Rabbit reviews and radios...

Posted by Sara Green (Marketing and Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)

It is official - the first UK tour of Story of a Rabbit is well and truly under way!

With a successful opening at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, an exciting run at The Junction in Hoipolloi’s home town of Cambridge and great performances in Liverpool and Brighton, Hugh and Aled are over halfway through.

The show has been receiving very positive reviews and it's been exciting to receive them here at the office as we are able to see the success of the show on paper as well as from the enthusiastic phone calls from Hugh that we get every day.

One of the best reviews is from What’s on Stage which opens with “it takes nerve as well as skill to make a show about death into an entertainment".

The review goes on to explore the subject matter of the show and how people deal with death, something that affects everyone. After all, as the reviewer says:

“The rabbit died, for no particular reason. Rabbits do that. In April 2001, Hugh was woken by a telephone call from his brother. It was to tell him that their father had died suddenly, of a heart attack while winding the church clock. People do that. They have heart attacks, even fathers of families.”

To read the full review of the show click here.

Another great review is by Jakki Phillips from Brighton Argus. Here is a short excerpt:

"Hughes's twinkling optimism gives the show an incredible life force which is reinforced by the badges we are given as we leave. They say "Here one minute...gone the next," and, like the show itself, make you want to grasp life with both hands but most importantly, phone your dad.”

To read the full review click here.

As well as these there is the brilliant Guardian Blog which has recently featured a little discussion about the show and the unusual nature of the audience participation that Hugh encourages. To read the comments click here.

So two fantastic reviews and a mention on the Guardian Blog, what more could we ask for?

How about the radio interviews that Hugh has done that have gone down a treat across the country. We had Aled and Hugh being interviewed by Aled’s old primary teacher and well known actor Dean Sullivan which was hilarious and touching as well as the most recent clip on Classic FM in which Hoipolloi’s very own Simon Bedford (apparently known as "long-length"-because of his amazing height) gets a mention. To listen to the podcast click here.

All in all, we're very pleased!

Story of a Rabbit's having a short breaking from touring at the beginning of next week before it returns to Ipswich on 30 & 31 May. But things don't quieten down yet for Hugh. He's off to Moscow with Sioned for two performances of Floating.

For more information on the both shows and how to book tickets for the rest of the Story of a Rabbit tour visit our website.

Hugh speaks... Different Journey, Same Direction

Posted by Hugh Hughes (travelling from Cambridge to Liverpool)

Travelling from east to west across Britain today made me think of the journeys other people have made in this direction. The phrase, 'go west young man' sprang to mind. It made me think of cowboy films and the whole western movie genre and the music that went with it. Before I knew it I was in a wagon, pulled by horses, galloping across the Prairies, with some medicine in the back and a gun strapped to my hip. And it made me think of some of the extraordinary stories of people trying to cross the Berlin Wall, to escape a political regime they felt oppressed by. I was driving through Checkpoint Charlie with a false moustache and someone hiding in a false-bottomed boot in the back of the car.

In comparison my journey was calm and peaceful, especially as the M6 Toll helped me by-pass Birmingham and avoid heavy traffic.

This freedom I was experiencing dawned on me. I was not driving into unknown territory, anxious about what I might discover and I was not fleeing a country, leaving loved ones behind, hoping not to be caught and imprisoned. I was driving with an open mind, ready to take in the countryside as it rolled by, able to imagine. I was surrounded by space. The warmth of the sun and the colours the light illuminated were dazzling, the music was cheerful and my voyage became a technicolour dream. Everyone waved at each other from car to car. All travellers had their windows open and listened to the same radio station. The cars found auto-pilot and in our hands-free luxury we could lean back as we sped safely down the motorway, taking in the sunshine, relaxing and tanning ourselves as the cool breeze swept across our bronzing bodies. Life was perfect. Undisturbed and joyful. Moving at a pace, from east to west, under a blue sky without a care in the world.

The amount of lives that are lived, the amount of east to west journeys that are made – each one so different, even if their direction is the same.

Hugh speaks... Norwich and Norfolk Festival

Posted by Hugh Hughes

I travelled from Hoipolloi’s home base in Cambridge, up to Norwich yesterday. It is a journey that normally takes 75 minutes. It took me 6 hours. I was stuck in a traffic jam caused by an accident involving a lorry.

Being trapped inside the car for 360 minutes made me think of submarines. I spent a long period of time watching the cars on the other side of the road, imagining them to be fish, sharks and other aquatic life forms. As the sun hit the bonnets and made them shine I saw their silvery skin swish past me.

The idea of labelling fish with registration plates seemed like a good idea – to avoid confusion. The reports coming in on the radio talked about life on land. A place far from my underwater world. Submerged, I found tranquillity away from the dry place. This wet place offered silent relief.

Another soundscape was emerging. One that drew me towards a colourful place with light and space. The initial feeling of entrapment was being replaced by the freedom of this newfound territory not far from Newmarket.

And then I thought that it was likely that I was rapidly becoming the person who had spent the most time on this particular spot on earth. Because, where my submarine was hovering, was normally passed through at 70 miles an hour by people in motor vehicles. When the traffic started to move, I felt the disruption that wildlife must feel when the builders move in to build the next housing estate for humans.

Story of a Rabbit is off on tour...

Posted by Sara Green (Marketing and Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)

Today is the official start of the first Story of a Rabbit UK tour as Hugh and Aled head to Norwich for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.

The show then heads around the Country, visiting 7 venues in all, finishing in the Barbican centre in June for a two week run.

We are all really excited about the tour here at Hoipolloi, almost as excited as Hugh who cannot wait to make new connections all over the country as well as returning to places he has been to before.

Below is a full tour list with box office information in order to book your tickets for this curiously comic production that celebrates the complexities of death....

Tour Dates:

Norfolk and Norwich Festival
Norwich Playhouse
Fri 2 and Sat 3 May
Box Office: 01603 766400
http://www.nnfestival.org.uk/

The Junction
Cambridge
Wed 7 - Sat 10 May
Box Office: 01223 511511
http://www.junction.co.uk/

Everyman Theatre
Liverpool
Tues 13 - Sat 17 May
Box Office: 0151 7094776
http://www.everymanplayhouse.com/

Brighton Festival
Pavillion Theatre
Tues 20 - Fri 23 May
Box Office: 01273 709709
http://www.brightonfestival.org/

New Wolesy Theatre
Ipswich
Fri 30 and Sat 31 May
Box Office: 01473 295900
http://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/

Drum Theatre Plymouth
Tues 3 - Sat 7 June
Box Office: 01752 267222
http://www.theatreroyal.com/

Bite08 at the Barbican Centre
Wed 11 - Sat 21 June
Box Office: 0845 1207556
www.barbican.org.uk/bite

For more information on the tour, or to find out about the show click here.

Looking forward to seeing you on our travels...

One last thing from The Doubtful Guest....

Posted by Sara Green (Marketing and Admin Assistant, Hoipolloi)

So the spring tour of The Doubtful Guest has ended. Everyone is slowly getting back to normal and it feels as if the show was just a whirlwind of excitement that passed us by in the blink of an eye.

In an attempt to retain some of the magic, I managed to grab the composer at the last minute and ask his point of view on the show. Alexander Rudd, a hugely talented freelance composer and musician, composed and recorded all of the fabulous music in the show. Alexander was recommended to Hoipolloi after being part of a workshop with another friendly theatre company and so became involved by chance, having never actually seen a Hoipolloi show before.

However, as soon as he walked into the rehearsal room back in November, he fitted right in, with his massive smile and cheerful, jokey nature, and one of my favourite parts of the rehearsal process was learning his catchy warm up tune “I like bumble bee, bumble bee tuna…”

Apparently this is the first time Alexander has worked with a company that devises but it didn’t show at all and I was really impressed with the way he jumped straight in, creating wonderful accompaniments for the actor’s early improvisations.

Next came the awful question, “so, would you work with us again?” Luckily Alexander felt the same about fitting in and his answer was “definitely.” He loved being involved in a project from the beginning of the creative process especially because composers usually come in right at the end when the piece is already formed. He found the experience very liberating as he had the freedom to experiment and have a say in the process as it was happening.

Alexander’s main role in the rehearsal process was a mix between composer and musical director. He would lead the warm-ups and create music to go with the scene that was being devised as well as using his musical knowledge to help the actors with the singing and the timings etc. I was also interested to find out the way in which the music was created and was told that it was a definite collaboration between himself and Shôn, the music being composed as the drama was so they worked together and not separately. I think this collaboration is evident in the final production as I cannot imagine the show without the atmospheric and often mood dictating musical accompaniment.

Alexander told me that he works in many different styles, from Jazz to musical theatre. The music for The Doubtful Guest has a really eclectic feel to it with definite classical influences as well as more abstract sounds and gothic vocalisations. He feels that the music compliments the story and the design of the show, something that I would definitely agree with and he likes to think that the music is very much part of the production.

When I asked him what he thinks of the finished result, the answer that I got was simply “LOVED IT!” He added that it is rare to see something grow and to see the actors really playing with what they were developing and he feels really proud of the finished show.

Apparently the actors were brilliant to work with and open to trying different things, something that I also found when I observed the rehearsal process.

Finally I asked Alexander what his favourite bit of music is, and he actually said the same bit that I am in love with, the sleepwalking music, which is beautifully dark and magically engaging, especially paired with Steffi’s gorgeous physical representation.

So, we end this tour with a lovely chat with a wonderful composer and look forward to the autumn when The Doubtful Guest and its musical gems will return…..