SPECTACULAR STREET THEATRE DAY TO TAKE PLACE THROUGHOUT THE CITY CENTRE ON SATURDAY, 21 MAY 2016
The Festival will launch on Friday, 20th May at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre, with an opening performance from Trygve Wakenshaw, an award-winning gaulier-trained clown.
And one of the highlights of the festival will be the Street Theatre Day on Saturday, 21st May, when Physical Fest will take over the streets of Liverpool for one day with a carnival of birds, bees, giraffes, a circus of fleas and giant Spanish babies!
The Street Theatre Day will begin at 11am in Williamson Square with A LightNight Liverpool Commission, Flock by Foolsize Theatre. Ever watched a bird and wondered if it was watching you? Delve into the joyous play of the flock as they riff with you moment by moment. Expect a raucous street chorus, encounter a swooping puppet and leave with a fresh song about you! It will definitely give you something to tweet about.
Expect plenty of monkeying around at 11.30am and 2.30pm on Church Street when VIP Puppets will Escape from the Zoo. Their ever ever-expanding zoo is bursting at the seams with over friendly life-sized giraffes, zebras, lions and monkeys, but which of them will escape and take over the streets at Physical Fest?
Promenade Promotions bring Uncle Tacko’s Flea Circus to Liverpool ONE at 12noon and 2pm. Eight highly trained fleas will perform incredible feats of strength and agility in front of your very eyes – see Madam Flea-Flea soar over the heads of the audience, marvel at the might of Hercu-fleas and thrill to the daring Fleavil Kinevil as he is fired across the ring from the mouth of a huge canon!
There will be a real buzz over at FACT on Bold Street at 12.30pm and Williamson Square at 3.45pm where a swarm of super friendly bees are searching for a new home. Waggle Dance’s show Eggmen & Boom Booms explores the public’s relationship with nature and ecology. Their show incorporates improvisation, clowning, dance and live music to create a walkabout act you’ll be buzzing about!
Head over to Church Street at 12.30pm and 3pm to watch a physical chase between a humanoid Alien Removals Man and a non-humanoid illegal creature in Conflux: Illegal Alien – The Robot & Bob – a ridiculous satire on capture and elusion on city streets. Meanwhile, in Donna Quixota Saves the World (Joanna Sakowicz), Donna will fight windmills in the name of human greatness, steadfastness and kindness – a comically tragic clowning spectacle in a cardboard box.
Over on Paradise Street at 1pm and 3pm, don’t miss the Physical Fest & Conflux Street Theatre Commission 2016. Crackers is a twisted visual spectacle where three parrots come to life inside a giant birdcage performed by Caustic Widows, an all-female group from Liverpool who specialise in creating surreal visual theatre.
Meanwhile, a co-production of Catalan companies Jam and Fadunito will take place on Church Street at 1.30pm. Babies explores the innocence of a baby inside the body of a demon and an evil demon inside the body of a baby.
Who is going to dominate who? This funny and surprising show of clown and street theatre will appeal to all audiences.
Rounding off a fabulous day will be a Street Theatre Panel Discussion/Q&A at Bluecoat from 5- 7pm. The panel will include Jeremy Shine, artistic director of Manchester International Arts & Mintfest, who has worked for many years in a variety of areas of the arts, Tony Lidgton (alter ego ‘Uncle Tacko!’) who has been a showman for over 30 years, street performer Ferran Fadunito, who has performed in over 20 countries and Alan Richardson, director of Conflux who runs projects to develop street arts, physical theatre and circus in Scotland. The discussion will look at the issues surrounding street theatre performance, the pros and cons, the diversity of practice and experience from the panel and the future. There will be an opportunity for Q&A and networking. Booking is required for this free event.
Physical Fest runs until Saturday 28th May and for the rest of the week, people of Liverpool can enjoy watching and get involved in an exciting line-up of performances, workshops, street theatre, debate, networking events and Fest Live, a showcase of new and exciting work from local, national and international artists at Unity Theatre on Wednesday 25th May.
Now in its 12th year, Physical Fest is the only festival in Europe specialising solely in physical theatre and has established itself as one of the key events in Liverpool’s cultural calendar, bringing the world’s best local, national and international movement and physical theatre artists to Liverpool.
For the full Street Theatre Day programme visit: www.physicalfest.com/street-theatre
PERFORMANCE LISTINGS for Saturday 21 May
Flock – Foolsize Theatre
Locations: Williamson Square & Church Street
Times: 11am (Williamson Square) & 3.30pm (Church Street)
FREE
Escape From The Zoo – VIP Puppets
Location: Church Street
Times: 11.30am & 2.30pm
FREE
Uncle Tacko’s Flea Circus – Promenade Promotions
Location: Liverpool ONE
Times: 12noon & 2pm
FREE
Waggle Dance – Eggmen & Boom Booms
Locations: FACT/Bold Street & Williamson Square
Times: 12.30pm (FACT/Bold Street) & 3.45pm (Williamson Square)
FREE
Conflux: Illegal Alien – The Robot & Bob/Donna Quixota Saves the World – Joanna Sakowicz
Location: Church Street
Times: 12.30pm & 3pm
FREE
Crackers – Caustic Windows
Location: Paradise Street
Times: 1pm & 3pm
FREE
Jam/Fadunito – Babies
Location: Church Street
Time: 1.30pm
FREE
Street Theatre Panel Discussion/Networking/Q&A
Location: Sandon Room, Bluecoat
Time: 5pm – 7pm
FREE – Booking required! To book visit www.thebluecoat.org.uk or call 0151 702 5324
For more details on the festival and programme of events, please visit www.physicalfest.com
