tips | features | interviews | listings | discountsmay 2013 // issue #04 // feat: puppetry, comedy 4 kids & more...

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>> Discount tickets Carnivalesque

EXCLUSIVES INSIDE:

STELLA | Take the SpaceWed 29 - Thu 30 May, TOM The Old Market, Hove. 8pm. £12.00 [10.00]. After Brighton, Take the Space will tour Stella across the UK and then to Dublin for the Festival of Curiosity.

TOM The Old Market’s

>> Punched puppetry >> James Campbell’s Comedy 4 Kids >> The Drawing Circus: Prologue

stars to stage

Three years ago, I stumbled across a quote from the astrophysicist, Jocelyn Bell Burnell: “We are all made of star stuff”. Jocelyn discovered the Pulsar Star, an achievement that should have earned her the Nobel Prize [Hmm – her two male tutors got it instead!]

Jocelyn went on to become first female president of the Royal Astronomical Society and has spent her life nurturing young astrophysicists and encouraging women into science. She also inspired me to write a play about women and astronomy. That play, Stella had a public reading at TOM in May, last year and now precisely twelve months later – here we are opening the show at TOM in the Brighton Fringe!

Stella focuses on two women astronomers: the real-life astronomer Caroline Herschel (1750 to 1848) and Jess, our fictional C21st astrophysicist. Caroline, having discovered eight comets and eleven nebulae, became

the first female honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society; a genius, also a spinster, who longed for independence, her own family and her own home. How ironic – this woman could map her position in the universe but struggled to find the coordinates for her place on earth.

Then there’s Jess, with so much technology at her fingertips, witnessing the wonders of the universe whilst negotiating a very earth-based battle between loved ones and work. Is Jess truly in a far better position than her past counterparts? I certainly don’t believe that brilliant female minds have to renounce “love” in order to discover why we are made of star stuff but I do think that – for most women – the cosmic balance still remains elusive.

Stella is a story of Time and Space and Curiosity and Passion.

It has been quite a journey from page to stage! We received an Arts Council grant,

some funding from the Institute of Physics and then the Science and Technology Facilities Council came good after my somewhat manic presentation to a panel of professors from Oxford, Durham, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Cambridge –as well as the President of The Royal

Astronomical Society …Art and Science!!We have a wonderful team: Chris Barnes

directs and plays William; Kathryn Pogson plays Jess and of course we are opening In Brighton, Take the Space has been touring since 2005, this is our fourth production and we have never ever before opened in our home town!

from the

Siobhán Nicholas, writer of the new play STELLa, tells of the journey from stars to stage. Premiering at Brighton Fringe 29-30 May 2013, Stella has been shortlisted for the New Writing South / Brighton Fringe Best New Play Award.

This newspaper is produced and distributed by TOM - The Old Market. View This Online: www.theoldmarket.com/paper

Got something to share? Insider tips? Fascinating find? Let us know: info@theoldmarket.comEditor: Will Sawney, Contributors: Chris Challis, Jenny Lindop, Krysalis Photography, Peter Williams

feature

@TOMvenue RT @LizzyMaceTried to flyer a lady yesterday, she said “I’ve seen that, it’s brilliant! ... Oh! You were in it!” #romcomcon @MaceAndBurton @marlytheatre

RT @WarrenTheatreSomeone is absolutely butchering Love Cats on the Old Steine. I don’t love those cats...

RT @RoughGuidesGet down to Brighton this weekend for @brightfest – the city has come to life and the party is in full swing!

RT @Boolander83Join us @KateBushMusic @brightonfringe for Kate Bush flash mob dance 25 May http://ind.pn/11yCr5F

RT @jondwill‘Lover Duck’ by the #ceramicist @Ange-laLEvans @ ‘2 Knoyle’ #IndependentTrail #artistsopenhouses #art #Brighton

RT @ElizCroMichael Rosen speaks about language and knowledge evolving - So spot on @MichaelRosenYes #BF2013

RT @jen_h_williams@TOMvenue @LesEnfantsTerr Saw ‘Trench’ in Brighton last night - left the theatre a total wreck. Beautiful, original, heart-breaking work

In advance of his COMEDY 4 KIDS gig, we asked James: Why do you prefer telling jokes to children...?I don’t really understand grown-ups. I’ve tried performing for grown-ups and it always just felt like something was wrong. Whatever I’ve been given, I’ve been given to share with children I think. Laughing is great but laughing with children is much better.What made you laugh as a child, any favourite jokes? Did comedy play any part in your childhood?I was a very serious child and I can’t really remember laughing very much. I watched comedy on the television, things like Dave Allen, Morecambe and Wise, Frankie Howard stand out in my mind. I spent more time working out how the jokes were constructed than enjoying them. It was only when I became a teenager that I learned how to relax and laugh. Then, Monty Python and Peter Cook were my biggest influences from the outside. It was my friends, teachers and the things that happened around me, however, that really shaped my sense of humour. Sitting in the park talking nonsense with friends was where I learned how to be funny and to entertain.

What can adults expect to gain from your show?Laughing with your children at the same thing. Noticing that your daughter has the same laugh as you and that your son smiles in the same way as you do at the same things, because you have showed them what is funny and let them laugh.You also work in schools. How do those visits work out?I’ve been to nearly 2000 schools in the last 19 years. This is quite a lot. In schools I tell stories that I have written with the little children and then, for the older children I work on a combination of talking about writing and getting the children to look at their own ideas for writing from their own experience. Storytelling is a wonderful, easy access way into writing and performing. It’s a privilege to be involved in schools.Ever been heckled by kids during a show?Not really. They usually put their hands up first.

“First and foremost, its a Party!” begins Danny, “it’s a mixture of fun live acts and music, care-fully tailored soundscaping, a variety of old and new music blended to theme a fancily dressed event where everyone can feel comfortable and enjoy themselves.”

Danny runs Harmony in the Community, who have a long history of producing and supporting a vast range of local, community orientated projects. “We have been doing themed nights, festivals and carnivals of all shapes and in all sorts of venues since 1996.”

Now, the company’s Carnivalesque: The Animal Ball rounds off our festive Fringe month, but why the animal theme for this closing party? A simple answer; “there’s an animal in all of us!”

The traditions of Carnival date back to Me-dieval times where processions, perform-ances and masquerades revolved around the theme of ‘a world turned upside down’. Ordinary life and its rules and regulations were temporarily reversed - kings became beggars, opposites were mingled. The ritu-als of rebellion allowed liberation; the con-trolled, safe release of tensions in a hierar-chical society.

Whether you’re planning an extravagant outfit or a cool understated look, here’s some advice for us all: most importantly, feel comfortable! The carnival may be about turning topsy-turvy and taking on new guis-

there’s something about

judy

What is it about puppets and the seaside? As weird and wonderful as spotting a striped Punch and Judy tent hovering near the tideline, Brighton’s puppetry community is sprouting invention in all kinds of unexpect-ed places this Fringe.

“I love those guys!” shrieks Miranda – hostess of Brighton’s barnstorming pup-petry cabaret evenings for adult, Punched - “there’s something kinda dirty about find-ing grown men hiding in booths playing with dolls. Did you know, to do that ‘Mr Punch’ voice they have to basically swallow the swazzle? Ha! I think that’ll be the title of my autobiography…!”

Getting a word in edgeways around Mi-randa’s constant compering can be a chal-lenge but her puppeteer / handler Darren East of TouchedTheatre manages to explain the idea behind the night. “When we moved to Brighton we realised there were so many fantastic artists experimenting with puppetry here, we thought we’d try to put an evening together to showcase the wild variety of their talents.” And so, in December 2011, Punched was born. Now, after 18 months selling out at the Nightingale Theatre, Best of Punched brings to TOM The Old Market highlights from previous programmes plus some brand new acts, on stage, on film and on walkabout. “Our aim is to surprise au-diences with just how diverse - surprising, hilarious and moving – an art form puppetry can be.”

Of course it isn’t only in Brighton that pup-petry has experienced a Rennaissance of late, with popular hits like ‘Warhorse’ and ‘Avenue Q’ reawakening audiences to the imaginative and comic possibilities of this ancient form. Local puppeteer Annie Brooks explains the lure “puppetry creates an environment where the audience are freed from human logic – a giant can come to life, an elephant can literally walk across into the room or a tomato can be the protagonist of your show.

That there’s a substantial puppetry strand in this year’s fringe programme, illustrating its growing appeal to both artists and audienc-es. Whilst Punched favourites Annie Brooks (Colossal Crumbs), Matt Rudkin (Inconven-ient Spoof) and TouchedTheatre are all pre-miering work at the Nightingale Theatre; the

Warren also offers substantial puppetry fare including the critically acclaimed ‘The Girl With Irons Claws’, which has been touring almost continuously since a 2011 Edinburgh run and Theatre Temoin’s moving ‘The Fan-tasist’. For younger audiences, Bootwerks’ ‘The Incredible Book Eating Boy’ at the Jubi-lee Library also comes unreservedly recom-mended.

The puppetry in Best of Punched features fantastical creatures, poetry, cabaret, feats of craft and engineering, live art, shadow play and dance and seems to demonstrate that the form’s moved on a long way from the stock scripts and predictable action of Mr Punch’s booth.

“But he’ll always be with us! ” jumps in Mi-randa, “There’s a bit of him in all of us.” And now she mentions it, there is something of a resemblance there…

“It’s going to b an extravaganza!” she calls back as Darren carries her firmly out the theatre door.

To borrow a phrase: Now that’s the way to do it!

“there’s a substantial puppetry strand in this year’s fringe programme, illustrating its growing appeal to both artists and audiences”

Puppeteer and dramaturg BECCY SMITH, along with hand-operated cabaret host-ess MIraNDa, are seeing more and more puppets beside the seaside…

brushes at the ready

BEST OF PUNCHEDSun 26 May, 20:00. £12.00 [10.00]. See back page for discount ticket offer.

>> james campbell

es, but it should be a liberating experience too! “A little moustache or whiskers maybe? A furry hat or tail or just a corset; whatever you feel is purrrfect! And if you feel most comfortable as you are than that works too. (But go on, express that animal inside grrr!)”

release your inner animala carnival ball to round-off your festival May

This coming week, have your brushes, pens and paints, for the latest Grand Drawing Circus.

‘Prologue’ is the first in a new series of theatri-cal life drawing events. The event plays through an elusive narrative, told in still poses by six models and accompanied by live music from the Drawchestra. There will also be a special family event earlier in the afternoon for all ages.

THE DRAWING CIRCUS Mon 27 May: 13:00 FAMILY £3 // 16:00 & 20:00 PROLOGUE £12 [10]

interview

JAMES CAMPBELL’S COMEDY 4 KIDSTue 28 May, 14:00, £7.00 all tickets

CARNIVALESQUE: THE ANIMAL BALLFri 31 May, 20:00 until late, £16.50

offers, discounts & what’s on...

This newspaper is produced and distributed by TOM - The Old Market. View Every Issue: www.theoldmarket.com/paper

Fringe Venue 145 | Upper Market Street | Hove | www.theoldmarket.com10min walk from Churchill Square along Western Rd. Tickets: theoldmarket.com | 01273 201 801

how to find TOM// TOM’s Barat The Old MarketA lively cultural space, hosting its own events as well as supporting those of TOM’s Main House next door.Open weekends 1-6pm & All shows.

Best of PunchedTouched Theatre & Friends

Carnivalesque: The animal Ball

Stand Up For LabourBrighton & Hove Labour Party

Dark & musterious. Featuring live music and nude models to be drawn by those attending. Mon 27 May, 4pm & 8pm, £12.00. >> £10 tickets for groups 4+

Think you know puppetry? Think again. Brighton’s sell-out puppetry night for grown ups. Sun 26 May, 8pm, £10-12>> 25% off tickets with code “PUN13”

End Brighton Fringe with a bang; a club night extravaganza show with festival vibes. Fri 31 May, 8pm - Late, £16.50>> £2.00 off via carnivalesque.co.uk

Comedians & politicians provide laughs at the coalition government’s expense. Sat 25 May, 8.30pm, £9-14>> 2-for-1 with code: “Labour241” fo

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TOM’s May 2013 event programme is bursting with vibrancy, comprising both Brighton Festival & Brighton Fringe events. From internationally-renowned theatre to decadent club nights, and a whole range of family-friendly shows, we’re sure you’ll find lots to get stuck into this month...

We are 10min walk West from Brighton centre, or on any Western Rd bus route (get off at Co-Op). Parking on seafront or at NCP, slightly East.

The Drawing Circus: Prologue