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Mayfest 2008

 

Al Seed - The FooliganMayfest, Bristol's annual festival of physical, visual and experimental theatre returns to the city between 9 and 27 May. This year, the festival takes place in venues across the city, including the Tobacco Factory, Arnolfini, the Alma Tavern, Circomedia, the Wickham Theatre and various site-specific locations to present a Spring-time feast of unique, playful and exhilarating new theatre.

 

After five hugely successful years at Bristol Old Vic, Mayfest is spreading its wings to become a city-wide festival, with the Tobacco Factory Theatre as the festival hub. Mayfest brings together a programme of work which combines the very best performance being made right now in Bristol, with shows from some of the most talented companies and artists working nationally and internationally.

 

This year, the festival programme is more packed than ever before. The festival opens on the Friday 9 May at Circomedia's stunning home in St Paul's Church on Portland Square, with a large-scale promenade performance, SHIFT, by the acclaimed aerial-dance company Gravity & Levity. Then over the first weekend, the festival moves to the Wickham Theatre at the University of Bristol's Drama Department for three shows, Somerset-based Niki McCretton's Space 50, local contemporary circus and physical theatre company Green Eyed Zero with In the Shadow of Picture Frames and a solo piece from movement artist Itta Howie called A Little Space to Call My Own, which takes place on the fly floor above the Wickham's stage. And down in the city centre, Bristol-based sound artist Duncan Speakman presents his new work, My World is Empty Without You, developed in association with Mayfest, which takes the audience on a sonic journey across the city.

 

Then, for two weeks, the Tobacco Factory plays host to a feast of local and national work, including work from hotly-tipped local companies including Precarious (Winner of the Total Theatre Wildcard Award at Edinburgh 2007), Lost Spectacles, Tinned Fingers (both recently awarded the Judge's Award for Creative Collaboration at the National Student Drama festival) and FairGround Theatre. Bristol-based company Action Hero will be animating the Tobacco Factory's Theatre Bar with their show A Western, featuring shoot-em-ups with the audience and lots of fake blood, and their contemporaries, The Special Guests, present their alternative cabaret The Flaw Set to the Tobacco Factory on the final Friday of the festival.

 

Ridiculusmus, fresh from their Barbican retrospective, bring Tough Time, Nice Time ( Barbican Bite commission) for two performances, alongside other national work including Augusto Corrieri, Al Seed, with his highly anticipated new show The Fooligan, Sue Palmer, Drunken Chorus and Rotozaza with their new show Five in the Morning. Rotozaza will also be installing their one-on-one performance Etiquette in the Tobacco Factory between 12th and 24th May.Mem Morrison - Leftovers

Over the middle weekend of the festival Mayfest is co-presenting a number of performances with Arnolfini, including Tim Crouch's award-winning Edinburgh smash England, Tom Marshman's new show Hello Sailor (Goodbye Heart) and Australian artist Rosie Dennis who will be presenting a double bill, including a new piece developed in residency at Arnolfini. On Sunday 18 May, Mayfest and Arnolfini are co-presenting Leftovers by Mem Morrison, which is performed at the International Café on East Street in the Bedminster. This is limited capacity performance installation in which the audience get a full English breakfast as part of the show.

 

The festival culminates in two performances (Mon 26th and Tues 27th) by the extra-ordinary Russian company BlackSkyWhite who wowed audiences in Edinburgh 07 and at London International Mime Festival in January this year. BlackSkyWhite are renowned for their intense and dazzling performances which leave audiences "gasping and leaping to their feet to cheer" (Daily Telegraph) and this most recent show, Astronomy for Insects is no exception.

 

Producers of the festival Kate Yedigaroff and Matthew Austin said: "We're delighted to have such a packed programme of some of the most exciting theatre around. This year, the festival is even more varied; it's developing, it's exciting and it's a little bit unruly. The support we've had from our collaborating venues has been fantastic - and we hope most importantly that our audiences enjoy themselves. That there's a little something in here for everyone, and a few surprises along the way."

 

For further information, photos or to arrange an interview please contact Matthew Austin on 07989 500732 or email matthew@mayfestbristol.co.uk