Cube Cinema Bristol 0117 907 4190 cubecinema.com 4 Princess Row, Bristol, BS2 8NQ City of Bristol Gymnastics Centre, Hartcliffe 0117 377 3420 bristolgymnastics.co.uk Teyfant Road, Hartcliffe, Bristol, BS13 0RF Motion 0117 972 3111 motionbristol.com 74-78 Avon Street, Bristol, BS2 0PX
The Trinity Centre 0117 935 1200 3ca.org.uk Trinity Road, Bristol BS2 0NW Book via Bristol Old Vic or Bristol Ticket Shop. Tickets on door subject to availability. Tobacco Factory Theatre 0117 902 0344 tobaccofactorytheatre.com Raleigh Road, Bristol, BS3 1TF Mon – Sat, 10am – 6.30pm 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. Tyntesfield Estate Wraxhall, Bristol, BS48 1NX Unit 15 Princess Street, Bristol, BS2 0RA
Royal West of England Academy Queen’s Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX
Wardrobe Theatre The White Bear, 133 St Michael’s Hill, Bristol, BS2 8BS Book by email info@thewardrobetheatre.com
Spike Island 133 Cumberland Road, Bristol, BS1 6UX
Watershed 1 Canon’s Rd, Bristol, BS1 5TX
thank you to... Emma Stenning, Tom Morris and all at Bristol Old Vic; Ali Robertson and all at the Tobacco Factory Theatre; Tom Trevor, Jamie Eastman and all at Arnolfini; all at Theatre Bristol; Phil Hindson at Arts Council England; Tana Holmes at Bristol City Council; Rhiannon Jones at Trinity Community Arts; Bim Mason, Jude Hutchen and all at Circomedia; Emma Bettridge and Lina B Frank at Bristol Ferment; Residence; Mark Slater and all at Qu Junktions; Synth Media; Dick Penny and Clare Reddington at Watershed; Rosie Giarratana; all at The Wardrobe Theatre; Megan Farrow; Fuel Theatre; Bristol Festivals Forum; Sunita Pandya; Annie Warburton; Helen Legg, Marie-Anne McQuay and all at Spike Island; Fred Stacey; Ross Patel and all at Motion; Lina B Frank at The Cube; Hannah Clark at Bristol Diving School; The Island; Centrespace Gallery; Royal West of England Academy; The Station; Travelling Light Theatre Company; Carol Malone at Bristol Gymnastics Centre; Penny Evans at Knowle West Media Centre; Bristol Central Library; The Exchange; The Mercure Holland House Hotel & Spa; Sophie Bradey and all at BAC; Lucy Davies and David Evans at National Theatre Wales; Alice Tatton-Brown, Martha King and Hannah Sullivan at The Parlour Showrooms; Arthur Tibbs; Jack Gibbon; Jeremy Routledge at Calling The Shots; Harriet de Winton; Duncan Speakman; Bristol Rope & Twine; Jodie Hirst and all of our wonderful volunteers.
Designed by: Synth Media, synthmedia.co.uk Photo Credits: Front Cover: Seth Cable. Amusements: Alex Brenner. Zilla: Ludovic Des Cognets. Total Football: Alex Brenner. Praxis Makes Perfect: Mark James. The oh fuck moment: Martin Figura. Bigmouth: Maya Wilsens. Zero: Manuel Vason. A Thousand Shards of Glass: Chris Keenan www. primeobjective.co.uk. Heatsick: Josephine Pryde.
Diary Thu 16
Fri 17
Sat 18
Sun 19
Mon 20
ARNOLFINI ARNOLFINI OFFICE BOV BASEMENT
The Blind Tiger, p3
BOV STUDIO BOV THEATRE
BEATS, p5 Opening Party, p3
Brand New Ancients, p6
BRISTOL CENTRAL LIBRARY
BRISTOL DIVING SCHOOL CIRCOMEDIA
Not Until We Are Lost, p7
CITY HALL CENTRESPACE GALLERY CUBE
Amusements, p10
ENTERPRISE ZONE Bristol Gymnastics Centre
MOTION MULTIPLE LOCATIONS RWA
Hook, Skip, Repeat, p9 97 Years, p10
Parlour Showrooms
Mayfest
THE EXCHANGE
Sam Halmarack and The Miserablites, p12
THE ISLAND TOBACCO FACTORY BREWERY
Flaneurs, p11
Zilla Part Two, p11
TOBACCO FACTORY THEATRE
TRINITY
Beowulf, p4
TYNTESFIELD UNIT 15 VARIOUS VARIOUS WARDROBE OFF SITE
Ab Ovo, p28 Zilla Part One, p11
mayfestbristol.co.uk Tue 21
Wed 22
Thu 23
All That Is Wrong, p14
Fri 24
Sat 25
Sun 26
The Forest and The Field, p19
The oh fuck moment, p18 The Blind Tiger, p3
The Blind Tiger, p3
Total Football, p13
Bigmouth, p20
Memory of Theatre, p28
Zero, p21
Turning the Page, p10 West, p18
Final Performance
Not Until We Are Lost
Still Night - Bristol, p16 Wild Thing I Love You, p16 Closing Party, p25 Temple Songs, p24 Gymnast, p24 Praxis Makes Perfect, p17
Hook, Skip, Repeat, p9
CafĂŠ, p3
The Great Spavaldos, p13 Goodbye Thailand, p14
Gym Party, p19
Cooking Ghosts, p15
Trash Cuisine, p23
Memory Dealer, p22 Sense, p8 Mayfest at The Wardrobe, p12 A Thousand Shards Of Glass, p22
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mayfest bristol
“Few festivals sizzle quite so deliciously as Mayfest, which always succeeds in feeling both very local and completely universal.� The Guardian
Mayfest is produced by MAYK, in collaboration with Bristol Old Vic and venues across the city. Funded by Arts Council England and Bristol City Council.