Have your say...

Have you just seen Story of a Rabbit? Why not get in touch and let us know what you thought. There are a whole host of ways to engage with what we're up to!

Someone who saw the show last night in Eastleigh messaged us via Twitter to say "Hugh Hughes was wonderful (as always)... He makes me laugh and cry at exactly the same time!".

Just add @hellohoipolloi into your tweets and we'll spot them (or in fact, just mentioning Hugh Hughes often catches our eye!).

If you're not a fan of Twitter, why not comment on this blog with your thoughts or head to our Facebook pages - here is Hugh's and here is Hoipolloi's.

Someone wrote this on our wall earlier...

"Saw "Story of a Rabbit" at Eastleigh Theatre last night. Hugh Hughes is a highly original and talented performer. The show was genius - comic, reflective, moving, evolved and original. Thanks Hugh"

Or you can send us a slightly old-fashioned email if you'd like! Just drop a note to info@hoipolloi.org.uk and it'll make it's way through to us.

Finally, if you'd like to get a little closer and receive regular email updates from us, you can sign up to the mailing list here.

Daniel Kitson recommends Story of a Rabbit

We've been a little quiet on the blog front recently but we've suddenly sprung into action with two posts already this week, and here's a third for you! I hadn't planned this one but a pleasant surprise arrived in my inbox this morning and I wanted to share it with you!

The Hoipolloi office has long been a fan of Mr Daniel Kitson and his fabulous work both in stand-up and his story-telling shows.

We also know that Daniel has popped in to see a couple of Hugh Hughes' shows during the last couple of Edinburgh Fringes and we're really grateful that he shared the following paragraph with his email list this week...

"...also, here is a little tip for you good people of edinburgh and the surrounding regions, Story of a Rabbit, a lovely show that i saw during the festival of 2008 is at the traverse theatre for 4 nights in november, i think its the 11th to the 14th, but im typing this on a train and the internet connection isnt great. i mean, its still pretty good, considering im on a bloody train. still. its all relative. anyway, i very strongly recommend seeing it. it was something of an influence on my more recent stuff and its brilliant. funny and sad and lovely."

Thank you for such an exciting recommendation. I know that Hugh was touched to find out that the show provided some influence on your work. And a reminder that we're not just playing in Edinburgh (at the Traverse) but also at the Point in Eastleigh, Cambridge Arts Theatre and the CURVE in Leicester. Full details here!

And as it'd be rude not to return the favour, if you haven't seen a Daniel Kitson show, go see one, immediately!

Following this link will take you (eventually if you keep scrolling down) to a list of where he's playing his stand-up show in November in the UK (if they haven't already sold-out). And also, as I know we have Australian visitors here, you can also catch him at Sydney Opera House from the end of November into December with 66a Church Road.

Some recommendations

Yesterday afternoon I found myself with a glass of mulled wine in hand and stood watching the gentle falling of snowflakes through the air. But I wasn't going mad, nor had I drifted into Narnia.

I was in fact at The Junction, here in Cambridge, for the launch of their Christmas offering, appropriately titled, A Merry Little Christmas. It's actually being created by the lovely folk at Gomito, another Cambridge-based company.

They've always been very supportive of our activities here at Hoipolloi and I was delighted to finally make it to one of their other shows before the launch. If you have kids (or even if you don't!) look out for The Night Keeper, which is touring to a few places before mid-November. I thought it was wonderfully enchanting!

Finally, next week's a busy week for interesting and exciting theatre here in Cambridge. Not only will Story of a Rabbit be calling into the Arts Theatre (have you booked your tickets yet?), but Told by An Idiot will be stopping by The Junction with their new show, The Fahrenheit Twins.

Adapted from Michel Faber's original tale, it's an enthralling story of two siblings living with their parents on a remote artic exploration station. Lyn Gardner at the Guardian gave it 4stars so it comes highly recommended.

Finally finally, don't forget we've added an extra Hoipolloi Master Class in as the first sold-out! It'll be at The Junction on Sunday 13 December from 12noon to 7pm. Places cost £35 and are available from 01223 511511 (as indeed are tickets for A Merry Little Christmas and The Fahrenheit Twins).

Selling Out, Adding In

Things are about to get spectacularly busy here at Hoipolloi. Hugh will be commencing his latest Story of a Rabbit UK tour next Monday and there's plenty of other activity to report on too!

We mentioned back in September about our forthcoming Master Class at The Junction, here in Cambridge, on Sat 12 December. This has now officially SOLD OUT! Thank you to everyone who's booked themselves in.

However, don't be too disappointed if you intended to book but didn't get a chance! We're giving you a second chance to come along. We have now added a further master class the following day on Sunday 13 December. This time it runs from 12noon until 7pm and is once again at The Junction.

There was already a waiting list for Saturday places so if you'd like to come along, I'd get yourself booked in for the Sunday pretty quick. Places cost £35 and are available by calling 01223 511 511.

And if you're in Cambridge next week, don't forget that Hugh will be performing his award-winning hit, Story of a Rabbit at Cambridge Arts Theatre on Wednesday & Thursday (4 & 5 Nov). Get your tickets here!

If you can't make it to Cambridge, he's also heading to Eastleigh (2 & 3 Nov), Edinburgh (11 to 14 Nov) and Leicester (18 to 21 Nov). To round the tour off, Hugh will be performing new show, 360, in the Drum Theatre Plymouth from 24 to 28 Nov.

Right, sales pitch over! Although from the outside it's been pretty quiet here at Hoipolloi since our return from Edinburgh, I can promise you we've been extra busy planning an exciting 2010.

I have some exciting news to announce in a couple of weeks (it's currently embargoed so I'm afraid no amount of bribery will make me spill the beans). And then we'll be drip-feeding you further announcements as we head into the new year!

I'm hoping that Hugh will be able to provide some updates on his tour over the next few weeks but in the meantime, here's a quick reminder of Story of a Rabbit...

Affected by the Effects

The 'big move' is complete and the office has been officially turned upside down. Simon and I are very happy with our shiny new desk, glossy blue floor and big windows. In fact we're so happy we think we may even be working a bit harder. Although not hard enough to avoid a brief peek at what the oracle Wikipedia has to say about the effect of changing your office space...

After some extremely thorough research we are pretty convinced that we are prime examples of both the Hawthorne effect and the Pygmalion effect. "What are these?, tell us more!" I hear you cry. Well...

The term 'Hawthorne effect' was coined by Henry A. Landsberger in 1955 when he was studying some experiments held at the Hawthorne Works in Chicago in the 1920s-early 1930s.

Hawthorne Works commissioned a study to see whether their workers would work more or less productively in different levels of light. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the higher the level of light, the more productive the workers. Other changes examined included keeping work stations clean, getting rid of obstacles on the floor and moving workstations. Here at Hoipolloi HQ all these changes have taken place, and we are sure we're working harder, although maybe this is a result of the Pygmalion effect....

The Pygmalion effect refers to the phenomenon of placing a greater expectation on someone, in order to make them perform better. Perhaps we're just expecting to work harder because we've perused the world wide web and become enlightened about the Hawthorne effect, which has now smoothly taken us directly under the influence of the Pygmalion effect...

But now I'm just confused, so, moving swiftly onwards to certain territory, the really exciting news for this weekend is that...drum roll please....

Hugh Hughes will be performing his award winning show, 360, at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich on Sunday. If you are nearby, or fancy a jolly Sunday evening outing to Ipswich we would love to see you at the show. You can book tickets by clicking here.