Mayfest Blog

Save Me: A Conversation Across The City

2011-10-18T13:08:00.000+01:00

For two hours each day, for eleven days during Mayfest 2011, Bristol-based performance duo, Search Party, spoke to each other across Bristol Harbour using semaphore. Arnolfini is now working with Mayfest and Theatre Bristol to publish and launch a new book with Saearch Party and The University of Chichester about how a simple act of performance in May became to represent the struggles of distant connection.

Join us on Saturday 22nd October 6.30pm at Arnolfini for the launch night of the publication, a performance from Search Party and hear the artist share a few thoughts on the acts of coding and decoding that occur within daily acts of communication.

30 Cecil Street at the Cube

2011-09-12T07:52:00.002+01:00

Dan Canham's beautiful, haunting 30 Cecil Street wowed audiences at this year's Mayfest, and went on to be one of the hit shows at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. So, if you've yet to catch it, then here's some good news! It's coming back to the Cube this October.

Developed through Bristol Ferment, 30 Cecil Street is a heartbreaking elegy for a lost and ruined theatre in Limerick – a moving performance of fragments of memories, of wild nights and long-disappeared communities.

It will be shown in a double bill with a new dance film by Bristol Based choreographer and film-maker, Lisa May Thomas.

You can book tickets through Bristol Old Vic box office.

Lunchtime Talk with The Ice Book at Watershed

2011-09-07T12:51:00.000+01:00

Lunchtime Talks are a series of informal presentations at Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio. They normally take place at 13:00 on a Friday, are free and are open to everybody who is interested in what they do.

This Friday's talk is with Davy and Kristin McGuire, the people behind the mesmerising The Ice Book which came to Mayfest 2011. The pair have recently joined the Studio to continue work on the project. In this talk, Davy and Kristin will speak about their previous work, their progress with The Ice Book so far and their plans for its development. Following the talk, there's also a opportunity to see a performance of The Ice Book here at the Studio if you missed it.

Full details available here.

Mark My Wordle

2011-08-19T17:10:00.003+01:00

Cast your minds back to May. Fun wasn't it? Here's a little summer treat - a Wordle made up of all your Twitter comments from during the festival (click to enlarge):

To Treasure Forever

2011-05-19T21:52:00.000+01:00

"On 2 May 2011, a group of Bristolians engaged on a 14-day theatrical intervention into their daily lives that asked them to be creative, responsive and playful. They sent and received emails, SMSes, MMSes, post and tweets and visited interactive objects hidden throughout the city. This is a book that chronicles some of what happened."

To purchase a copy of the Fortnight book, click here.

"A Boisterous, Intelligent Energy knits everything Together"

2011-05-18T13:15:00.000+01:00

Guardian reviewed Epic during Mayfest and you can read their thoughts here.

"What Kimmings does is to Tell us Like it is, Frankly and Hilariously Honestly"

2011-05-18T12:58:00.001+01:00

Even more reviews from A Young Theatre. Here they have reviewed Sex Idiot as well as Stationary Excess which you can read here.

Peek a Booth!

2011-05-17T23:23:00.000+01:00

Here's a collection of brilliant images from the Peek-a-Booth photobooth at Electric Garden during Mayfest to give you a taste of the fun and shenanigans going on at Rolling Stage's latest party.

Mayfest 2011 in 42 Tweets

2011-05-17T19:29:00.000+01:00

So there we go. Mayfest 2011 has come and gone in a flash. After this frantic festival though, before we all return to the more natural pace of life, let's just have a quick look back at another great year and what better way that through the wonderous medium of Twitter?

"Such a Rich and Moving Dialogue without one Word being Uttered"

2011-05-17T19:05:00.001+01:00

Exeunt have reviewed Mayfest 2011 as a whole here, with particular praise for Save Me and The Blind Tiger.

Patch Things Up, Make Amends, Our Hearts are still Beating

2011-05-17T11:02:00.002+01:00

Finally Search Party's semaphone marathon, Save Me, has reached its conclusion. For 2 hours for 10 days Pete and Jodie stood at either end of a portion of Bristol's Floating Harbour squinting at eachother in a painstakingly slow but utterly captivating and beautiful conversation. Between the 5th and 15th of May some of the topics discussed without one word being uttered were seperated twins, messages in bottles, long-distance telephone calls, the wind, home, and the Apollo 11 astronaunt Michael Collins. Below you can read exactly what was communicated via semaphone during Mayfest (click on each chalk board image to enlarge):

Monday 9th

Tuesday 10th

Wednesday 11th

Thursday 12th

Friday 13th

Saturday 14th

Sunday 15th

"A Wonderfully Inventive performance"

2011-05-16T21:08:00.000+01:00

Two more reviews from A Younger Theatre here. You can read their thoughts on Like You Were Before here and I Guess If The Stage Exploded... here!

"An Intriguing Exploration, Not only of the 20th Century, But also of Dramatic Representation itself"

2011-05-16T14:15:00.000+01:00

It's now officailly a tsunami of reviews on Monday morning! Here's what Exeunt had to say about Epic.

"A Hero in the Making"

2011-05-16T13:33:00.000+01:00

And the reviews just keep flooding in! Here's four more from Venue. You can read their thoughts on May here, Epic here, the four and a half stars they gave to Sam Halmarack & The Miserablites here and their two stars for Ousia here.

"A Rich Mix of Surrealism, well-observed Teenage Gaucheness and high-speed Madcappery"

2011-05-16T12:44:00.017+01:00

Veune have reviewed three other Mayfest shows, Operation Greenfield which you can read here, The Guild of Cheesemakers which is here and Fortnight readable here.

"A Fascinating Glimpse into the Mind of a Fascinating Man"

2011-05-16T09:38:00.000+01:00

Here's a couple of Mayfest reviews from the local blogger, Bristol Culture. They reviewed Fortnight here, and The Invisible Journey here.

"Frantic Passionate Dancing"

2011-05-16T09:28:00.000+01:00

Here are another couple of reviews of Mayfest shows from A Younger Theatre. They reviewed May here and Ouisa here.

300ft Up Bristol looks like a Model Village

2011-05-15T16:51:00.001+01:00

It was Saturday 14th May and Fortnight (two weeks of letters, texts, emails, tweets and treasure-hunts) finally drew to a close. Proto-Type weren't going to let it all end quietly though and sure enough, sticking to the proverb of saving the best till last, Fortnight participants were treated to a very special party in the sky across the entire top floor of one of Bristol's very tallest buildings, Castlemead. There was laughing, chatting, dancing, boozing and much admiring of the view. It was a great and very poignant way to end this special project with the city all the participants had been exploring and getting to know a little better now laid down beneath them all like a model village. Here are a few pics from the night:

Showing Today - Sunday 15th May

2011-05-15T07:00:00.001+01:00

Sex Idiot - Bristol Old Vic - 9.30pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

The Ice Book - St Paul's Church - Various Times

A Costume Drama

2011-05-14T17:46:00.000+01:00

Bryony Kimmings is a little bit of a nutcase. Here are a few images of her in a range of incredibly vibrant costumes, some of which feature in her new show, Sex Idiot, opening tonight at Mayfest 2011.

The Blind Tiger goes into Hibernation

2011-05-14T15:35:00.004+01:00

Friday 13th May, a distinctly lucky night for all in attendance at the last appearance of The Blind Tiger in 2011. Hilarious acoustic songs from Hazel Winter, interesting improvised dance from A38, all singing all dancing comedy from Desperate Man Jon Beedell, a fascinating physical dance drama from Probe's Antonia Grove, some side-splitting banjo numbers from Publick Transport's Angus Barr (including the riotous Ballad Of A Plastic Bag) and a collection of poetry from Rina Vergano - the purr-fect way to end this widely loved Mayfest addition.

"Gentle charm and light-hearted Enthusiasm"

2011-05-14T11:40:00.000+01:00

Theatre Bristol have reviewed Doris Day Can Fuck Off here.

Showing Today - Saturday 14th May

2011-05-14T07:00:00.001+01:00

Sex Idiot - Bristol Old Vic Basement - 9.30pm

The Summer House - Bristol Old Vic Studio - 7.30pm

Ousia - Arnolfini - 7pm, 8.30pm and 10pm

Sam Halmarack & The Miserablites - Arnolfini Dark Studio - 9pm

The Ice Book - St Paul's Church - Various Times

May - Tobacco Factory Theatre - 8pm

Stationary Excess - The Brewery - 7pm

It's Like He's Knocking - The Parlour - 7.30pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

Endangered Species

2011-05-13T20:50:00.001+01:00

These tigers are rare beasts you know, they won't last forever. Tomorrow Bryony Kimmings comes to reclaim the Bristol Old Vic Basement for all theatre-kind and so tonight is your last chance to enjoy the fantastical, unique and memorbale delights of Mayfest's Blind Tiger. Get yourself down there between 9.30pm and 12am. Who know's what the big cat has in store this time?

Get Ready for Igfest 2011

2011-05-13T18:38:00.000+01:00

Hot on the heels of this year’s Mayfest comes Igfest - the interesting games festival. So if you like the more playful aspects of contemporary theatre then Igfest might be for you. Igfest is festival of interesting games you can play in the street on the 28th and 29th May 2011.

Street/pervasive games as a form have been quietly growing in popularity and complexity over the past few years. The possibilities offered by these kind of fully interactive performances is clear to anyone who has been involved in one. However, these are experiences and as such are sometimes hard to be understood out of context. That's what the festival is about. Letting people play these new kinds of games, helping the form to grow and having fun while we're at it.

There are more than 30 games at this year’s Igfest and highlights include games from Coney, Tinned Fingers and Greg Trefry. There will be games by artists that are designed to challenge you physically like Circle Rules football and the Institute of Aesthletics famed Wiffle Hurling. They will have games that tax you mentally like Tom Abba’s the Village and games that are just plain stupid and joyous like Catherine Herdlick’s Neo Cow Girl Faux Rodeo.

The real headline game at this year’s festival though is 2.8 Hours Later, a citywide zombie chase game. The experience and structure of this game is not unlike a piece of promenade theatre but one in which the audience is fully immersed and massively personally motivated. Igfest employed writer Hazel Grian to develop this game with them for its premier last year. A game about social collapse and voracious greed seemed a perfect commentary on a society sliding into capitalist melt down.

The audience (the players) are tasked with finding “other survivors of the Zombie Apocalypse”. They are then set loose in a city haunted by the spectre of the undead. There are eight locations for players to find throughout the game. Each of these delivers them into a micro-performance propelling them back out in to the city. With these kind of games, the city really comes alive in the most cinematic way. Players find themselves caught up in the action and their suspension of disbelief is surprising.

Igfest’s aim with these large scale games is not to structure a narrative and tell it in chunks. They try to create a situation where players are able to read scenes like cues “Oh, so this has just happened so now we would have to do this”. Zombie stories are great for doing this because they have a large cannon of well known work. Players respond to this with incredible journeys of imagination for which the game is just a cradle.

All these games will be expanding in to our city streets and repurposing them for play. Changing players’ perspectives of the places they go and the people they encounter there. Igfest is a festival of interesting games you play in the street. See you there!

A Higher Plane. End of the line. All change please. A Higher Plane

2011-05-13T12:45:00.003+01:00

During Mayfest, punters who were taking part in Fortnight were asked to imagine that Bristol had an underground train network with stops that were for getting to differenet states of mind. Here is the map Proto-Type Theater have put together made up from people's responses (click on it to enlarge). I've got some very interesting tube journeys planned!

Showing Today - Friday 13th May

2011-05-13T07:00:00.004+01:00

The Ice Book - St Paul's Church - Various Times

The Electric Garden - Bridewell Island - 8pm till late

The Summer House - Bristol Old Vic Studio - 7.30pm

Ousia - Arnolfini - 7pm, 8.30pm and 10pm

Sam Halmarack & The Miserablites - Arnolfini Dark Studio - 9pm

Doris Day Can Fuck Off - The Brewery - 8.30pm

May - Tobacco Factory Theatre - 8pm

Stationary Excess - The Brewery - 7pm

It's Like He's Knocking - The Parlour - 7.30pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

The Blind Tiger - Bristol Old Vic Basement - 9.30pm till late

Neil Young like you've Never Heard him Before

2011-05-12T16:34:00.001+01:00

Last night was another great one in The Blind Tiger featuring acapella performances from Bristol Old Vic's Artistic Director, Tom Morris, and local writer Rina Vergano; however, the real show stealer was Guy Dartnell. Fresh from performing his latest show in the Bristol Old Vic Studio, Something Or Nothing, Dartnell climbed the stage and regailed the gathered masses to a memorable version of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart. Here's some raw footage of the performance:

"You Can't Help but Smile"

2011-05-12T11:13:00.000+01:00

Guardian have reviewed Save Me in the Bristol Harbourside here.

Showing Today - Thursday 12th May

2011-05-12T07:00:00.002+01:00

The Summer House - Bristol Old Vic Studio - 7.30pm

Ousia - Arnolfini - 7pm, 8.30pm and 10pm

Sam Halmarack& The Miserablites - Arnolfini Dark Studio - 9pm

30 Cecil Street - The Cube - 7pm

Doris Day Can Fuck Off - The Brewery - 8.30pm

Epic - Tobacco Factory Theatre - 8pm

Stationary Excess - The Brewery - 7pm

It's Like He's Knocking - The Parlour - 7.30pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

The Invisible Journey - Bridewell Island - 8pm

The Blind Tiger - Bristol Old Vic Basement - 9.30pm till late

Roaming with you Fair Maid

2011-05-11T18:43:00.000+01:00

Some video footage of The Pill Whalers performing at the Tobacco Factory Theatre after Tales From a Sea Journey on Sunday 8th May.

The many Changing Faces of Doug Francisco

2011-05-11T13:39:00.001+01:00

Ringmaster of The Invisible Circus, Doug Francisco brings his new solo show, The Invisible Journey, to Mayfest this year.

Showing Today - Wednesday 11th May

2011-05-11T07:00:00.012+01:00

30 Cecil Street - The Cube - 7pm

Epic - Tobacco Factory Theatre - 8pm

Stationary Excess - The Brewery - 7pm

It's Like He's Knocking - The Parlour - 7.30pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

The Invisible Journey - Bridewell Island - 8pm

Something and Nothing - Bristol Old Vic Studio - 8pm

The Blind Tiger - Bristol Old Vic Basement - 9.30pm till late

Unfinished Business

2011-05-10T16:17:00.002+01:00

A beautiful montage of music and images from Leo Kay's tour of It's Like He's Knocking so far. Tonight he stops off at Mayfest and shows every night until Saturday:

Reviews - Operation Greenfield and The Guild of Cheesemakers

2011-05-10T14:20:00.000+01:00

For anyone who missed the thrill of Operation Grennfield or The Guild of Cheesemakers at Mayfest this year, never fear as online theatre magazine Exeunt have reviewed them both, here and here.

Reviews - Flogging A Dead Horse and Tales From a Sea Journey

2011-05-10T09:21:00.000+01:00

The first weekend of Mayfest is over and the reviews are starting to come in. Venue magazine has so far reviewed Flogging A Dead Horse and Tales From a Sea Journey, available to read here and here.

Showing Today - Tuesday 10th May

2011-05-10T07:00:00.000+01:00

Nobody and Beyond - Circomedia - 8pm

The Invisible Journey - Bridewell Island - 8pm

It's Like He's Knocking - The Parlour - 7.30pm

Something and Nothing - Bristol Old Vic Studio - 8pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

Say What You See

2011-05-09T18:10:00.002+01:00

On Saturday 7th May, ten performers visited ten different spots across Bristol and with a dictaphone recorded everything they could see, eveywhere they walked and everyone they encountered for Prayers. All ten recordings are now up on Dora Garcia's website to listen to and download, providing a beautiful snapshot of this diverse and bustling city.

Here is an example of just one of the recorded tracks which listens to a woman describing her journey on a ferry in Bristol's Floating Harbour:

To have a listen to the other 9 tracks which were recorded under the M32 underpass, North Street (Bedminster), in St Nick's Market and Cabot Circus, St Pauls, St Werburghs, The Downs, inside The Canteen on Stokes Croft, aboard bus route 36 to Withywood and finally on Park Street, just follow the link here.

Pushing Yourself Beyond what you Thought was Possible

2011-05-09T14:06:00.000+01:00

Karla Shacklock talks through Beyond, her first production since running Precarious

“I am incredibly excited about the new work; Beyond. It's my first production since I was running Precarious and so for me this is pretty huge. The piece is part of an incredibly inspiring research project called Going Beyond that I anticipate is going to develop massively over the next year or so. I can’t tell you how excited I am about the discoveries we are making and what we think is a pretty boundary blurring piece of work. It’s very hard to try to define what the work is, not very helpful for marketing purposes I know, but very exciting in terms of our research. I’m not sure if it's dance, physical theatre, live art, performance art, or something completely new. I’m not sure if I’m the choreographer, the director, the facilitator, or the captain.

I think that Beyond is an explosion, a raw exploration into what happens when you push yourself beyond what you thought possible. It’s about stripping yourself bare and going into the deepest nether regions of your own consciousness, of your own self, and truthfully and authentically performing that experience. It’s an unknown adventure, it’s going somewhere, it’s going beyond.”

Nobody and Beyond plays tomorrow for one night only at Circomedia.

Distance makes the Heart Grow Fonder

2011-05-09T09:20:00.002+01:00

Five days in and the sumptuous Save Me is captivating Bristol audiences. Don't forget to get yourself down to the city centre fountains this week between 11am and 1pm to engage with and enjoy this beautiful celebration of communitcation.

Here's what Search Party's Pete and Jodie have been saying so far through semaphore (click on the chalkboard images to enlarge).

Thursday 5th

Friday 6th

Saturday 7th

Sunday 8th

Showing Today - Monday 9th May

2011-05-09T07:00:00.001+01:00

Music Circus - Colston Hall - 8pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

The Pill Whalers

2011-05-08T23:49:00.000+01:00

Twas a dark and stormy nigh' and all 'round thar old Tobacco Fact'ry place, Mayfest werr despra'tly searchin' for a seashanty band to perform at Sunday nigh's post-Tales From a Sea Journey Sea Shanties and Fish n' Chips do.

A local Seashanty Festival warr hoggin' all the talent but jus' when Mayfest was thinkin' they'd haav to let excited seashanty fans down, none other than The Pill Whalers strolled in. Arrivin' jus' as audience members, the proper Wes'country foursome agreed to perform and by end ar the nigh' were regaling the Fact'ry masses with beautiful old songs o' ship-masts and maidens while the rest of us tucked into delicious Fishminster fish n' chips.

Review - Foley and Astronaut

2011-05-08T12:43:00.000+01:00

A Younger Theatre, theatre through the eyes of the younger generations, have written a lovely review of The Brewery's double bill of Foley and Astronaut. Tonight is your last chance to watch them both! To read the review, follow the link here.

Duckumentation

2011-05-08T09:52:00.004+01:00

For those of you taking part in Fortnight this Mayfest, Duckumentation and this montage of images will be old news. For those of you not taking part, this is a little window into the some of the fun you're missing out on. It might all be pretty baffling but if I explained it to non-Fortnight participants, well, I'd have to kill you. Quack!

Showing Today - Sunday 8th May

2011-05-08T07:00:00.001+01:00

Operation Greenfield - Bristol Old Vic Studio - 8pm

Tales From a Sea Journey - Tobacco Factory Theatre - 8pm

Like You Were Before - Arnolfini - 5.30pm

I Guess If The Stage Exploded... - Arnolfini - 7pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

The Guild of Cheesemakers - Secret Location - 7.30pm

The Ice Book - St Paul's Church - Various Times

Foley - The Brewery - 7pm

Astronaut - The Brewery - 7pm

The Blind Tiger - Bristol Old Vic Basement - 9.30pm till late

A “Roaring” Success

2011-05-07T17:21:00.000+01:00

To say the first ever night of The Blind Tiger went quite well is like saying that Operation Greenfield is quite a good show. Punters who attended both last night will be smug in the knowledge that they witnessed something rather special.

Buoyed by the sheer excellence Little Bulb’s opera of adolescence, the doors of The Blind Tiger were swung open at 9.30pm and the Mayfest public flooded in to revel in the Tiger’s dark Parisian interior, complete with bar, lampshades, odd pictures on the walls and countless sexy corners.

The Blind Tiger’s main attraction is its tiny stage which throughout Mayfest will be used to host open-mic-esque performances. Stage set then, the first ever performance in this new space came from Arthur Duncan who regaled the packed tables with a couple of songs from a show he was in over forty years ago, the most memorable being the heartbreaking Close The Coal House Door Lad.

With a short break to set up, it was soon the turn of the amazing Little Bulb. Not content with absolutely blowing everyone’s minds with Operation Greenfield less than an hour before, this troupe of five sickeningly talented performers provided The Blind Tiger with a night of sensational sea-shanty folk numbers, each sung with the company’s characteristic warmth, humour and charm using a plethora of harmonicas, guitars, bongos, accordions, xylophones, basses, clarinets, flutes, bells, drums and mandolins.

The whole night was an unmitigated success and a riotous good time. Make sure you visit soon because who knows what other wonders The Blind Tiger has in store for us all?

Love Tea. Love Cake. Love The Mayfest Café

2011-05-07T12:16:00.000+01:00

The Mayfest Café is here! Located inside The Parlour on Park Street directly opposite College Green, the friendly bunch at The Mayfest Café are serving teas and cake all day, every day to one and all for the entire duration of Mayfest. In here you'll also be able to find up-to-the-minute information on events, reviews, gossip and meet the Mayfest team and festival artists. Pop along!

Showing Today - Saturday 7th May

2011-05-07T07:00:00.001+01:00

Operation Greenfield - Bristol Old Vic Studio - 8pm

Tales From a Sea Journey - Tobacco Factory Theatre - 8pm

Like You Were Before - Arnolfini - 5.30pm

I Guess If The Stage Exploded... - Arnolfini - 7pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

The Guild of Cheesemakers - Secret Location - 2pm and 7.30pm

The Ice Book - St Paul's Church - Various Times

Foley - The Brewery - 7pm

Astronaut - The Brewery - 7pm

The Blind Tiger - Bristol Old Vic Basement - 9.30pm till late

Building The Blind Tiger

2011-05-06T13:18:00.000+01:00

Tonight at 9.30pm Mayfest's very own festival speakeasy, The Blind Tiger, will open its doors for the very first time to the public. Located in the Basement of the Bristol Old Vic, the Tiger's cubs have been hard at work over the past few days frantically putting this new bar/venue together. Here's a little taster of the Basement's transformation and a look around what promises to be one of the real unique highlights of Mayfest 2011:

Showing Today - Friday 6th May

2011-05-06T07:00:00.000+01:00

Dirty Little Secret - Hamilton House - 8pm

The Ice Book - St Paul's Church - Various Times

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

The Guild of Cheesemakers - Secret Location - 7.30pm

Operation Greenfield - Bristol Old Vic Studio - 8pm

Tales From a Sea Journey - Tobacco Factory Theatre - 8pm

Foley - The Brewery - 7pm

Astronaut - The Brewery - 7pm

The Blind Tiger - Bristol Old Vic Basement - 9.30pm till late

Aint no Party like a Mayfest Party!

2011-05-05T11:23:00.000+01:00

The wait is over – Mayfest 2011 is finally here! And what better way to celebrate than at a huge Opening Party at the Bristol Old Vic featuring live music, singing, a robot disco, bacon sandwiches and the usual high jinx? It’s tonight from 7.30pm and it’s completely free!

And to help you get in the mood for 10 days of exciting and playful contemporary theatre, here are 10 photographs to whet your appetite for Mayfest 2011:

Showing Today - Thursday 5th May

2011-05-05T07:00:00.000+01:00

Mayfest Opening Party - Bristol Old Vic - 7pm till late

Flogging a Dead Horse - Tobacco Factory Theatre - 8pm

Save Me - Harbourside - 11am till 1pm

Veue Magazine's Mayfest Preview

2011-05-04T19:30:00.000+01:00

Performance cheese-tasting, the history of the 20th century in 70 minutes and a semaphore soap opera are among the delights on offer at this year’s Mayfest thesp riot. Steve Wright is our man waving the flags for Venue.

At a time when our public services and cultural heritage are being decimated by a government pursuing an ideology dressed up as 'necessary', festivals provide a place for people to come together, have a good time, talk and be inspired. Theatre is a powerful tool for reflecting on the state of things, whether in an overtly political way or more obliquely. It helps society learn about itself.” Wise and timely words from Matthew Austin, co-artistic director of Mayfest, Bristol’s annual and ever-more-ambitious festival of leftfield theatre.

Now a regular fixture on the UK’s cultural calendar after a decade’s existence, Mayfest is back once again this month, commandeering venues and unusual sites across town to present the very best local, national and international theatre and performance. This year the festival’s staging events at more venues than ever, from old hands like Bristol Old Vic, Arnolfini and the Tobacco Factory to Hamilton House, an empty College Green shop unit and a section of the Floating Harbour. As ever, the festival is bursting with weird and wonderful performances (27 of them, spread over the festival’s 11 days and 15-odd venues), but this year, in keeping with Matthew’s view of festivals as temporary communities, Mayfest also features its own café, artists’ talks, workshops, debates and other extra-mural delights.

Back to them shows, though. Apart from the five we’ve picked out, highlights from Mayfest ’11 include Epic (Tobacco Factory, Wed 11-Thur 12), in which four performers including Bristol’s Ed Rapley playfully condense the history of the 20th century into 70 minutes – including a run-in with Arthur Scargill and a grandfather on a torpedoed boat at the close of WWII. Also at the Factory is May (Fri 13-Sat 14), an arresting new dance theatre piece written by Tim Crouch (‘The Author’, ‘An Oak Tree’) and performed by acclaimed dance outfit Probe. Mixing live music, dance and a disturbing script, ‘May’ is a “modern-day romance” whose heroine is a woman living on the edge.

New city spaces colonised by this year’s Mayfest include The Parlour, a former shop unit on College Green that hosts Leo Kay’s It’s Like He’s Knocking (Tue 10-Sat 14), a stripped-back piece mixing storytelling, dance theatre and Afro-Brazilian percussion, set in a bedsit and unveiling a collage of moments from the lives of three generations of men. It’s inspired by Kay’s own family stories – including tales told to him about his migrant Jewish grandfather, a charming rogue and a troubled soul. Says Leo: “I wanted to make a piece that allowed me to celebrate and mourn my ancestry whilst exploring our attitudes and rituals surrounding death, something which I feel is neglected in our contemporary Western society.”

Bristol troupe Stand and Stare, meanwhile, give us the world's first, yessir, “theatrical cheese tasting” with The Guild of Cheesemakers (secret location, Fri 6-Sat 7), a joint effort with Trethowan’s Dairy and Hobbs House Bakery in which audiences will attend an important Guild meeting, tasting cheeses, learning from experts and uncovering the mystery of the inscrutable and much-prized 198 variety. You’ll also want to cast an eye over Tales from a Sea Journey (Tobacco Factory, Fri 6-Sun 8), in which pan-European troupe New International Encounter (and a creative team including Bjork’s lyricist) sew together nautical tales and legends from across Europe. In Something or Nothing (BOV Studio, Tue 10-Wed 11), meanwhile, Guy Dartnell – international award-winner and Improbable/Lone Twin Theatre associate artist – uses a mix of video, chalkboard lecture, storytelling, performance and stand-up to explore a fundamental error in our perceptions about ourselves.

The splendidly-titled Doris Day Can F*** Off (The Brewery, Thur 12-Fri 13), meanwhile, is the latest from Greg McLaren, whom Mayfesters will remember fondly for last year’s mind-bending, caravan-based game show ‘Famous Last Words’. This time, McLaren recounts his recent project to croon his way around the land, replacing all speech with song. And in The Invisible Journey (The Island, Tue 10-Thur 12), Doug Francisco – ringmaster of the brilliant, roving performance troupe The Invisible Circus – presents a cabaret-style rolling tableau of characters from his adventures performing around the globe, from Portuguese prisons to the Moroccan mountains.

Like so many others in today’s arts landscape, Mayfest – which receives Arts Council and Bristol City Council funding – must proceed, financially speaking, with caution. The festival recently mounted a campaign via crowd-funding website WeFund to ensure that this year’s ambitious programme could become a reality. So how is the ’fest’s financial state of health? “We've absolutely had to be more careful with budgets,” Matthew’s co-director Kate Yedigaroff acknowledges. “The WeFund campaign is still in progress, and we hope we reach our target. Crowd funding is a new thing, and it's been interesting to try it out. It's actually incredibly time-consuming spreading the word about the campaign, and there's a fine balance between gently nudging and bullying people to give money. You do come across the phenomenon of 'slacktivism' – where people re-tweet something or 'like' it on Facebook, but don't actually contribute, and there's a lot of work to do to turn that goodwill into hard cash.”

“Last year's Mayfest was the biggest one we've ever done, and was hugely successful,” Matthew reflects. “‘Electric Hotel’ [a dance show for which a three-storey hotel was constructed on the Harbourside] was the biggest project Kate and I had ever staged, and it exhausted us. There's always the temptation to carry on getting bigger and bigger, and people have been asking us what this year's ‘Electric Hotel’ is, but we think it's really important to not let the festival get too inflated – the quality of the experience is more important than the scale or the quantity of shows. So this year's programme is slightly smaller, although we don't think it'll feel much different. We're working with more venues than ever before, and we're paying particular attention to the bits around the shows – the talks, events, parties and so on. It feels important that it feels like a festival, and not just a collection of shows.”

You Get to Play in the Dirt All Day and come up with Funny Props

2011-05-04T17:20:00.000+01:00

Every wondered how they make the sound effects that you hear in motion pictures? Well then welcome to the world of Foley, the art of using everyday objects to mimic sound effects to enhance on-screen action.

Using our collective cinematic language, Jo Bannon explores this very particular art form with her new show, Foley, which is coming to this year’s Mayfest.

Systematically Trained to Remember

2011-05-04T16:09:00.000+01:00

I Guess if the Stage Exploded... aims to explore and interlink ideas on memory, presence and the mechanics of performance, whilst trying to understand our urge to be special and remembered. Performance maker Sylvia Rimat follows the aspirational and possibly impossible goal to create a show never to be forgotten by its audience members – not a single one. By introducing memory tasks and techniques and applying them to the stage situation, the audience is systematically trained to remember – hopefully forever.

The show draws on memory techniques taken from popular science books and on models of remembering, borrowed from several disciplines. In the development process, Sylvia met up with a scientist from Bristol Neuroscience to find out about brain processes involved in the creation of memories, with a lecturer from the Experimental Psychology Department at University of Bristol to investigate characteristics of collective memories, with a hypnotherapist to find out whether anything will ever be forgotten and with a researcher from the Centre for Death and Society at University of Bath to understand our urge to be remembered. Excerpts from these conversations accompany the performance.

To support the overall aim of making the performance unforgettable, live feeds are set up to co-performers who wait at remote places, countries and continents (such as an old derelict airport field in Berlin/ Germany and a kitchen in Sydney/ Australia) and do their best to fire on the show.

Venue's Top Mayfest Picks

2011-05-04T14:57:00.001+01:00

Save Me - Harbourside (Thur 5-Sun 15)
• Every Mayfest boasts one or two stand-out, off-the-wall delights – shows boasting Herculean staging demands (like last year’s ‘Electric Hotel’) or promising to subtly alter the emotional co-ordinates of all who see it (see last year, again, and the emotional, intimate ‘Internal’). This year’s eye-catcher is ‘Save Me’, a semaphore soap opera performed, using giant flags, by Bristol performance duo Search Party. Performers Pete Phillips and Jodie Hawkes will converse over 11 days using the flag semaphore system, building up a narrative over time: audiences, bystanders, commuters and city strollers are invited to get involved and steer the story. “Often the audience try to manipulate the piece into a love story, offering advice on how we should make up or hold out for an apology,” says Pete, reflecting on past performances, including a session on London’s South Bank. “The mood is always very hopeful – the audience are willing the connection to succeed.” SP will spend Mayfest on the Floating Harbour – Pete at Cascade Steps, Jodie on Pero’s Bridge – and will invite audiences and passers-by to decode messages and send their own. “You can engage with the performance in various ways – visually it’s quite arresting, which makes a nice contrast with the often day-to-day nature of the conversation.” Pete recommends returning to the piece often over its 11-day run, to engage with its distinctive rolling narrative. Audiences are also invited to leave their own stories of when they have been apart from someone. “We provide tags and pens for people to leave their own stories as a memorial to the people they miss, which we’ll weave into the dialogue.”

Flogging a Dead Horse - Tobacco Factory (Thur 5)
• Splendid news, this: a first Mayfest visit by those masters of pungent puppetry and on-stage oddity, Faulty Optic. FO have been renowned since the 80s for their highly visual adult puppetry theatre, with puppeteers hidden in the shadows dressed head to foot in black. ‘Flogging…’ focuses less on the puppets and more on those performers – two of whom stage a series of ridiculous scientific experiments in an attempt to unscramble the secrets of the brain. The puppets are subjected to a series of tests involving Rorschach blots, found sounds, miniature ping pong, embarrassing dances and more. “These slightly disturbing and disturbed figures are obviously being manipulated by the actors, as if they are part of some strange game,” explains FO founder Gavin Glover. “The performers are investigating the deepest, darkest recesses of the human brain – that hermit-like place where we can ponder life, indulge our personal philosophies and confuse fact with fiction.” Influences on the show include films like David Lynch’s nightmarish ‘Eraserhead’, Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller ‘Pi’ and the Woody Allen canon. “The title comes from the idiom meaning ‘to pursue a solution long realized to be unsolvable’,” says Gavin, “but the show is also, as the phrase conjures up, funny and touching, bizarre and cruel.”

Operation Greenfield - Bristol Old Vic Studio (Fri 6-Sun 8)
• This one’s the latest from Little Bulb Theatre, a leftfield and hugely talented five-piece whose previous shows ‘Crocosmia’ and ‘Sporadical’ have drawn gasps of admiration in Bristol and beyond. Like those two, ‘Greenfield’ centres on the creativity and emotional turbulence of adolescence. Somewhere in Middle England, four unlikely teenagers are preparing for judgment day – or, to be more precise, their town’s Annual Talent Competition. With a stage full of instruments and an eclectic mix of recorded music, Little Bulb explore faith, friendship and the confusing, awkward and naïve time of adolescence. “We are a young company, so these themes of childhood are in our most immediate history, which gives us a fresh take on them,” explains director Alex Scott. “We're interested in how the creation of characters merges with our personal histories, so that a weird hybrid emerges – part persona, part character.” ‘Greenfield’, Alex says, gets to the core of the awkwardness of teenage life – and celebrates all the comedy and drama therein. “The portrayal of the young can so often be really badly handled on stage. A lot of shows tend to focus on a dark and very dramatic side to youth culture, whereas we’re more interested in exploring an unsensationalised world on a minute level – while at the same time running wild with a blend of fantasy and reality. “We hope the story gently subverts your expectations about teenagers – especially Christian ones. The mood is constantly changing: funny, melodramatic, plain bizarre. It speaks to our own personal experiences and hopefully challenges the way we view and understand young people.” After seeing the show at Edinburgh, The Guardian’s Lyn Gardner labelled the company “so recklessly talented you want to hug them and keep them safe in case they spoil. Their musicianship is superb, and their ability to conjure the pains of youth uncanny.”

Ousia - Arnolfini (Thur 12-Sat 14)
• First performed at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe and now reworked specially for Mayfest, ‘Ousia’ (an ancient Greek word meaning ‘substance’ or ‘essence’) is a striking solo dance piece created by Darren Johnston, a choreographer whose immersive dance/theatre/installation hybrids have included collaborations with Aphex Twin and Squarepusher. This one follows a solo dancer in a stark white room as she delves deep into her solitary existence. Through a hazy, strobe-filled space, and using a mix of holograms, dance and projection technology, the dancer’s ritualistic patterns slowly conjure up a clone-like avatar. A mix of the magical and the monstrous, ‘Ousia’ sets out to recreate the world of the Victorian illusionist. “I've always been fascinated by illusion, otherworldliness and things that trick the eye,” says Johnston. “The wonderful thing about projection is that it allows you to do that.” Like his previous show, 2007’s “technology-led freak-show cabaret” ‘Outre’, ‘Ousia’ exists in a borderland between horror and loveliness. “It has the same levels of freakishness and suspense: you're not sure what you're seeing until the end. In the West, horror is always grotesque and disgusting [Johnston’s aesthetic was influenced by a period spent in Japan], but when it's depicted with beauty it's much more captivating.”

The Summer House - Bristol Old Vic Studio (Thur 12-Sat 14)
• Devised by a quartet of gifted comic actors, this “comedy thriller” follows a stag do that ends up getting very weird indeed in the remote Icelandic wastes. ‘The Summer House’ is the brainchild of actor Neil Haigh (of Mayfest faves Cartoon de Salvo), Will Adamsdale (he of the splendid motivational-speaker skit ‘Jackson’s Way’), TV comic actor Matthew Steer and John Wright, founder of companies Trestle and Told By An Idiot. At the fag end of an epic stag weekend in Reykjavik, three men (including the groom and best man) travel through the dark, featureless Icelandic countryside to a remote summer house, apparently owned by one of the trio. Rather than the expected beers and hot-tub hedonism, what ensues involves a clash between the men’s high-tech, cosseted lifestyles and the ancient myths and spirits of Iceland. “These three are the last ones standing at the end of the night, not wanting the party to end,” Neil explains. “My character’s a kind of drifter, unlike the other two who are much more conventional: careers, family, so on. He takes them out to his ‘summer house’ and, as the evening goes on, you realise that there is more to this character than first meets the eye. The myths and pagan past are still very much alive in the landscape around them.” Things also get more playful and fourth-wall-breaking as the evening goes on. “It becomes clear that even these actors are not in control of their world. We sow seeds in the audience’s minds and leave them to unravel mysteries and make connections.”

Tomorrow is Only a Day Away

2011-05-04T10:09:00.000+01:00

It's the 4th May. Which makes tomorrow the 5th May. Which makes that the first day of Mayfest 2011. Which brings: the first performance of Search Party's Save Me, our Opening Party at Bristol Old Vic, featuring a Robot Disco and Faulty Optic's Flogging a Dead Horse at the Tobacco Factory. It's all go...

Telling it How it is, Even if you Don't Quite Know How it Was

2011-05-03T18:24:00.005+01:00

Here's a video trailer of a of It's Like He's Knocking, Leo Kay's warm and very intimate performance.

Meet The Mayfest Crew: Arthur Tibbs

2011-05-03T12:28:00.003+01:00

What is your job at Mayfest?
Canine Co-ordinator (aka Kate's pet and regular fixture of the Mayfest office)

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?
I am very excited about Astronaut by Sleepdogs, because I am: a) constantly inspired by the awesome vastness of outer space; and b) because I am often, myself, a very sleepy dog.
The Guild of Cheesemakers from has me salivating - I am something of a connoisseur of fine cheeses. Only the other day did I find a very fine morsel of Cheshire Blue behind the sofa.
I am barking mad about Faulty Optic and I'm sure that Flogging a Dead Horse will be right up my street. I have never flogged a dead horse. I did gnaw a dozing cat once, but that is another story entirely.

I love Mayfest because…
It is a fabulous and inspirational celebration of new modern theatre that I love more than my best squeaky chew toy.

Sum up Mayfest in 3 shiny words.
Big. Brash. Beautiful. Come on, what are you waiting for? Schnauzer chance!

Bittersweet Ache

2011-05-03T09:47:00.000+01:00

Here's some feedback from Mary Brennan of The Herald after she wached Deborah Pearson's Like You Were Before. Hopefully it will give you a bit more of an incite into this lovely show:

"Deborah Pearson’s Like You Were Before is about her own past – it features a video of her last day before leaving Canada for the UK – but the footage of her friends, her voicing-over her previous words, as if trying to re-enter the frame, her asides about the background to people and places, all have a tremendously moving universality. The camaraderie, the farewells; the bright-eyed, youthful faces: Pearson’s camera catches it, holds it. We all share the bittersweet ache that stirs with recollections of moments we’ll never have again."

It's like a Party Line, Only on Twitter

2011-05-02T16:48:00.002+01:00

Whether you're taking part in Fortnight at this year's Mayfest or not, one clever way we can all engage with its goings on is through the magical world of Twitter. Each of Fortnight's participants have been given access to a shared Twitter account and, for the 2 weeks during the performance, they can all tweet reactions and responses to the show as well as other interesting observations on the happenings. The fact that each tweet is now anonymous adds an extra layer of intrigue too! To check out these goings on, just follow the link to @mayfortnight here, or keep an eye on the Mayfortnight Twitter stream in the left hand column of this blog!

Meet The Mayfest Crew: Holly McGrane

2011-05-02T15:28:00.011+01:00

What is your job at Mayfest?
Producing Intern

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year's Mayfest?
I am really looking forward to Sex Idiot by Bryonny Kimmings - I have heard some fantastical rumours. If even half of these are true....heck!
I also am gagging to see Operation Greenfield by Little Bulb as I am apparently the only person on the planet who hasn't experienced this extraordinary company's work yet and I feel decidedly left out and sulky.
Also, not strictly a show, but I am going to be all over the Mayfest Opening Party like wet on a flannel. Sambucca? Bacon sarnies? Robots? YES.

I love Mayfest because...
It is a celebration of Bristol as a hub for contemporary theatre and it often challenges people to engage with their city in a whole new way.

Sum up Mayfest in 3 shiny words.
Invention. Experience. Exploration.

Architect Bodies as Forms of Physical Matter

2011-05-02T12:47:00.000+01:00

International choreographers and dancers, Lucie Petrusova and Karla Shacklock, are intent on challenging the norms of physical performance and have been working across countries to present this boundary blurring double bill - Nobody and Beyond. Combining cutting edge costume design, high octane raw performance and live composition, the two new works architect bodies as forms of physical matter and delve deep into the humanity of self, to go far beyond what we thought physically and vocally possible. Here is a little trailer of the productions:

It's Starting....

2011-05-02T09:21:00.005+01:00

To all those who are taking part in Fortnight during Mayfest, arise up from your Bank Holiday slumber and check your postbox. There be a treat awaiting...

A Unique Incite into Bristol as it Exists Today

2011-05-01T13:35:00.010+01:00

On May 7th 2011, from 9am to 8pm, ten performers will be placed in ten different spots across the city of Bristol to incessantly describe everything they see and hear; this incessant description, recited like a prayer, is individually recorded by each performer to create a 45minute long audio archive, collectively called Prayers.

The recited descriptions are as much of people, situations, attitudes, events, as of buildings, structure, itineraries, activities, routines, objects, atmospheres, circumstances, sounds, smells, including also the impressions, deductions, and intuitions of the describing or narrating subject. The audio tracks created by the performers may then be heard and downloaded for free from Dora García’s website, giving the listener an unique incite and snapshot of the city as it exists today.

The ten locations that each “prayer” will be recorded are the M32 underpass (Lower Ashlet Road/Easton Way), North Street (Bedminster), on a ferry boat in the Floating Harbour, in Cabot Circus, St Pauls, St Werburghs, The Downs, inside The Canteen on Stokes Croft, aboard bus route 36 to Withywood and finally on Park Street.

A Plethora of Potent Eccentrics

2011-05-01T09:12:00.000+01:00

Delving into his past as a street performer in Europe, Doug Francisco with The Invisible Journey invokes a plethora of potent eccentrics in a variety of shady and sublime locations, from Portuguese jails, to the Moroccan mountains. He tells stories of his journeys and adventures in the pursuit of positive change and solidarity with the dream of bringing the show to the stage.

This show is a medley of schizophrenic voices and faces from the past, all conversing across different chapters. The theatricality of the ringmaster contrasts with the gritty realism of the other characters. This juxtaposition truly is the Invisible Circus as the stories and chapters of memories are presented as acts in the cabaret of life.

The show is a one-man carnival of storytelling, physical comedy and song, as he parodies without prejudice, invoking the dreams, memories and nightmares of his own European parade.

Oh Hail, Great, Great Audience!

2011-04-30T20:54:00.005+01:00

Here are some extracts from Guy Dartnell's Something or Nothing which is coming to Mayfest this year:

What is Elektrostatic all about?

2011-04-30T16:48:00.000+01:00

A series of contemporary-classical concerts that have been going on for 4 years, at its heart, Elektrostatic is about encouraging people to rediscover the exciting possibilities of contemporary music. As part of Elektrostatic and in conjunction with Mayfest, composer and larger-than-life performer, Peter Swaffer-Reynolds (No Fit State Circus), co-curates an evening of unique music and performance influenced by circus and theatre, Musical Circus.

Elektrostatic’s curator Richard Barnard explains why he is excited about this show; “I can’t wait to work with one of the most talented and distinctive musicians in Bristol – Peter Swaffer-Reynolds. His unique experience of creating scintillating, imaginative music for circus and theatre guarantees a feast of visual and musical invention.”

To listen to the full interview with Richard Barnard, follow the link here.

Here's also an interview with Peter Swaffer-Reynolds as he discusses his creative approach to being the musical director one of No Fit State Circus' previous shows, Mundo Paralelo:

Spontaneous Singing

2011-04-30T12:45:00.001+01:00

Meet The Mayfest Crew: Matthew Whittle

2011-04-30T09:27:00.001+01:00

What is your job at Mayfest?
Mayfest Blogger / Blog Editor

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?
Operation Greenfield - funny, engaging, beautiful, original.
Sex Idiot - looks like a riotous good time.
The Blind Tiger - this has the potential to be amazing and unique every night!

I love Mayfest because…
It is one of the only times during the year in Bristol you get to see such a variety of new and exciting theatre all together and everything that comes with that; the atmosphere, the people, the stories, the hangovers.

Sum up Mayfest in 3 shiny words.
Exciting. Excruciating. Essential.

Why Mayfest is so Important to Bristol - Ali Robertson

2011-04-29T19:02:00.010+01:00

Director of the Tobacco Factory Theatre

“Mayfest consistently has a massively high programming standard that ensures that we get a uniquely concentrated burst of some of the most wonderful companies that we already know about and also we find companies that we never knew about and get to fall in love with. I first saw Action Hero and John Moran in Mayfest: they don’t feel like discoveries now – they feel like two of the best companies going.

Mayfest also gives many people that work in or around theatre in Bristol a real sense of community and, incidentally, I think that Kate and Matthew’s real visibility during the festival is very helpful for this. I think that a lot of people have a real sense of belonging to a community that they’re really proud of during the two weeks of the festival.

People should see as much as they can at Mayfest because it’ll certainly be not-boring. It’ll very probably be good and it’ll quite possibly be brilliant.”

The Blind Tiger's Call for Artists

2011-04-29T14:43:00.010+01:00

Come and show us your claws!

As you may well have heard, this year we are introducing The Blind Tiger to Mayfest proceedings which is our very own late night bar/cabaret/speak-easy type affair. We don’t want to define it too much, because ultimately you, the artists of Bristol, will bring the ingredients needed to give it its own unique flavour. But here’s the info you need…

What's it all about?
The Blind Tiger is in the Basement of the Bristol Old Vic will be open from 9.30pm til midnight on the 6th–8th and on the 11th–13th May. Each evening there will be open slots for you to come and delight and entertain our most discerning of audiences. We call for performers, musicians and magic-makers of all kinds to pitch up, take to the stage, and have some fun.

How do I get involved?
There will be a Blind Tiger sign up sheet resident in our Mayfest Café at The Parlour on Park Street. If you fancy a slot you just need to pop along and scribble your name down at some point during the day. At 6.30pm each day we will then chalk the acts up on the ‘Blind Tiger Presents’ board outside the Basement, and any remaining gaps will remain up for grabs until 9.30pm that evening.

What do I get?
It’s an informal affair, so you get a small stage (8ft by 8ft), basic lights and access to a mini PA. There will be a technician on duty (although tech demands should be minimal if at all) and you will also get a cut of the door takings – which is 'pay what you can' and divided equally between whoever else is performing that night. But mostly you get to be a part of what we hope will be a reet good night.

Guidelines?
Slots will go be at 9.30pm, 10.15pm. 11pm and 11.30pm. Acts should be no longer than ½ an hour. It should be simple, entertaining and in the spirit of Mayfest. We would suggest that more than 3/4 people in the space isn’t a good idea. We’re open to what you want to do, as long as it’s good spirited and not unsafe.

The Blind Tiger is part of Mayfest, an annual cross-city performance festival produced by MAYK in collaboration with Bristol Old Vic and venues across the city.

What is Left when a Theatre Closes its Doors?

2011-04-29T14:27:00.000+01:00

In 2009 Dan Canham made a short dance film in the rotting, dilapidated premises of the old Theatre Royal in Limerick, Ireland, called 30 Cecil Street. Using that film as source material, this brand new piece of dance-theatre sees a lone figure stream through fragments of memories in a series of poignant and evocative dances. With an original soundtrack made up of interviews and found sounds, this poetic and moving piece looks at the life of a once-mighty building with a history that stretches back over 150 years. What is left when a theatre closes its doors to the public?

Meet the Mayfest Crew: Chris Swain

2011-04-29T11:20:00.000+01:00

What is your job at Mayfest?
Production Manager

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year's Mayfest?
I Guess If The Stage Exploded... - A performance that is IMPOSSIBLE to forget sounds like a challenge. I'm excited to see how it is tackled.
The Ice Book - Gorgeous looking mini-show, part pop-up book, part film, part live performance.
Save Me - Where would a festival be without a semaphore soap opera?

I love Mayfest because…
It brings performers and companies to Bristol that are experimental, daring and exciting. And you get to dive in for two weeks and experience the true festival vibe of seeing loads of great stuff packed into a short space of time.

Sum up Mayfest in 3 shiny words.
Festival in May? Hectic Theatrical Bonanza!

Tom Morris’ Top Mayfest Picks

2011-04-28T13:41:00.003+01:00

Tom Morris is a director, producer and the Artist Director of the Bristol Old Vic, Mayfest’s busiest venue with a wealth of shows in the Studio and Basement this year as well as the host of the Mayfest Opening Party.

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?
It’s very hard to make picks from a programme which is so beautifully balanced and which is characterised by a spirit of curiosity and exploration. Some of my all time favourite artists and companies are present in the programme – Faulty Optic, Guy Dartnell and Will Adamsdale to name but three. I know that their work will be astonishing, engaging, strange and (with luck) might even jog the goggles through which you view the world. That, after all, is the point of seeing any artist’s work: to see the world for a moment through their differently gifted eyes.

However, my recommendations are for the shows I know least about – where I can trust the curatorial instincts of Kate Yedigaroff and Matthew Austin to lead me on a journey of discovery which I never suspect. So book early and book often for The Guild of Cheesemakers by the Stand+Stare Collective (in fact I do know them having been startled out of my wits by SS Arcadia last year). On no account miss Music Circus by the strangely compelling clown-maestro Peter Swaffer-Reynolds, and in any free moment you have go to The Blind Tiger for unimaginable nightly japes and fandangles.

Whichever show you begin with, the chances are it will develop into a journey through the collective imaginations of an astonishing range of artists. Be sure to start your journey early, on 5th May, so it has time to unfold.

£2.75 per Mayfest Show?

2011-04-28T09:23:00.001+01:00

Are you a theatre addict? Do you look at the Mayfest programme and schedule two weeks in your diary where the rest of your life will have to be put on hold? We might just have something for you then…

For Mayfest 2011 we have a very limited number of Festival Passes available. One pass which will let you see every show at the entire festival. Every single one for just £80. That’s £2.75 per show. BARGAIN.

So if you're up for really getting stuck in this year, call Bristol Old Vic Box Office on 0117 987 7877 and they'll guide you through the process.

Best Welsh Cheese

2011-04-28T09:06:00.001+01:00

Meet Maugan and Kim Trethowan, king and queen of Trethowan’s Dairy on Gorwydd Farm, just outside the village of Llanddewi Brefi deep in the heart of rural Wales. Maugan and Kim are famous for producing their Trethowan’s Gorwydd Caerphilly cheese, a mature Caerphilly made to a traditional recipe using raw unpasteurised milk and other ingredients which are combined and worked by hand. The cheese is matured on the farm for two months, exhibits a fresh lemony taste with a creamy texture to the outer and a firmer but moist inner, and it won Best Welsh Cheese at the 2010 World Cheese Awards.

If this is getting you salivating then maybe you should draw your attention to Stand+Stare’s latest show which is coming to Mayfest 2011, The Guild of Cheesemakers. With the help of Trethowan’s Dairy, Stand+Stare are putting on a wonderful evening of world class cheeses, fine wines, fresh breads and a theatrical mystery to uncover the truth behind the inscrutable 198, a cheese some say come from space!

Venue Sorted for The Ice Book

2011-04-27T16:29:00.006+01:00

It can now be confirmed that Davy & Kristin McGuire’s magical mini-theatre show of paper and light, The Ice Book, will be available to watch in the crypts of St Paul’s Church, Southville Road, Southville. The experience is for individuals and will show at 45 minute intervals between 3pm and 9.45pm on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th May and then again on Friday 13th, Saturday 14th (3.45pm start) and Sunday 15th May. Capacity is therefore very limited so book your place here. The location of St Paul’s Church is available on the Festival Venues section of the Mayfest Blog.

Last Chance to Register for Fortnight

2011-04-27T12:20:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow at 6.30pm is your absolute last chance to register for Proto-Type Theater’s Fortnight, the theatre experience that will redefine the way you look at your city, your home. It's unlike anything you've ever done before, and might just change your life.

Fortnight enables the experience of “theatre” to penetrate beneath a seemingly brittle aesthetic surface of performance, deep into the consciousnesses of participants as they begin to interact with and perceive world around them as the performance itself; the place where we act out our own daily lives. In Fortnight, the spectator becomes participant; the journey becomes narrative. The mediated messages within Fortnight lead participants down a living, breathing rabbit hole where the familiar becomes unfamiliar and reality distorts.

Sign up today and over the ensuing two weeks you will receive a series of secret invites, poetic nudges and mysterious communications that will ask you to look again at the way you navigate through your city.

To book your place, call Bristol Old Vic Box Office on 0117 987 7877.

Elvis, Forest Fruits squash and Stokely’s Annual Talent Competition

2011-04-26T17:59:00.004+01:00

Here's a little teaser trailer for Little Bulb's utterly fantastic rock opera about faith and friendship, Operation Greenfield.

A Haunting World of Exploration, Escapism and Denial

2011-04-26T11:45:00.002+01:00

Here’s a bit of footage from Darren Johnston/Array’s hauntingly beautiful visual art and dance spectacle, Ousia. First produced in 2009, it has been reworked for 2011 and is showing at Arnolfini this Mayfest.

The Garden that Time Eclipsed

2011-04-25T22:09:00.000+01:00

The full rip-roaring line-up for Rolling Stage’s The Electric Garden is now available; a wonderful night of live art, contemporary cabaret, live music, DJs, interactive theatre, intimate shows and games awaits you!

In the Live Art and Cabaret Room you can see the extraordinary Scottee Scottee, Japanese pop-punk from Pseudo Nippon, clowning acrobatics and mime from Le Navet Bete, theatre from Pattern Fight Performance, local performance artist China Blue Fish, Batpig, Jasmine Perrow, John-Paul Gibbs, Finders Keepers, Dan Faberof, Soozy Roberts, The Bureau of Random Acts, walkabout theatre from The Twins and Dot Inc and a weird and wonderful puppetry story by Gongoozler.

There’s also a plethora of DJs as well as live music from electric-fidget-funk trio Million Way, local swinging ska-punk-rock outfit The Zen Hussies, live electro and daftness from Katapulto, and local electro act Oui Ja Yes.

The garden that time eclipsed was left to grow wild and electric, its creatures warped with the charge of loose and explosive power now roam sparked through the frontiers of The Electric Garden.

Sometimes I Think I'm Helping, but Really I'm just Making Things Worse

2011-04-25T13:20:00.002+01:00

Made In China make visceral performances at the junction of playwriting and live art. So far their work has been physical, excessive, playful and destructive with their shows making their own rules. Here is a trailer for their latest performance, Stationary Excess, which is heading to this year's Mayfest.

Interview with Mayfest’s Artistic Directors, Kate Yedigaroff and Matthew Austin

2011-04-24T18:23:00.021+01:00

What can people expect from this year’s Mayfest?
Oh help, we’re in danger of spouting out some clichés here like ‘ooooh, well, expect the unexpected’ or ‘you never know what you’re going to get with Mayfest’ but that would probably just be a bit annoying. So we will resist. Every year we get asked if there is a theme or a particular guiding star that has led us to make the choices we make about what the shows in the programme are, or what the general focus & personality of the festival is and it’s always something that stops and makes us think.

We have often discussed “theming” the festival but for some reason something stops us, and perhaps this is because we don’t want to be instructive or create categories about what we do or do not see as having a place in this context. This year we have been drawn to a few more projects that are specifically located in this city. Companies like Proto-type Theatre and Search Party are creating bespoke experiences that make us think about the landscapes and architectures of Bristol – they happen outside the realm of a theatre space and so by their very nature are about the place in which they sit.

So you can expect a celebration of Bristol, a performance programme with a very broad range of different kinds of show which we think reflect a community of artists and audiences which come from a broad range of perspectives and experiences. You can expect to be able to do a lot of chatting and drinking in our late night speakeasy (The Blind Tiger) and in our brand new hub, The Mayfest Café on Park Street.

We hope that you can expect to have a good time, that if you want to you can be challenged and experience something you haven’t before. But above all you can spend some time in the company of inspiring artists who are curious and creative and who are able to share a version of the world we may not have seen before. We also think that it would be good planning to expect a hangover on the 6th May after the Mayfest Opening Party.

What is different this year?
Each year is always different. When it ceases to be so, it will probably mean we should stop doing it. Perhaps some obvious differences are that we don’t have a hotel on the harbourside, that the festival is slightly shorter in length, that despite the big space and the Paintshop at Bristol Old Vic being closed for refurbishment we are collaborating with more partners than ever before to present work in an increasing variety of spaces. This year also marks the first of our co-commissions with the fabulous Theatre Bristol on Save Me by Search Party.

In fact in general we have more shows from artists with whom we are developing a longer term relationship rather than just bringing in work to the city for a short visit which feels really good. We’ve never done a Robot Disco before either. We’ve also never done an online project before.

Oh, and importantly this year marks the establishment of our independent producing outfit, MAYK, which is really a consolidation of our creative collaboration and will be the vehicle by which we curate the festival in the future, as well as other exciting things.

What are you most excited about?
Is it too diplomatic of us to say that we are genuinely excited about all of it? Probably. We’re excited…
About meeting new audiences.
About welcoming new artists to Bristol.
About the moments that no-one can predict no matter how many spreadsheets we’ve done.
About the phone call on the 4th May that says we don’t need to worry because all of the shows have sold out.
About ten days of constant sunshine, but not too hot.
About flags waving across the water.
About holograms dancing in white spaces.
About the smallest show in the world.
About dancing and laughing and crying in a good way.
About waking up on the 16th May feeling like you all had a good time.

What’s the best thing about the Mayfest experience, for you?
The best thing are the people who make it - and by that we mean everyone from our core team to the person who comes along at random and will come again next year. It’s obviously a great pleasure to be in a position to be able to facilitate a coming together like this, to be able to watch something extraordinary somewhere and invite it into the festival, and we are consistently moved by the generosity and openness of everyone who we work with to be able to make these kinds of invitation.

It’s exhausting. It can be scary and stressful. We can get it wrong, but we work hard and we work well together. The best thing is getting to the first day and saying ‘there you are, it’s yours, it’s now beyond our control’. And the fish finger sandwiches at the Old Vic are pretty good too...

Using Flags instead of Spoken Word

2011-04-24T14:05:00.002+01:00

Save Me is a two handed durational performance in public space. Two performers communicate over a long distance using semaphore flags. The conversation is improvised and documented on large boards. Passers by help de-code messages and draft responses, dipping in and out of this accumulative soap opera, going about their daily lives as the narrative unfolds around them. Save Me can also be performed at night, using high-powered nautical searchlights and morse code.

Save Me playfully challenges the boundaries of intimacy. Using flags instead of spoken words, this rolling and improvised narrative communicates across the city, exposing stories that are hidden, encoded, that simmer beneath the surface. Search Party de-code their intimate exchange of apologies, secrets, half-truths, veiled threats and warnings and inscribe these words on the surface of the city, exposing what is too often left unsaid.

The performance disrupts the familiar act of domestic conversation through physical distance and the codified language of semaphore. This method of encoded dialogue strips away the layers of intuition, physical nuance and telepathy from our discourse leaving gaps between the words we send, gaps filled by miscommunication and misunderstanding. The conversation is documented and inscribed in a public place leaving a physical trace of the imagined narrative created throughout the length of the performance.

A Mad Australian Kangaroo Dentist and some Underwater Horse Sex

2011-04-24T00:51:00.002+01:00

Amongst the ink blots, intercoms, coffee rings and pizza, there’s a little doorway down to the deepest ocean, where the seabed sludge has a similar chemistry to that of the human brain. The brain hosts trillions of neurons each playing an endless game of mental ping-pong. Of course no-one really knows any of this as fact, although someone bravely went in search and sent back reports, whilst others scrutinised and postulated and made lists.

Faulty Optic are world renowned for their haunting tales, visual theatre, strange animated figures and dark humour. This new show by Gavin Glover engages three amateur scientists to plumb the depths of the Moon, the legend of Salome and the consequences of over-thinking. Here Gavin Glover talks about Flogging a Dead Horse:

Action Hero’s Top Mayfest Picks

2011-04-23T13:39:00.000+01:00

James Stenhouse is one half of Action Hero, a Bristol-based live art and performance duo who, since 2005, have been creating work that links audiences together and unifies them as part of the live event, building a temporary community.

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?

Operation Greenfield - Little Bulb's work is amazing. They are ridiculously talented and this show is extraordinary.

Save Me - I'm biased cos they're my best buddies but this is a beautiful piece. It works best if you dip in and out over the course of the festival (it’s free!) or over the course of a few hours. From a very simple action there is a really amazing depth of ideas and feeling. Love it.

The Blind Tiger - I occasionally find the theatre a bit of an inconvenient barrier between me and a night of merry drinking so I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to combine the two this year. I also love art/music/performance that is rough and ready, slightly shoddy and spontaneous so The Blind Tiger really appeals to me.

Very, very Cheap inside the Carpark

2011-04-23T00:23:00.000+01:00

Greg McLaren has been singing, to everyone, everywhere. Where he would speak he must sing. He’s recorded his encounters and mashed them up to create a slippery world between what is meant and what is expressed, what is created and what is found. Here is a teaser of his opera adventure, Doris Day Can Fuck Off:

Spellbinding Stories from the World's Saltiest Stage

2011-04-22T14:19:00.001+01:00

In November 2009, 8 members of NIE embarked on a journey across the Atlantic. They boarded the Fort St. Louis in Le Havre, France, and sailed for 7.5 days to Point à Pitre in the Caribbean. It was an exciting journey, sometimes uncomfortable, challenging and even boring, but always inspiring. Each passenger went on board carrying 3 stories and 3 songs. They waited for the open sea and then began sharing and discussing how it felt and what it meant to travel like this.

Here are some photographs from their adventure which became their latest show, Tales From a Sea Journey:

Meet the Mayfest Crew: George Monro

2011-04-22T11:38:00.005+01:00

What is your job at Mayfest?
Producing and Marketing Intern

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year's Mayfest?
I am chomping at the bit to see Little Bulb's highly anticipated Operation Greenfield. My friends that have seen it appear to say it is simply er-mazing. The Ice Book looks completely innovative, beautiful and magical. One of those “I wish I’d thought of that” kind of shows – cannot wait. Sam Halmarack & Miserabilites will be fantastic too - who doesn’t love a bit of inspirational interactive stadium pop in May?

I love Mayfest because…
It is ten days of fun filled theatrical delights that cater for a host of different audiences. There really is something for everyone! Mayfest also provides many (free – I might add!) opportunities for artists and audience members to meet, chat and make robot costumes together – is that a good enough reason?

Sum up Mayfest in 3 shiny words.
Eclectic theatrical adventures!

Sedated By A Brick’s Top Mayfest Picks

2011-04-22T11:09:00.001+01:00

Gareth Mayer is one third of Bristol-based performance company Sedated By A Brick who recently presented their first full length work, If Destroyed Still True, at The Brewery theatre. He also works with Singaporean artist Tara Tan and is in the process of restaging their work, Imagined Future Benefit, in Singapore.

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?

Firstly I would definitely recommend going to see Sleepdogs' Astronaut. I am yet to see the full length version (which I believe is still very brief!) but this fragile tale, told through the medium of Dictaphone, was touching and mesmerising when I saw it as a work-in-progress at the Arnolfini. You also get to see Jo Bannon's Foley as part of a double bill of performances, which I have heard good things about.

Sam Halmarack and the Miserablites will be a joy to behold and experience. Everything I've seen this man do is nothing short of sublime.

My third choice is more tricky but I have opted for Gavin Glover and Faulty Optic's piece, Flogging a Dead Horse. I'm not normally a puppetry fan but the last show I saw by Faulty Optic was possibly one of the most Beckettian things I had seen outside of Beckett, which can only be a good thing.

Meet The Mayfest Crew: Kerrie Avery

2011-04-21T14:08:00.008+01:00

What is your job at Mayfest?
Project Manager

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year's Mayfest?
I am very excited about Fortnight, it will be a unique chance to let something beautiful take control of your life. Icebook will be incredible - a modern day fairy tale which will make you feel like a child again. Also, Ousia by Darren Johnston will be an awesome spectacle - unique and extreme, wholly absorbing and visually miraculous.

I love Mayfest because...
It makes me believe that there are no limits to implementing creative ideas.

Sum up Mayfest in 3 shiny words.
Mind opening experiences.

Harriet de Winton’s Top Mayfest Picks

2011-04-20T19:01:00.005+01:00

Harriet de Winton is a Bristol-based theatre designer who has been primarily designing for Shakespeare At The Tobacco Factory during the past 3 years. She is also Creative Editor of Cloth Magazine.

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?

Mayfest this year means cheese, pop-up books and Dame Barbara Cartland:

I certainly won’t be passing up the opportunity to join The Guild of Cheesemakers for an evening of cheese, bread and wine and what I'm sure will be a gripping evening of cheese code cracking.

I'm looking forward to Igor Corvette's Dirty Little Secret because it combines a series of performers who have been working in Bristol for quite some time, and who can claim to have brought burlesque to Bristol in the 90s, including a memorable Dame Barbara Cartland tribute.

The Ice Book's Mayfest trailer left me spellbound and regardless of my interest in design, it promises to be a breathtaking and moving piece like nothing I have seen before.

Tinned Fingers’ Mayfest Top Picks

2011-04-20T17:09:00.003+01:00

Tinned Fingers are a group of artists with backgrounds in writing, theatre and visual arts who work collaboratively to create experimental live performance and interactive events. They work with a DIY aesthetic, inspired by the possibilities of making a performance in your living room and embracing the economy, satisfaction and inherent optimism of re-using everyday materials. Tinned Fingers are members of Residence, an artist led space creating space to make theatre and live art in Bristol and they performed at Mayfest 2009 and 2010.

Tinned Fingers are performing a work-in-progress version of their latest project, The Last Romance Club Ever, as part of Junction Sampled: Festival of Performance in Cambridge over the bank holiday weekend.

“We are hopeful. We are looking for love. We want to get lucky. We want to serenade you outside your window at night. We want to give you our last rolo. We can’t sing but, for you, we’ll try.”

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?

The Ice Book: I saw this at the Dartington College of Arts Alumni Festival last year and thought it was very beautiful. A tiny, miniature story that comes to life like a living pop up book.

Save Me: I'm really excited to see how this unfolds over the course of the festival - Search Party’s last piece, Growing Old With You, is one of my favourite performances that I’ve ever seen. Knowing Search Party, I'd expect this new work to be just as considered, poignant and playful.

Fortnight: I've just signed up for this today, looking forward to some magical things to start happening...!

A Mackerel in a Fur Coat

2011-04-20T10:04:00.000+01:00

Here's amontage of mini-clips from Edinburgh Fringe 2010 of Bryony Kimmings' new show, Sex Idiot, introduced as "a ridiculous, honest and heart-warming show exploring the origins of Bryony's Sexually Transmitted Infection. Little vignettes of dance, song, semi-dangerous acts and poetry...inspired by love, sex, life lessons and big mistakes". Just look at all those costumes!

What on Earth is a Robot Disco?

2011-04-19T22:34:00.005+01:00

During the Mayfest Opening Party on Thursday 5th May 2011 at the Bristol Old Vic, as part of the usual shenanigans, Action Hero will be hosting one of their fantastically good fun Robot Discos.

But just what is a Robot Disco?!
Robot Disco is an opportunity to wear cardboard boxes and dance like a robot. There will be robot music, a robot parade and lots of tin foil. It’s futuristic - says Action Hero.

A Robot Disco looks like this:

A Robot Disco sounds like this:

A Robot Disco feels like...well you’ll have to come and see won't you?

Those Bruises, Where did they Come From?

2011-04-19T13:35:00.000+01:00

Here's a trailer for the beautiful dance drama, May, coming to Mayfest this year courtesy of Probe.

Toby Farrow's Top Mayfest Picks

2011-04-19T13:25:00.003+01:00

Toby Farrow is a photographer, writer and Creative Director of Farrows Creative.

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?

Operation Greenfield: I missed their last show, which according to most of the Bristol theatrical community was one of the highlights of the year. As a born follower, I will definitely be checking this out so that I can pretend I have my finger on the pulse of popular culture - and people will like me much more because of it.

Sam Halmarak and The Miserabilites: I've done various photo shoots with Sam over the years - he's a been a dead usher in a cinema, a punch drunk gentleman farmer bundled into the boot of an old Volvo, the usual kind of thing. I'm a big fan of his music and his lyrics are fantastic - he's also got the rock star stare down to a T.

The Summer House: Anything containing stuffed beavers and Vikings is worthy of my full attention.

Tom Wainwright's Top Mayfest Picks

2011-04-19T13:11:00.006+01:00

Tom Wainwright is a writer, performer and theatre maker based in Bristol. Tom makes solo work (he's currently touring his show Pedestrian); writes plays (his first play Muscle has been produced by both Bristol Old Vic and Hull Truck and is under commission to write another for Hull Truck) and collaborates with artists from all disciplines. Tom is currently working on a collaboration with Sam Halmarack (of...and The Miserablites) through the Ferment development programme at Bristol Old Vic.

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?

My top 3 are all unlike anything I have ever seen before:

Operation Greenfield is heart-breakingly smart and so funny, epic and joyous it made me want to jump out my seat and roar when I saw it (twice) in Edinburgh 2010.

Ousia is terrifying and beautiful. And way cool.

And Fortnight. I was a guinea pig for trials for this show and all of us lab rats became completely obsessed with it. I don't mean to sound like a nob but it's very romantic.

Ali Robertson's Top Mayfest Picks

2011-04-19T12:54:00.010+01:00

Ali Robertson is Director of the Tobacco Factory Theatre, Southville’s dynamic and innovative performance venue and one of the primary theatres of Mayfest 2011.

Which 3 shows are you most looking forward to at this year’s Mayfest?

I’m excited to see Tales of a Sea Journey and Operation Greenfield because they’re two of my favourite companies in the world. The Opening Night Party will be a fab night too; the start of a special fortnight.