TakeOff festival reflections

It’s taken me a few days to process everything that I encountered at TakeOff festival last week – there was just so much!

In case you weren’t sure how this all came about, I was generously supported by Theatre Bristol, who gave me a bursary to attend as a Theatre Bristol Agent. These bursaries are available to enable artists to attend events, such as festivals and conferences, which they would not ordinarily be able to attend due to financial constraints. As a freelancer many events can be out of reach due to costs and the fact that often to attend you have to turn down work as well. Theatre Bristol will cover costs from tickets to travel and from accommodation to childcare. I was also supported by Theatre Hullabaloo, who run TakeOff festival and I worked as a route guide in exchange for my ticket. All these things meant that taking 4 days off work and my husband taking time off work so that he could have our children on days he wouldn’t usually, became something which was possible. So, a HUGE thank you to both Theatre Hullabaloo and Theatre Bristol for the support.

One of the things that you have to do if you are lucky enough to be selected as a Theatre Bristol Agent is to share your learning with the wider community. That is why I am writing blogs, it is also why I will be hosting a Facebook Live event on the 4th November at 8.30pm and also presenting at November’s Mothers Who Make event in Bristol’s Old Vic on the 20th November at 10.30am. Eloise from Theatre Bristol will be joining us at Mothers Who Make as well, so if you are a mother and want to find out more about how you could be a Theatre Bristol Agent, then do come along and find out more.

Anyway – to the Festival…

I saw 11 shows, attended delegate networking events, listen to presentations about Assitej UK, Theatre Hullabaloo, The Durham Commission report and the current direction of theatre for young people. I met people who programme, people who perform, people who fund, people who direct; I met freelancers, I met people from theatres, I met entire theatre companies, I met people from Arts Council England. And most of all I learnt and was inspired.

As I mentioned, I was a route leader and this meant that I took a group of delegates around to the various shows and events. I had a lovely group of delegates to look after (go team Yellow!) and also had the privilege of having the guest programmer for the event, Tony Reekie, joining our route on several occasions.

My theatrical highlights from my route round the festival were many. All the shows I saw gave me something and spoke to me in some way.

The first piece I want to mention is the fantastic Vu by Sacekripa from France. A simple premise, making a cup of tea, was transformed into a transfixing piece of miniature circus by the captivating Etienne Manceau. A man who has become so obsessed with the detail of his perfect cup of tea, that you hold your breath watching the steps he takes to create that simple drink. Tea making may often be a ritual in England, but this French version takes it all a step further!

Another highlight for me was my trip to Theatre Hullabaloo in Darlington. A purpose-built theatre designed with Children’s Theatre in mind, it opened in 2017. There is a beautiful interactive play space at the core of the building. Currently it houses an interactive play installation inspired by the ideas of local children, called Enchanted Forest, Dreamland. It is a truly magical space where children are free to explore their own imaginations.

At Theatre Hullabaloo I was lucky enough to see two pieces of theatre which also stood out for me. The first was Five, by WinterWalker and Theatre Hullabaloo, a dance and music-based piece for 3 – 6 year olds which explored the senses. The show was not just put on for delegates, but also had an audience from a local special needs school and one of the joys of this piece for me, was watching the way in which the young audience interacted with it and how the actors worked with these moments of engagement. The whole piece gave me a warm and positive glow when I left the auditorium.

The second piece I saw was the massively effective and affecting There is a Noise by Hestnes/Popovic. Exploring memory, war, emotion and personal stories made public, the piece was both intimate and cinematic. We ate waffles, we listened to personal conversations and we heard soundtracks and sonic effects which still bring goose bumps to my skin when I remember the piece. It was a visceral piece which explored universal themes of loss and memory whilst also telling stories which those of us lucky enough to have grown up in countries at peace, often find it hard to understand.

The final piece which I will mention now is Jabberbabble by Theatregroep Kwatta. It was a joyful piece written in a language composed by playing with languages from around the world. The script was written in a language which is spoken by no one and yet, could be understood by all. All about how we interact with strangers, and how we interact with the world outside our everyday sphere of experience, it was a play which for me felt very pertinent to a UK audience today.

I have only picked four pieces to mention specifically in this post, but I took something away from everything. From thinking about the pressures on girls as they grow up (and therefore reflecting on my own parenting) watching Muckers, by the egg, Oxford Playhouse, Theatr Iolo and Conde Duque, to the beautiful puppetry of Fly by Teater Patrasket and from The Barrowlands Ballet’s sensory explosion, Tiger Tale, to the emotional rollercoaster of My Friend Selma by Terra Incognita and with all the other pieces in between, I had a theatrical feast.

Now to move what I have learned here into my own work…