Photos courtesy of Alex Lyons
ULYSSES
ULYSSES is a new street show, developed with funding support from Arts Council England, in partnership with Mandinga Arts, NORCA & Sistema in Norwich (now Norfolk Community Arts) and Twisted Reality Productions.
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ULYSSES is available to book, and had fantastic audience responses to the preview shows and at Bromyard Folk Festival 2019 (see some of the comments below and the showreel here).
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ULYSSES combines music, comedy and physical theatre, to offer an entertaining outdoor show that draws on the story of Ulysses' return from Troy - the Odyssey. Enter a surreal world of gods, witches and monsters, where nothing is as it seems and everything is working to stop you from getting home. Having angered the Gods, Ulysses, the architect of the Trojan Horse and the downfall of Troy, is cursed to face a world of challenges, monsters and distractions as he battles to return home. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope battles her own demons of isolation and loneliness, not knowing whether her husband will ever return.
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Rabo de Foguete and Twisted Reality bring new energy to the tale through an exciting unpredictability. Using intoxicating music, rapturous comedy, and powerful physical theatre, they offer a new allegory for a soldier’s return from war.
Supported by funding from Arts Council England, Ulysses has been developed over two phases. In the second phase, Marcus teamed up with Katherine Vince and Paul Goldsmith (Twisted Reality Productions), to expand on the ideas and material from the initial R&D phase and complete the show. ULYSSES has been honed to provide strong theatrical, comedic and tragic elements, as well as more interaction with the audience. The size of the show has been reduced to a cast of three and one crew, so it is more manageable and practical to tour.
Show Details
Personnel: Three performers plus one crew
Length: 1 hour
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Family show, suitable for all ages.
Performance area: Needs a flat performing area roughly 12m x 10m, with vehicular access and enough clearance for a 4m mast.
Equipment: The show is self sufficient and just needs a reliable power supply (we bring everything we need). The show uses amplified music and wireless microphones (licensed bands that can be coordinated).
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TO BOOK PLEASE GET IN TOUCH
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Twisted Reality Productions
Twisted Reality (previously Still Fluid Productions) are devising duo Paul Andrew Goldsmith and Katherine Vince. Through clever clowning, physical precision and captivating storytelling, they explore the overlap between fantasy and reality to echo the parallels within our modern world. With exquisitely detailed performances, spanning from vibrant street theatre to specific social impact pieces, Still Fluid engage, enlighten, enthral and entertain with ferocious fluidity.
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"A sublime show, quirky, funny, moving, intensely innovative, interactive and fast paced. A true delight to be part of a transfixed audience. Thank you!
Everything about it was on point. The costumes, props and set were a feast for the eyes, the music such an emotional part of the whole experience"
- Terry Molloy (Davros, from Dr Who)
“It was brilliant to see! The production is so high energy and engaging. I really enjoyed it and the rest of the audience did too. Someone behind me made a phone call during the show and said “come over here quick, there’s a play going on and it’s really, really funny. You’ve got to see this."”
"Such a fun, engaging show for all ages filled with entertaining characters & complemented by great songs & choreography."
"The characterisations were great and the multirole parts were simply genius"
About the Phase 1 development, Charles Beauchamp (Mandinga Arts) said,
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"The opportunity to collaborate with Marcus and Rabo de Foguete on this innovative street show was both a challenge and rewarding ... this invitation to design and create a mobile ship/set, alongside costumes and props was raising the bar tenfold ... Somehow, through an intense collective R&D phase followed by a focused period of making, the assembled artists using their respective skills and experiences, managed to pull off the bulk of the production.
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The privilege to understand, hear and see how the various visual elements were to be integrated in the final musical, was a rare opportunity: the band and the dancers would assemble and rehearse live, in and around the set making and costumes. These were both joyful and instructive sessions.
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I would have welcomed more time, perhaps a longer R&D period, for the director and team to understand more fully the concepts and how best to deliver them within the time and budget restrictions; nevertheless, this memorable creative occasion delivered beyond my expectation and leaves me wanting more ..."
Photo courtesy of Magdalena Kalinowski
