To celebrate his arrival in London, Hugh has launched his own brand new website and he'd love to share it with you. It can be found at www.hughhughes.me
Thank you to everyone who's paid a visit to the site so far, we're really excited that we've been able to work with Hugh to create it. Over time, it'll become both a vast archive of the Hugh's journey as an emerging artist and also a place for a whole host of new content for you to enjoy.
It's been a busy month, hence the lack of posting here since the 13 August!
The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes has opened at London's Barbican Centre to great critical acclaim and we've had the very first screening of Hugh's brand new film - How I Got Here.
Here's some of what the press has been saying:
"If there's a friendlier, more engaging character in contemporary British theatre than Hughes, I've yet to meet him" The Times (reviewing 360)
"An infectious enthusiasm that radiates warmth like a homely coal fire." The Stage (reviewing The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes)
"Just the tonic for the cynicism and drudgery of London" Time Out, Show of the Week (4stars)
And also, if you're in Cambridge this Sunday (19 Sept, 6pm, Cambridge Arts Picturehouse), Hugh will be introducing a screening of How I Got Here as part of Cambridge Film Festival. This will be a special moment as it's the first time that Hugh's work has been included in a non-theatre festival.
And to celebrate that fact, he's an exclusive clip from the film...
Good morning. It's a little dark and drizzly here in Cambridge at the moment. I think someone forget to tell the weather gods that we're not in Edinburgh this year - my hopes to enjoy a little sunshine through at least one August seem to have been dashed!
My apologies that this is our first blog post this month; I feel slightly shamed that our last posting was back on 28 July, which seems like an age ago now! I'm sneakily going to shift blame on to Richard for abandoning his intern post for a few weeks so that he can go and review shows up at the Fringe (and thus he's not here to defend himself!).
My reason for posting this morning is that Hugh has created some lovely little videos for us to act as mini-insights into his wonderful world. Here, some of his friends (and his sister) give you their thoughts on the Hugh that they know.
I've some big exciting news to announce but before I do, I wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who contacted me last week regarding our research into your experiences of seeing Hugh's shows.
I hadn't quite expected so many of you to be in touch! I hope I've replied to everyone's emails by now - it was exciting to speak to those of you who I had time to call and to all of the others, I hope to be in touch again in the coming months.
And now to the big announcement!
Hugh Hughes is returning to London's Barbican Centre. And this time he's not just bringing Floating, Story of a Rabbit OR 360. He's bringing ALL three!
Louise Jeffreys, the Barbican's Head of Theatre, has been a great supporter of Hugh's work since his first Edinburgh run in 2006 and last year, she offered The Pit to Hugh for the whole of September. He's decided to create a residency project, bringing Floating, Story of a Rabbit and 360 together and call it...
The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes
The residency, whic has been co-commissioned by the Barbican will contain all three shows, which you'll either be able to see individually during the week or in one big tasty gulp on Saturdays.
And that's not all!
Every Thursday evening, as an juicy treat following performances of 360 you'll be able to enjoy a special additional extra. This includes a visit with Hugh around the John Bock exhibition, the opportunity to enter Hugh's development space with Stories from an Invisible Town and finally a brand new documentary film called Hugh Hughes: How I Got Here.
And that's still not all!
In September, we'll be launching the Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes online. A brand new site that will provide an digital fabularium of content created by Hugh. This ranges from diary entries from the past few years, sneaky peaks backstage or just random ideas that have come into Hugh's head.
This is what Hugh has to say: "It's really exciting to have this opportunity to share my stories with you. Come and join me. Share the fun. It might put a spring in your step."
Now that I've whetted your appetite, here's the science bit.
Performances take place from Wednesday 8 September until Saturday 2 October. The schedule is as follows:
Floating: 14, 21, 28 Sept at 7.45pm (Tuesdays during the run) Story of a Rabbit: 15, 22, 29 Sept at 7.45pm (Wednesdays during the run) 360: 8, 9, 16, 23, 30 Sept at 7.45pm (Thursdays during the run plus one extra Wednesday!) Full trilogy: 11, 18, 25 Sept & 2 Oct from 2pm (Saturdays during the run)
Tickets cost £15 each or £33 to see all three shows on Saturdays and are available from the Barbican.
Fear not if you don't live in London or can't make the trip there. We'll be announcing two further residencies in major cities in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland in the next month (that's s big a hint as to where we might be heading as I'm currently allowed to give!).
I'm really excited that we've been able to work with Hugh to make this all work. We'll be drip-feeding through more and more information over the next couple of months as there's plenty on offer to all of our audiences, wherever in the world you happen to be based, over the next few years.
Ladies and Gentlemen! If last week's exciting Edinburgh news wasn't enough, I can announce even more fantastic Hugh Hughes news!
Hugh has been invited to perform an exclusive 25 minute set at laughterinoddplaces's gig on Thursday 2 July.
Over the last two years, Hugh has enjoyed performing his hit shows at London's Barbican Centre in the summer. This year he's taking a year off (he's too busy preparing for the Fringe) but as luck would have it, the forthcoming (and final) laughterinoddplaces gig will take place at the Museum of London, just a short hop from the familiar surroundings of the Barbican!
Joining Hugh on the bill are a fantastic array of comedians including Josie Long, Richard Herring and Simon Munnery.
The best news of all is that you'll be able to see all of these performances for FREE, taking place in different parts of the Museum.
The event kicks off at 7pm (doors open at 6.30pm). You don't actually need a ticket but if you know you're definitely going, you can register that you're coming here.
We look forward to seeing you there!
And don't forget that tickets are now on sale for the Edinburgh Fringe. Book your tickets for Hugh Hughes in... 360here and The Doubtful Guesthere.
Posted by Simon Bedford (Marketing & Touring Manager, Hoipolloi)
A huge thank you to everyone who's booked in to see our Invisible Town preview performances at the Barbican. We have now completely filled all available places and I'm afraid that I won't be able to release any further space.
If you haven't managed to get hold of a ticket, you'll still be able to follow what's happening with the project as we'll be providing regular updates from the rehearsal room here on the blog.
I'm also pleased to announce another Hugh Hughes project which will be coming to fruition in January!
The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes is a brand new solo piece from Hugh. He's been working on various ideas for this over the past couple of months (in between working on Invisible Town) and the show will be premiered at The Junction, Cambridge from 29 to 31 January.
The show sees Hugh head off on a comic and compelling adventure into his fantastical world. A marvellous mixture of memories, random recollections and stories all told in his uniquely charming style.
At present, this is the ONLY opportunity to see this piece although the show might make the journey up to Edinburgh next summer.
Performances begin at 8pm and tickets cost just £5. To book yours, please visit The Junction's website by clicking here or call their Box Office on 01223 511511.
Posted by Simon Bedford (Marketing & Touring Manager, Hoipolloi)
Wow, what an afternoon!
Story of a Rabbit's tagline, "Here one Minute, Gone the Next" became very pertinent today as I watched the free tickets for our scratch performances of Invisible Town at the Barbican disappear before my eyes.
After merrily disappearing to get my haircut over lunch, I returned to the office and checked to see whether anyone had decided to book in. I almost fell off my chair and couldn't believe that nearly all the spaces had gone!
A massive thank you for all your interest in the project. I know that Hugh will be delighted that so many of you would like to come along. My apologies to anyone who hasn't been able to get a place, particularly those that tried more than once to get one out of the website.
I thought that everything was running pretty smoothly but clearly the system wasn't clever enough to tell you that the tickets had all gone in the slight scramble that occured around 3pm this afternoon.
For the time being, I have a waiting list open as I hope to release a few more places nearer the time. We'll release them on a first-come, first served basis. Instructions on how to get on the list can be found by clicking the link below.
In the meantime, I'm sure that David will continue to post updates from the rehearsal room so keep coming back to hear the latest.
UPDATE! Further places have been released for the Invisible Town performances. Capacity is still extremely limited but click on the link below to book.
Posted by Simon Bedford (Marketing & Touring Manager, Hoipolloi)
David's last couple of posts have been about what's currently happening over at the National Theatre Studio with Invisible Town. And a couple of weeks ago we hinted that you'd soon be able to get the chance to see for yourself what Hugh and his friends have been up to.
The wait is over and, to the accompaniment of a grand fanfare, I can now reveal the full details of how to catch an exclusive peak at this brand new material.
On Thursday 8 and Friday 9 January at 7pm, Hugh and his ensemble will be undertaking two free 'scratch' performances in The Pit at theBarbican Centre in London.
There are just 100 places available across both nights to see the work for FREE at this early stage and tickets can only be booked in advance by clicking on the link below.
Please note that tickets are NOT available through the Barbican's box office.
Please join us for what we hope will be an exciting part of the show's ongoing development. It's likely that this won't receive a full production until 2011 so you'll be one of the first to see what they've been up to. More information on the show can be found on various blog entries here.
Finally, thank you to the National Theatre Studio and Louise Jeffreys at the Barbican Centre for making this possible.
Posted by Sara Green (Marketing and Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)
Well, as this is my last day with Hoipolloiit also means that this is my last blog entry. I know, how sad!
As my placement with Hoipolloi is coming to an end, (I have been doing a 10 month internship with the company as part of my gap year) I thought it would be a good idea to sum up my time here and try and think of a highlight of the year. The problem is that there are so many, so I have tried to be brief...
Before I started at Hoipolloi I had never worked in an office before, and that showed! I would ask stupid questions and generally embarrass myself, particularly in regard to my knowledge of photocopiers. But after a year(ish) I can honestly say that I have learnt so much not only about touring theatre but also office life, and now if I am given a job I don’t automatically go into panic mode. Well not often anyway.
So that is one thing that this year has been good for. Another thing that was amazing about this placement was the fact that I was able to see the development of a show from scratch. I remember the meeting back in September discussing a possible set design for The Doubtful Guest. Then in November I got to watch rehearsals for the show before witnessing it progress into a fantastic piece of theatre which opened in Watford Palace. I feel privileged to have been a part of this process and it made watching the show just that little bit more special.
When I try and think of one event that has made my year I would probably go for the time I had to dress up as the Doubtful Guestand wander theBarbican having my photograph taken. You know, as you do! As an aspiring actor that was a pretty special experience, which, although made me look rather stupid, was extremely fun and unique.
But I can’t stop there.
There are so many times that stick in my mind, for example the first time I met Hugh Hughes, seeing Story of a Rabbitfor the first time and crying, the opening night of The Doubtful Guest, the end of tour in Newcastle and getting slightly inebriated with the cast, going to rehearsals and being stunned by the talent of the company, building a rehearsal room with Richard and being the only girl in a room of men who knew what they were doing, listening to Hugh run the show at 10 times the speed and laughing in hysterics, having a joke with Simon that I found funny and he didn’t, getting an electric shock every time I touched the filing cabinet, falling asleep in the company car on countless occasions, betting Steffi I could fit inside a box then proving my point, actually enjoying the filing day when everyone else was bored, stunning Steffi with my detailed knowledge of Fedex, doing yoga and stretching with Louise on the office floor, making masks from scratch, finding out about the aliens that Hugh thinks are in everyone’s brains, having my lack of geographical knowledge as a laughing point on a daily basis, missing a meeting in Liverpool because I got on the wrong train and ended up in Waterbeach....I could go on.
But I think one of the best times for me has been the last week in the Barbican, which not only was my childhood home but it is also one of my favourite venues and watching the show on Friday night was one of the most emotional yet uplifting experiences I’ve had in a long time. I felt so proud to have been part of Hoipolloi and had such a lovely night celebrating with them that I actually don’t want to leave!
So I am now off to drama school to try and learn how to do that ‘acting’ thing and experience theatre from a more creative side, however I owe so much to Hoipolloi for giving me a complete all round experience of life in this industry and I feel so much more equipped with this year behind me. So thank you for reading my ramblings over the year and I leave you in the very capable hands of David who will be taking over my job and no doubt the blog.
Just before I go however, I will do one last bit of marketing and urge you all to keep seeing Hoipolloi’s work; it just keeps getting better and better!
Posted by Sara Green (Marketing and Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)
After a crazy couple of months, the first tour of Hugh Hughes’second hit Story of a Rabbithas come to an end. But what an ending it was! With a two week run at the Barbican’s Pit Theatre as part of bite08 the show went out with a bang, impressing audiences and critics alike and generating a fantastic response each night.
As well as being excited about performing in such a prestigious venue, Hugh and Aled were pleased to see so many old faces return to see the show as well as welcoming the new connections they made in London. It was definitely the perfect way to end a hugely successful tour and the ridiculously busy season we have had at Hoipolloi.
The show has really grown over the past few months, becoming increasingly funny and, believe it or not, more moving every time I see it. I think this was confirmed by the raucous laughter followed by thoughtful silences that I witnessed in the theatre last week and the queues of tearful women in the toilets afterwards, including me, hastily reapplying mascara proves my point.
One of our favourite responses to the show was posted at theHugh Hughes Appreciation Society on Facebook “Possibly the only show I have ever been to where my friend came out with tears of laughter and I came out with tears of sadness. Truly remarkable.”
But if now you are getting upset at the prospect of not seeing a Hoipolloi show again, fear not.
We are currently finalising the autumn tour of The Doubtful Guest, not to mention a host of international dates for Hugh Hughes that will be announced in the next few weeks. So put those hankies away and save them for Story of a Rabbit’s return, you’ll need ’em!
And for those who want an extra dose of Hugh, here's one of his videos to enjoy! To find more, why not visit our YouTube channel.
Posted by Sara Green (Marketing and Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)
Hugh and Aled have certainly been busy this spring. Visiting venues in Cambridge, Norwich, Plymouth and many more it is hard to keep up with the cheeky duo. But as the first UK tour of Story of a Rabbit comes to an end we are delighted to return back to the Barbican Centre in London as part of Bite08 for the final two weeks of the tour!
Opening last night, Story of a Rabbit began a fortnight of performances in this prestigious venue, with a great response from audiences in the heart of the City of London. If you have missed the show on its first tour, or want a chance to see it again before it is off the road, now is your chance.
The show starts at 7.45pm and is on until Sat 21 June. Tickets are only £12, to book simply call the box office on 0845 120 7556 or visit the website http://www.barbican.org.uk/bite
Looking forward to seeing you there, don’t miss out!
Posted by Sara Green (Marketing and Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)
Of course we were joking about coincidentally bumping into the Doubtful Guest at the Barbican last Friday but we did have an extremely interesting afternoon taking photos of the creature in an around the estate.
I’ll give you one guess to work out the mug that was inside the massive furry costume for two hours? Of course it was me - I happen to be the right size to fit in it and so was a prime target to be roped in by Simon,Hoipolloi’s Marketing & Touring Manager.
It was actually a very enjoyable afternoon and, despite getting some funny looks from several Barbican residents and being questioned by a curious policeman, it all ran rather smoothly. We took photos everywhere - on the bridges, lying on benches, peeping round columns and even managed to get invited up to a resident’s balcony, whose name, remarkably, was Hugh. (Maybe it was Hugh Hughes in disguise…)
The costume looks pretty impressive and very striking; however it is extremely suffocating not to mention completely restricting. I found it hard to walk, to talk and even to see, making me sort of understand why the creature refuses to listen to the family’s pleas for it to move. Maybe it literally can’t. There’s an interesting thought!
But even though I moan about the uncomfortable costume etc, it was actually quite exciting. To be photographed on location by a talented photographer and be the centre of attention for several hours isn’t all that bad! It was also nice to experience life from the doubtful guest’s perspective. The way it stands, nose pointed outwards, arms by its side is really specific and standing still, staring for minutes at a time made me feel like I was the real creature and I did often drift off into a day dream. Easily done I can assure you.
I think that this was a great opportunity for an aspiring actor and I have some fantastic photos of my debut - although I definitely won’t be using them as headshots in the near future…
Posted by Sara Green (Marketing and Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)
When we were in the Barbican for rehearsals on Friday we were astonished to bump into someone curiously familiar as we walked around the estate.
The Doubtful Guestseemed to pop its head out everywhere - round the columns, on the benches, in the bushes, at the church door and sometimes in even stranger places. I even caught it peering despondently into the library. And by some strange coincidence we happened to be with photographerGeraint Lewis who managed to take a few shots…
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