Visit Hugh's brand new website

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)

Don't forget that the shows run at the Barbican until Saturday 2 October and then move on to the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh (5 to 9 Oct) and the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival (12 to 17 Oct).

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...

A very big Hugh Hughes announcement

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.

See you in London!

Posted by Simon Bedford (Producer, Hoipolloi)

Au revoir

It seems that all good things really must come to an end, alas, and so it is time for me to bid farewell and move onwards to pastures new. It seems like just moments ago that I was sitting in the bar at the Traverse theatre in Edinburgh writing my very first blog post, and even though it was longer ago, it feels that it is mere seconds (time is funny like that) since I came to the Hoipolloi office for the very first time for my interview with Simon, Louise and David. I was extremely flustered as I'd managed to trip over on the zebra crossing on Mill Road, making a complete fool of myself and causing a number of passers by to glance over and give me a patronising 'oh dear, you silly girl' look.

Having had the traditional 'oh cripes, I'm graduating and will no longer be protected from the world by the warm and familiar embrace of education' I realised that I needed to find something to do with my life. Of course I'd given up hope of finding a 'real job' ages ago and set my little heart on a life in the theatre. Luckily Hoipolloi took me on board, otherwise who knows where I would have ended up. Probably outside the backstage door of a theatre somewhere begging for a job. Or rocking gently in a 'home' muttering 'please can I direct plays'.

This year has been super, or as Hugh would put it, 'brilliant!' (insert welsh accent, thankfully you can't hear my appalling attempt). I won't list all of the best bits, - if I do I'll start to get ridiculously nostalgic and start to cry and though I don't know much about computers (although thanks to Simon I am definitely less technologically backwards than I was when I arrived) I'm guessing floods of tears never did them any good - but there have been hundreds. In fact I don't think I'll ever be able to drink a cup of fruit or green tea again without wistfully thinking back to the halcyon days spent in Dale's Brewery. Not only have I had a lot of fun, but I've also learnt many essential life skills which should equip me for the big bad world. These include how to write a blog, printing on headed paper, what a 'hashcode' is and navigating my way around Google Analytics. With all of this knowledge I think I'm going to be just fine masquerading as a real adult. After a recent conversation with Hugh I'm also keen to find out whether painting your legs yellow would make you run faster. If you see me running around with fluorescent legs one day, you'll know why.

To prevent this cascading into a total wallow of sentimentality I'm going to start rounding things up by saying a big thank you to everyone at Hoipolloi for a wonderful year. Thank you also to anyone who has read the blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it, and good luck to the new interns! I'm leaving Cambridge to train to be a director in the big bright city of London, so as I won't be terribly far away, nor leaving the theatrical world, I'm hoping that this is not 'goodbye', but merely 'au revoir'.

Thanks to Peter Kaminski for the photo

My Name Is Sue (and other delights)

I'm sure that some of you will remember our passioned enthusiasm for a wonderful show called My Name Is Sue, which shared our venue in the Pleasance Courtyard at last year's Edinburgh Fringe.

David, our previous intern, even implored you to attend in a sentence written completely in capital letters (which is a very definite statement from someone who has a first in English from Cambridge University).

For those of you who missed it the first time, you'll be delighted to hear that it'll be making a visit to London's Soho Theatre this week.

So, what's the show about?

"Sue is a piano-wielding prophet who has so far kept her thoughts to herself. But now she is ready to let rip. She invites you into her lounge, where she'll sing through life from finishing school to Doomsday. Tales of schoolgirl passion and middle-aged longing, of ancient demons reawakened and of Armageddon sweeping through Cardiff town centre. Or she might just tell you what she had for lunch."

It comes most highly recommended (I've seen it at least 4 times now and still can't get enough) and this is what the papers have to say about it...

"Bizarre but brilliant... hysterically funny and beautifully played" Time Out (4stars)

"Certainly one of the most unusual, remarkable and memorable hours on the fringe" The Stage

It was also a Pick of the Week in this week's Guardian Guide.

Hopefully that's all whetted your appetite and now here's the clincher! If you go on and see the show this week (from Weds 16 to Sat 19 June), tickets are just £10!

The show runs from 16 to 26 June and tickets are available by calling 020 7478 0100 or online by clicking here.

*****

Also, for those of in Cambridge, we'd also like to recommend a visit to 3rd Ring Out.

Set inside shipping containers that become 'mobile command centres' on Parker's Piece, this is a very different sort of theatre. It's 2033 and the world has changed. Nature is taking revenge on industrial humanity and faced with a range of realistic futuristic scenarios, it’s up to you how the story develops.

I saw this intriguing piece on Saturday and it definitely made me think about what our environmental future might hold.

Performances take place on Parker's Piece from 17 to 20 June at 11am, 1.30pm, 4.30pm and 7pm each day and tickets cost £8 (£5 concessions).

Tickets are available from The Junction on 01223 511 511 or book online here.

*****

Enjoy!

Posted by Simon Bedford (Producer, Hoipolloi)

Home alone...

Its been a busy, jet-setting week for many of the Hoipolloi team; Hugh's in Edinburgh performing Story of a Rabbit, and Simon is in London being important and inspiring (he's giving a talk to drama students). Of course someone's got to hold the fort back in Cambridge so I'm today's official 'fort-holder-upper' - a very technical term for an extremely vital post, you understand.

The exact job description is malleable, but today I have defined it as follows:

-Some routine 'quality control of refreshments': testing the new teas on the famous Hoipolloi tea shelf. It was a close battle, but after great deliberation I have reached a final decision. Green tea with mint is the new favourite, although Raspberry and Echinacea comes a close second.

-Replying to all of the lovely people who have emailed to say they've seen Story of a Rabbit. Thank you for getting in touch. We're always thrilled to hear from people who have enjoyed the shows.

-Looking wistfully out of the window at the puddle coloured clouds and fierce rain droplets beating against the windows, pondering whether to write some poetry with a melancholic tinge as I muse deep philosphical thoughts...*

-* these include - what to have for lunch. How wet I am likely to get on the cycle ride back home. And whether to see Bright Star, Fantastic Mr Fox or The Hurt Locker at the cinema this weekend.

-Being on the look out for any supernatural events. This was a last minute adidtion to today's 'to do' list which slipped on when I realised that today is Friday 13th (cue scary music for dramatic effect).

So that's what I'm up to. But if you are free tonight or tomorrow, and either in Edinburgh, or keen to visit Edinburgh - and you really should as it's a lovely city - then do go and say 'Hello' to Hugh at the Traverse Theatre.

Have a good weekend!

Thank you to iamthepinkcupcake for this lovely atmospheric photo

Exclusive UK performances by Hugh Hughes of brand new material for Invisible Town!

Posted by David Ralfe (Marketing & Admin. Assistant)

In my last entry, I explored Hugh Hughes’ globetrotting antics through the medium of Google Maps. But here’s some good news for those of you in the UK, who’ve been missing the award-winning Welshman. In January, you’ll be able to see Hugh performing brand new material for his new show Invisible Town!

Hugh Hughes and Hoipolloi are delighted to be returning to the National Theatre Studio, to continue working on Hugh’s new ensemble show Invisible Town. The National Theatre Studio provides writing rooms and state-of-the-art rehearsal spaces in which to develop brand new work for theatre. We spent a week there in July, which was my first experience of making professional theatre, and seeing Hugh at work was incredibly exciting!

Hugh and his collaborators will be spending a week at the Studio in December and another week there in January, with Hugh using the NTS’s writing rooms in the meantime. You can still watch Hugh and Sioned’s video diary entries from our last session at the Studio by clicking here; and here’s a video interview with Hugh where he talks about the Invisible Town project. When we head back to the Studio in December, I’ll carry on blogging from the rehearsal room and gathering more video footage to keep you up to date with everything that’s going on!

And now for the really exciting bit. At the end of the week’s work in January, Hugh will be presenting several work-in-progress performances in London, to share the work he’s done on Invisible Town with audiences for the very first time. The full-scale show isn’t expected to be ready for the stage for several years, and as Invisible Town develops, sharing the work with audiences will become an increasingly vital part of the creative process.

We’ll announce the final details of the performances very, very soon. Please do come along and support Hugh, and play a part in the shaping of his biggest, most ambitious production yet!