Theatre for One

Alma Mater, at BAC, 1 May – 12 May

Battersea Arts Centre are taking on the microtheatre concept during early May, hosting the first London run of Fish & Game’s hit Edinburgh Fringe show.

A filmic tour-for-one, Alma Mater fuses high-technology with lo-fi charm as individual audience members enter a specially constructed, full-scale child’s bedroom to immerse themselves – via iPad – in the world of a little girl.

With an original score by John De Simone performed by experimental octet, Ensemble Thing and cinematography from award-winning artist Anna Chaney, Alma Mater weaves a complex, handheld fairytale for the 21st century – a haunting meditation on family, familiarity and growing-up.

More at www.bac.org.uk

Accidental Festival at the Round House – 31 May to 3 June

Something to get excited about over the Jubilee weekend?

From May 31 to June 3, the long Jubilee weekend, students of Central School of Speech & Drama are to mount the Accidental Festival at the Round House. This is the Festival’s 7th year.

The Accidental Festival, which has a lot of  international content, is devised by the 21 students on Central’s BA Theatre Practice: Performance Arts course.

This year’s programme includes over 60 different artists, including everything from contemporary dance to improvised comedy, music to experimental work and performances that will be truly innovative.

As producers the students have also brought in young companies such as Theatre Re who will perform The Gambler, a physical theatre piece which uses movement, live music and new writing to tell the story of an elderly gambling addict.

MENCHCollective, Music Box, Smooth Operators and CODA Dance Company are among the wide range of other companies taking part and contributing a very broad range of work.

More at www.accidentalfestival.co.uk

Comedy Academy Opens for Edinburgh Hopefuls

Applications are open for the second annual Fringe Comedy Academy.

The Fringe Comedy Academy is a ten-week course run in conjunction with The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, The Stand Comedy Club, Virgin Money and the Mike Westcott Memorial Fund.

Over the course of the ten weeks, 16 young people will be schooled in comedy before unleashing their skills at a special graduation show at the Stand Comedy Club during the Fringe.

Last year’s comedy tutors included comedy stalwarts Fred Macaulay, Raymond Mearns, Bob Doolally creator Paul Sneddon and top comedy writers from behind the scenes of the hit panel shows, Mock the Week and 8 Out Of 10 Cats.

The course is co-orientated by Edinburgh comedian Susan Morrison.

Anyone who would like to take part can apply by going to www.edfringe.com/comedyacademy

Need to refresh your production ideas?

The Adventures of Thunder and Coal, 3rd May–5th May 2012

Maybe a trip to the Little Angel theatre in Islington might help?

This puppetry-driven theatre combines productions for children with those for adults too, and won a well-deserved Fringe Report Award a few years back. The emphasis here is always on stagecraft and each production usually provides a fresh slant on delivery and atmosphere. The next production for example, for an adult audience is: The Adventures of Thunder and Coal, running from 3rd May–5th May 2012.

The Adventures of Thunder and Coal explores the parallels between the lives of the mice in the London Underground and the bigger mammals fumbling darkly up above them. Probably one of the world’s first IT-contractor-step-parenting-shadow-musicals, the show features a live band, animation and songs about supermarkets, steamy beverages and shifty commuters. There is (apparently) no unicycling.

This is a brand new, full-blown musical aimed at principally at adult audiences (suitable for aged 10 and above).

Nonesuch is the new company set up by the composer-writer Ben Glasstone and other key artists behind Little Angel’s cult hit musical The Mouse Queen.

Hidden Gems Tour Northern Venues

Somebody’s Son by Marcia Lane is second production

Hidden Gems Productions are a new Theatre collaborative by established regional artists Amanda Huxtable and Marcia Layne.

Somebody’s Son is the second production of this new Theatre company.

This coming of age drama with a cast of eight will tour regional venues in Huddersfield, Sheffield, Bradford, Leeds and Salford.

Thursday 31st May – Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
Friday 1st / Saturday 2nd June – Library Theatre, Sheffield
Thursday 14th June – Theatre in the Mill, Bradford
Friday 15th June – Seven Arts, Leeds
Saturday 16th June – The Lowry, Salford

www.hiddengemsproductions.co.uk

 

Opera Erratica at the Print Room from 14 May

Toujours et Près de Moi combines holograms, music and live theatre

This is a fractured tale of absence and regret told through moving music, startling images and visual wonder.

Toujours et Près de Moi is a world premiere and the first UK production from critically acclaimed international performance company Opera Erratica.

Live physical theatre, Victorian theatrical illusion and the latest video technology combine to create a dislocated performance space in which puppet-sized holograms interact with their live, life-sized selves. Meanwhile, Renaissance madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo are mixed with startling contemporary vocal pieces by Salvatore Sciarrino, Christopher Fox and James Weeks, adding to the sense of past/present dislocation.

Toujours et Près de Moi promises audiences a challenging and haunting new theatrical experience exploring presence and absence, memory and loss, connection and separation.

The Print Room is a small venue in Westbourne Grove. www.the-print-room.org

The production runs Monday 14 May – Saturday 26 May.

Second Hand Dance: helping to reinvigorate libraries

Dance in unexpected locations

Choreographer Rosie Heafford

Second Hand Dance are bringing dance activities into libraries this summer through performances and workshops. This June and July they will be touring Paper Solo, a collaboration between choreographer Rosie Heafford and visual artist Josie Davis, to libraries across London and the South East. The interactive performances will feature at a selection of  libraries including the recently opened Canada Water library and Clapham Library.

Get involved in Paper Solo
Paper Solo is a short but delicate solo dance that weaves its way around an intricately cut paper structure, with the added bonus of free workshops to accompany the event. An inviting family friendly environment will encourage young and old to make paper sculptures and create their own dances. Suitable for families and people of all ages and abilities; so satisfy your crafty urges and explore your creative potential in libraries this Big Dance season. For more information visit Second Hand Dance www.secondhanddance.co.uk

–      9th June 2012, Canada Water Library, 21 Surrey Quays Road, SE16 7AR
–      23rd June 2012 Peckham Library, 122 Peckham Hill Street, SE15 5JR
–      24th June 2012 The Arc, 39 Weston Drive, Caterham, CR5 3XY
–      30th June 2012,  Clapham Library, The Library Building, Clapham High Street, SW4
–      12-14th July 2012, Surrey Libraries (TBC)

Listen to Africa, in Liverpool. Free music festival

Sefton Park, Liverpool. Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th June 2012 / 12:30pm – 9:30pm both days

In 2012 Africa Oyé are marking 20 years of bringing the best in African music and culture to Sefton Park, Liverpool.

The full lineup now includes The Rasites (UK), Brinsley Forde (UK/Jamaica), Yaaba Funk (Ghana/UK), The Endless Journey (Niger), Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra (Nigeria/UK), Samba Mapangala & Orchestra Virunga (Democratic Republic of Congo), Jaliba Kuyateh (The Gambia) and Diabel Cissokho (Senegal)

http://africaoye.com/

Female Comedian of the Year. Open for Entries

Funny’s Funny, an organisation run by comedians to support fair treatment within the comedy industry announces its second Female Comedian of the Year competition, which opens for entries on April 23rd.

Plans for 2012 include a full run of Funny’s Funny shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, workshops for participants to develop their skills, and competition showcases across the UK and in Ireland. The grand final will be held in July in London.

Last year’s Female Comedian of the Year competition had 250 entrants and ran 21 showcases nationwide, with the involvement of several independent promoters and comedy clubs. The grand final crowned Harriet Kemsley as its winner. This year’s event is expected to be bigger.

All female comedians, regardless of experience, can enter the competition via www.funnysfunny.org.uk.

International Dance Festival Birmingham, begins today

Today is the first day of the IDFB, and the opening week sees a full programme of free outdoor performances, world class theatre shows and opportunities to get involved in the festival.

First up is the premiere performance of Home, which starts at 1.30pm today, as dancers animate Birmingham city centre using ideas, inspirations and choreographic material contributed by 1000 individuals through workshops, open days, and uploading films online, all relating to people’s feelings about the theme of ‘Home’, and what it means to them.

More at www.idfb.co.uk