Made In England... and Paris and Switzerland and Norway!

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!

The Full English

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!

Made In England

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!

There’s loads more information here. Don’t forget to tune in or come and say hello in person!