During my time with Kneehigh I had the privilege of working with Nick Darke one of Cornwalls greatest playwrights.
He became a close friend and is sorely missed.
The Bogus was one of Nick’s first shows with Kneehigh theatre and this was one of the plays first incarnations, it was later rewritten as the play Koyt. Nick wrote brilliantly for women and in this production I played Alice a dynamite wielding, feisty young woman, looking for revenge.
This was my first touring production with Kneehigh.
The show was based on Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt. It was devised by the company and directed by Bill Mitchell, Mike Shepard and Will Colman. We used a combination of mask work, physical theatre, story telling with music by Jim Carey.
This was an outdoor show that toured Cornwall, the Southwest and Holland.
A landscape theatre drama and spectacle at the mouth of the Red River, Godrevy.
Fifteen performances were played to audiences of 200, who walked around the site, led by the action. Passengers on Cloudnine airways travelled first class, packaged and pampered by their glamorous hostesses, and arrived at a sun and fun-filled destination, only to discover that their paradise island was under threat.
A team of young volunteers worked with a Kneehigh team and sculptor David Kemp to create the sculptures, costumes and epic performance, using the landscape and the debris to be found in it as a source of material.
Kernocopia was a pioneering partnership between Cornwall’s sporting, cultural, arts and heritage communities to celebrate the 2012 London Olympics. It was the first time these cultural forms had worked together with a singular goal – to interpret Cornwall’s sporting stories and roll them out on a global stage.
Funded by Cornwall Council, CDC, Eden Project and Feast, the project was Cornwall’s official submission to the Cultural Olympiad, but being Cornish, it was offbeat. Golden Tree Productions commissioned a team of artists to work with community groups and bring 25 Cornish sporting stories to life. This experiment saw the cross-pollination of wresting, ruby, sailing and rowing with film, song, dance, poetry and theatre.
From Tamar to Land’s End, workshops, residencies and performances took place, along with a schools programme, to help young people learn about their sporting heritage. Kernocopia culminated in a theatrical pop-up performance that took place in venues across the South West during the summer of 2012.
An estimated 6.5k people enjoyed opening celebrations in Weymouth, with the vessel in procession viewed by an enormous 140k people.’
Directed and performed by Will Coleman.
Hal Silvester as Lead Designer/Maker,
Brett Harvey as Performance Director,
Bec Applebee as Performer and Community Engagement Officer
Jim Carey as Musical Director
The team designed and built a ‘wagon-train’ set, which toured iconic locations from cliff-tops to castles across Cornwall.
The company hosted afternoon programmes of ‘cultural offerings’ with local community groups and schools, celebrating Cornish distinctiveness and diversity whilst using the present-day experience of refugees and asylum-seekers to challenge notions of identity.’
The Largest mechanical puppet ever constructed in Britain, a brainchild of Goldentree productions, The Man Engine is a celebration of Cornish mining history and a demonstration of Cornish ingenuity and engineering.
Built originally to celebrate Cornwall’s Mining World Heritage status this is a project of Epic proportions. During The Man Engine’s first tour he was seen live by 149,000 people far exceeding his target of 7000. This huge mechanical Miner captivated all those who saw him. He is being ressurected and will be touring throughout the U K again throughout 2018
My involvement with the Man Engine is as the Soloist singer and puppeteer. What a treat. This is a physical job pulling ropes and being part of an amazing team of Artists, Engineers, Mechanics, Drivers, Designers and fabulous Volunteers.
“Lush and lavish, using steam-punk design to tap into the Victorian fascination with science and gender, Dracula: The Kisses is a wildly entertaining romp that explores sexuality, religious values, politics and feminism… without compromising on the daft, dark fun that is quintessential Dracula.” SLG
As part of an all female cast I played two characters plus chorus
Renfield and Arthur Holmwood. It was a great opportunity to play Renfield , such an amazing character. By creating a production with an all female cast it opened up an opportunity to see the text in a new light and also give access to these plum roles. Thanks SLG
I would love to hear from you. Let me know about your memories of my shows or any other feedback.
Looking forward to what you have to share…
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