Story of a Rabbit in Sydney

 

We're really excited to be returning to Sydney Opera House with Hugh Hughes and Story of a Rabbit.

It's Hugh's third visit to Australia and his second to the Opera House itself. And I'm giddy with excitement at the honour of once again helping Hugh tour to such a prestigious venue.

Hugh is especially excited as Aled, who created the show with Hugh is returning to the stage after having handed over the musical and technical reins to his brother, Dafydd for the last year.

If you are in Sydney, or can get to Sydney or know people in Sydney, we'd be delighted to see you there for Story of a Rabbit. The show opens on Tuesday 29 November and runs until Saturday 10 December.

There's more information here at the Sydney Opera House website... http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/story_of_a_rabbit.aspx

You can also read more about the process involved in the creation of Story of a Rabbit in this blog from Shon, Hoipolloi's Artistic Director...
http://freshinkaustralia.com/2011/11/16/hugh-am-i-the-hugh-hughes-project/

And if you're after a quick preview of what to expect, here's a short snippet of the show:

 

Posted by Simon Bedford (Hoipolloi's Executive Producer)

Things to see in Cambridge

For anyone in Cambridge, I wanted to share a couple of recommendations of things you should definitely see at The Junction over the next month or so.

Starting next Monday, the fabulous Non Zero One are heading to the city with The Time Out. I've become a huge fan of this emerging company since seeing their technically spectacular and surprisingly emotional show, Would Like To Meet at the Barbican Centre last year. And their beautifully poignant farewell to the old Bush Theatre recently was one of the best shows I've seen for a while.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Time Out when I caught it in Edinburgh this year - it's a great opportunity to bond with strangers and become a successful team in the space of an hour. You'll need to be prepared to get involved but trust me, it's definitely worth it! 

As it's a limited capacity, some of the performances are already sold out. There are currently spaces left at 9pm on Mon 21 Nov and then 6pm, 7.30pm and 9pm on Tue 22 Nov and Wed 23 Nov.

More info here at The Junction's website... http://junction.co.uk/artist/3687

And if you're looking for Christmas entertainment, our good friends at NIE are creating Hansel and Gretal  for your viewing pleasure.

Not only that, but Hoipolloi's own Associate Director, Stefanie Mueller is both designing and performing in the show.

The show opens on 7 December and runs right the way through until 3 January so there's plenty of opportunity to catch the show. And as they say, it's "a delicious Christmas show for the whole family to enjoy."

More info here at The Junction's website... http://junction.co.uk/artist/3419

And NIE are blogging their way through the making of the show so if you'd like to see what Steffi has been up to, you can see plenty of pics here.

Posted by Simon Bedford (Hoipolloi's Executive Producer)

A few reminders and recommendations

Firstly, a quick reminder that Hugh is performing 360 at the Words in Walden Festival over in Saffron Walden on Friday night (7 October). There's still a few tickets left and you can find out more by visiting the festival's website.

For those of you in Cambridge, Hugh will also be doing some more work-in-progress on his new project, Stories from an Invisible Town at The Junction on Friday 28 October if you'd like to join him. More info here.

The Junction itself has a packed autumn schedule and if you're in Cambridge I can definitely recommend getting yourself down to see as much as it as you can, including (if you can get a ticket) Little Bulb's Operation Greenfield which is on tonight and tomorrow. I adored this show when I saw it at Soho Theatre in the summer and if you enjoy Hugh's work, I'm sure you'll be charmed by this too.

In the week before Hugh's visit to The Junction, Forced Entertainment will be bringing Void Story to Cambridge on 18 & 19 October. Forced Entertainment's work is admired around the world and, although I'm sure it'll be quite different from the work we produce, it sounds very intriguing. Here's a taster...

And in November, you should definitely be getting yourself a ticket to Non Zero One's The Time Out. I love their work (they're most definitely my favourite company at the moment) and I saw this in Edinburgh in the summer. You need to be prepared to work with your fellow audience members to become a successful team but it's a lot of fun too.

And finally, just to give some balance to non-Cambridge things - if you're a director and can get yourself to London, why not book yourself a place on Told by an Idiot's intensive Director's workshop with Paul Hunter. It's taking place from 17 to 21 October at the Jerwood Studios and costs £200. More info here.

Posted by Simon Bedford (Executive Producer, Hoipolloi)

Floating on BBC Radio 4 - this Friday

 

We are very proud of Hugh's continued success with Floating which he initially created with us here at Hoipolloi. It's amazing to think that it was September 2005,  6 years ago, that he and Sioned first performed Floating at the Old Museum Arts Centre in Belfast.

Since then it has travelled all over the world, playing in Edinburgh, London, Vancouver, New York, Sydney, Moscow and beyond.

I had some time together with Hugh up in Edinburgh this summer while we were both there watching some theatre. I asked him about his experience of making Floating for the radio:

"It was superb. The people at the BBC in London are very professional. In fact, I'd say they are fully professional. They really do know their business inside out and back to front. I was in very good hands. Just like when my mother would leave me with my Aunty Glenys when I was a toddler. There was no running away from her safety net.


 The person I was working closely with there was a fine young man called James - I won't use his surname in case he'd prefer I didn't - I'm sure there are lots of Jameses working at the BBC - and he was very very good at his job and was able to help me reconstruct the event using audio only. That is the challenge of radio - to only use audio. 


Luckily, Sioned was able to get childcare for her little Mary and so she was able to join me in the studio and play all the other characters in the story and Cantorian Menai sung and my Aunty Glenys shared her version of events. Altogether, a lot of people threw their hat into the ring, making the whole project a jamboree of a thing. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I am still very thankful to the corporation for making and broadcasting the story."

In celebration of Floating being made for radio we at Hoipolloi, with the Roundhouse in London, are presenting the story on stage on Friday 21 October (with Hugh's show, 360, being performed on Saturday 22 October). We hope you can get along to see it and are able to tell your friends. You can book tickets here.

And of course, don't forget to listen to the broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 2.15pm on Friday 9 September.

The journey continues...

Posted by Shon Dale-Jones (Artistic Director, Hoipolloi)

Floating on BBC Radio 4

Hoipolloi are excited to announce that Floating has been adapted into a radio play, to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Friday 9 September at 2.15pm.

Floating (and Hugh Hughes) have been on an incredible journey since the very first performance of the show at the Old Museum Arts Centre in Belfast on 12 September 2005.

I remember that day very vividly - it was part of the first tour I ever booked for the company. It was a pleasure to witness how the audience were delightfully confused and excited by the story unfolding in front of them. And that first show last well over 2 hours!

Having started at Hoipolloi at the beginning of 2005, it’s been a real pleasure to share in the successful journey of this show. From its simple beginnings in Belfast, to a rewarding run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2006 (winning a Total Theatre Award) and performances at London’s Barbican Centre, Sydney Opera House and most recently a trip to Canada (visiting Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto).

We really hope you’ll be able to tune in and listen to this new version of the show. And please share the news with your friends and family too.

You’ll also notice some brand new dates in the performance calendar. These include a brief visit to London’s Roundhouse with Floating and 360. These performances are taking place in the Roundhouse’s studio, which has a very limited capacity so if you want to come, I’d advise booking early.

Posted by Simon Bedford (Executive Producer, Hoipolloi)
With thanks to machoismtango for the image