I'm very proud to announce that Hugh Hughes won Best Scripted Comedy Drama at the BBC Audio Drama Awards last night. It's a real honour, particularly as Floating was both Hugh's first live show and his first work to be broadcast on the radio.
Andrew Davies, who wrote the TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, was one of the judges in Hugh's category and this is what he had to say about Floating:
"Floating
was totally original. Generally I hate fantasy, but this was very different,
somehow sweetly earnest as well as daft, with sadness at the heart of it. I
loved it that it had a cast of two, and I’d never heard of either of them. It
used the radio medium with enormous (concealed) sophistication and reminded one
of the almost limitless power of radio to create a world."
The award itself was presented by actor Richard Wilson and, as you can see from the photo, Hugh also met David Tennant who was master of ceremonies.
It being radio awards, someone sneakily managed to record some audio of Hugh on stage...
A belated Happy New Year from myself, Hugh Hughes and the rest of the Hoipolloi team. We're all really looking forward to the year ahead. It's certainly going to be busy and I hope you'll be able to join us along the way.
Hugh has already started the year with some very good news. His afternoon play version of Floating, created with BBC Radio 4 has been nominated for "Best Scripted Comedy Drama" at the first ever BBC Audio Drama Awards. The ceremony, to be hosted by David Tennant, takes place on 29 January and we'll let you know how he gets on.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us during the autumn. I certainly had lots of fun driving Hugh to a couple of places for performances of 360 and the year ended in style with the run of Story of a Rabbit at Sydney Opera House.
At present, we're in the thick of development for Hugh's brand new project, Stories from an Invisible Town. Here's a quick intro from Hugh...
It'll be both an online space and a live work, which will tour the UK in the autumn. We'll be announcing more information as the year progresses but if you're in Cambridge, you can get some sneak previews by joining Hugh for some further work-in-progress performances at The Junction. These take place on 8 March, 20 April and 25 May. More details here.
We look forward to sharing our work with you in the not too distant future and hope you'll be able to join us at some point this year.
Simon Bedford
Executive Producer, Hoipolloi
ps. if you live in or near Cambridge, we think these might be of interest...
NIE: Clown on stage - a master class at The Junction
This Master Class led by NIE’s Artistic Director, Alex Byrne will explore the physical preparation of the body for performance through work on pure and expressive movement and the playfulness of the actors in performance through games and group work. Alex will explore work in red noses as a way to access emotions, material and playfulness.
Saturday 4 February from 11am – 6pm
Suitable for ages 18+
Price: £35 (£25 conc)
12 new commissions, live literature, film showings, masterclasses, workshops, a One-Page-Play Competition and free foyer events.
Writers at Hotbed: Janice Okoh (Bruntwood Award Winner 2011); Ed Harris (Writers’ Guild Award Winner 2011); Chris O’Connell (Multiple Fringe First Award Winner), plus many more of the UK’s leading and up-and-coming writers.
Guest Production: Hotbed will host world-class production of SILENT by Ireland’s leading new writing company, Fishamble. The show was the hit of the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and won a plethora of awards, including the prestigious Fringe First Award.
I know the title sort of implies a cross between Robot Wars and Top of the Pops, which could be very exciting indeed. (In fact I may have to ring the BBC asap to pitch the idea of a singing competition for homemade robots). But this is nothing of the kind. What we have here is a list of my favourite bits from Hugh's Rough Book.
In first place we have Broken Fence/Fishing. I've only been fishing once, and sadly I didn't catch anything. I like fish, but I'm clearly not a born angler. I do have a fence in my garden, although if it was broken I doubt I could fix it. Somehow my fishing and fence failures made me feel a special connection to this post. ..
2. The Red Bird photos are a close second. I have no particular reason for liking these, I just think they are brilliant. I also think they would make excellent postcards, donthcyathink? Maybe we should ask Hugh if he'd be interested in releasing a range of greetings cards.
3. In at number three is the Misunderstood Hermit. One of my favourite poems is The Ancient Mariner. I know the Ancient Mariner is not a hermit, but for a split second, seeing this entry made me think of Coleridge's fantastic poem, and as a reward for bringing me that moment of joy, the Hermit makes it into the list.
I hope you have enjoyed Hugh Hughes' Rough Book as much as I have. Remember all of the entries are over on Hugh's website, so if you missed any, do not fear, you can hunt them down on the index page by clicking here, or go straight to that website at www.hughhughes.me.
And one last thing before I leave you for now - we are still on the hunt for a new intern. CVs and cover letters to me (marieke@hoipolloi.org.uk) by April 7th if you are keen. Do also get in touch if you have any questions about the position. But basically it is great so do apply!
Hoipolloi had a wonderful day last week, celebrating St. George's Day with Arts Council England and the BBC. We took part in Made In England, a huge event taking place over many parts of the country.
Hoipolloi led The Full English, which involved a performance in front of Milton Keynes Theatre, a double-decker bus journey to Luton, performances on a commuter train travelling from Luton to St. Pancras and a final performance at St. Pancras itself, alongside a choir of school children singing a 'new national anthem' composed for the day. We then retired to the Betjeman Arms pub for a well-earned afternoon relaxing in the sun!
It was a really interesting project for Hoipolloi to be involved in because we tend to think of ourselves as an international company rather than particularly 'English'! Steffi, who founded the company with Shon Dale-Jones, is from Switzerland; the theatre we make tends to draw more on continental theatrical traditions than British ones - in fact, Shon and Steffi met at the Lecoq school in Paris; and Trond-Erik, one of the five actors in our ensemble, is from Norway!
But as a touring theatre company, we perhaps spend more time than most thinking about where we come from in relation to whichever part of Britain (or the world!) that we're performing, and how we carry our roots around with us wherever we go. This is certainly a common theme in Hugh Hughes' work and something that Hoipolloi all think about a lot.
It was also a chance to celebrate English eccentricity, with the sort of larger-than-life characters that Hoipolloi do best! And it was interesting to hear what Steffi and Trond thought of England and 'the English'. Often it takes an outsider to point out what is peculiarly English! Let's not forget that Oscar Wilde, that great satirist of all things English, was actually from Ireland...
You can click here to see photos from Milton Keynes, click here for photos of the bus journey, click here for photos of the train journey, click here for photos inside St Pancras and click here for a lovely BBC interview with the company. There's some audio stuff on there too!
Good evening! Today has certainly been a hectic day. I've been in the office continuing preparations for Story of a Rabbit's USA tour and getting images ready for 360's run at the Edinburgh Fringe. Over in Milton Keynes, the ensemble have been completing final preparations for tomorrow's performance of The Full English.
Speaking of The Full English (just typing that makes me feel hungry!) I think we now have a little more detail for you if you'd like to come and enjoy the show. And there's certainly more information about what's happening over here on the BBC's site.
The day starts in Milton Keynes at around 10am where the performance begins at the Theatre Square. The company will then board a double decker bus over to Luton railway station.
They're due to board a train just after midday and will arrive at London's St Pancras station at approximately 1pm, where the performance ends about an hour later.
This is all delightfully vague but undoubtedly the ensemble will have fun with whoever and wherever they end up performing! Here's what they've been telling the BBC about their plans.
If you're not in MK, Luton or able to get to St Pancras, you'll be able to hear more of what's going on as BBC local radio in Bed, Bucks and Herts and in London will be broadcasting live from the event between those hours.
Tomorrow I'm acting as chauffer for the ensemble's luggage, making sure it is delivered safely from MK into London. I'll attempt a few tweets along the way as, traffic permitting, I hope to make it into St Pancras in time for the show!
Hoipolloi will be celebrating St. George's Day with the BBC and Arts Council England. If you're on a train coming into London on Thursday, watch out! You might meet one of the colourful, larger-than-life characters Hoipolloi will be creating to let loose on unsuspecting commuters...
Made In England is an artistic adventure, assembled by the BBC and Arts Council England, taking place all over the country on Thursday 23rd April. The project aims to explore England through its people and its art. It’s a contemporary take on our national identity, which will show how England continues to inspire creativity.
Next week, Hoipolloi will be developing ideas for a series of improvised performances taking place on trains and railway platforms between Milton Keynes and St. Pancras. We’re just one of many artists and groups of theatre-makers taking part. The project also encompasses poetry, visual art and music.
Highlights will be broadcast all day on BBC television, radio and websites. And Hoipolloi will be joining in a rendition of a “new national anthem”, developed as part of the project and performed at St. Pancras station to kick start the event!
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