Festival Of Desperation
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In Autumn 2010, we celebrated 30 years of being Desperate Men with the mighty three-day Festival of Desperation. We took over Bristol with street theatre performances and an exhibition showing three decades of our work, plus a party, cabaret and film show at the Cube Cinema.
On Sunday the festival decamped to Bristol Old Vic for a day of performances, talks and discussions. We also worked with eight young and emerging artists to help them create shows for the festival, some of which have subsequently been commissioned by other festivals including the Winchester Hat Fair.
Here’s a selection of feedback and letters we received after the Festival:
What a brilliant bash: I’m very sorry I couldn’t attend more of it but enjoyed meeting so many old (and less old!) muckers Friday night and Sat. afternoon/evening. The Desperate History Exhibition was extraordinary: there was stuff in there I’d forgotten and stuff I’d never seen: an enormously impressive archive of terrific and precociously varied work. I’m proud to have played a very small part in a most honourable undertaking (I mean, being Desperate occasionally), and very glad and happy to have been able to Angelise the Evening of Fragile Reality. Thanks for it all. You really are a continuing inspiration.
Ric Jerrom, Natural Theatre Company
Well done and what a great weekend! I have received lots of reports back from friends who were wandering around Bristol over the weekend and they all experienced Desperate acts and thought it was really great. I think the whole city felt strange and twitchy and edgy throughout the festival and people really noticed which is fabulous.
Claire Teasdale, Bristol City Council
A truly fandabbydozy weekend and true to the spirit of us all!
Ian Smith, Mischief La Bas
Bloody brilliant.
Paschale Straiton, Artistic Director, Red Herring Productions
Thank you so much for a wonderful weekend, I am now recovered from aching stomach muscles and have flushed from my body the slight over-indulgence of Guinness. Well done to all of you for your hard work and generosity in putting together an unforgettable few days.
Laura @ Belle Tents
Wonderful weekend. I had such a lovely time.
Ned, Creature Feature
Thank you all. It was wonderful! Desperately hoping for an annual event?
Cathy Peace, SWANK
It was an absolute pleasure, and we’ve posted up our street show on youtube.
Roy Hutchins
Thank you. You are all Stars and yes please lets do more …
Bec Applebee
Aaaaah!!! Yeahhh!
Kevin Dennis
It was a wonderful event and I am very happy to be part of the cabaret. I was very overwhelmed to be there among my very dear and old friends and colleagues.
Angela de Castro
Many thanks for all your hard work last weekend. We had a ball in the Bear Pit and at the parties afterwards.
Clare Thomson, Hurt Club
I had a great time at the festival and thank you and the team. Come and do it in Amsterdam!
Rob Hahn
What an utterly fabtastic Fest it was! Well, I had a great time seeing the best of the Streets, so thanks a load Desps!
Jo Smith
I had a great time. Lovely to see some old friends and to see all of you having a ball. WELL DONE! Here’s to the next 30 …
Jenny Sanderson / Bocadalupa
Thanks for photo of silly cake, and thanks for being so desperate for so long and so brilliantly. I didn’t realise the immensity of the cannon of work and I really felt wistful (and delighted, intrigued, entertained and envious) to see all that hilarity in the exhibition and to know that I had missed it all – off being busy and oblivious. I hope you could sense all the love and admiration from everybody at the festival. It was a real treat and thanks to everybody who made it so.
Maria, The World Famous
Cheers Desperates! You pulled off a fantastic event that was of course very special. Great to see a wonderful bunch of folk in one place and celebrate a mighty 30 years. Had a ball, had a blast.
Dave ID, Splott Bros
Was a wonderful weekend. The shows were fantastic and the enthusiasm of so many to take part a testament to your artistic influence and inspiration. I will wear my Desperate Artist badge with pride.
Neil Butler, UZ Limited
Thanks to you guys for a truly brilliant weekend!
Rosa Gracie Spoon
A fantastic festival – thanks a lot. Really enjoyed being part of it.
Sameena Zahra, Utter Nonsense Theatre
A huge thank you for inviting me to your wonderful birthday party. The only failure was a lack of desperation – everyone seemed so full of joy and hope!!! It was a gas, a ball, a trip, a hoot and a timely occasion to catch up with an amazing peer group all hanging in there with varying levels of desperation.
Rowan Wylie
Thank you all so much for an amazing weekend we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Lemmings Theatre
Was humbled and delighted to be a tiny part of the EMPIRE of Delight that is Desperate Men – hopefully all that warmth and good-feel factor that was overflowing at the weekend will keep you all buoyant and dimpled for a few more years.
Jo Bousfield / Theatre Officer Glos City Council
Thanks so much for the invitation to contribute to such an amazing event. I am sure this weekend will be remembered by many for a long, long time. Thanks for your inspiration and thoughtfulness in bringing it all together, and here’s to another 30 years!
Kyra Norman
Thanks for a lovely time, was proud to be part of it.
Annabel Holland, Frenetic
Just to say what a fabulous time the Fest of Desp was, although it seemed to fly by! Thanks for the opportunity to show Horse and for looking after us all so well. Here’s to next one!!
Flick Ferdinando Artistic Director, Company FZ
Great weekend – and lovely to see all our crinkly faces! As I like to say, our hysterical is becoming historical.
Ian Smith
What a lovely weekend! Lots of my favourite people from past and present – just gorgeous. Thanks all and thanks Desperates.
Kim Tilbrook
Thanks to each and everyone for being there, and thanks to Jon B, Richard, Richie, Ursula, Liz, Emily, Ben and all the ones I have not mentioned, and who have put so much heart in getting it together. This Festival will remain the best event I took part to this year. Yes, despite of the little financial help you received you succeeded at organizing a festival based on Artists, people, communication and inter-activities. And it was not surprising to see on the “Festival Plazza” so many people meeting, talking, exchanging, a true platform of human response to the coldness of this market economy era that dominates our lives. Yes, I think that the amount of genuine community work and positive vibrations you have spread around you showed up during those few days on the faces of the people I met there, young and old: sharing, being together, celebrating life and arts rather than wars, money, right wing politics and fanatical religious beliefs. A good society is a society where all people, small and big, young and old, dare going out again and share with one another the infinite possibilities that the street can offer, a fair society where young people are allowed to squat and provocate speculators, a society that take cares of all. Plus, we were so proud and happy to be invited to perform there and to receive such a true feedback from everyone. Bravo, thanks again, and please keep on the good work in cultural and social Bristol! Au revoir!
Daniel Rovai
A fantastic weekend was had by all, Daniel I couldn’t put it in such eloquent words but wholeheartedly agree, so glad I went for the full experience … old Vic an’ all …
Tina Banks
A good time was had by all. Been walking ’round with my “artist” wristband like a saddo all week.
Tall Paul
Back home safe & sound. Totally exhausted, lost voice, but all lovey’d up after an amazing w/e of Desperation in Bristol. Lovely to see all you lovely lovies – well done to all involved. Thanks for an unforgettable time.
Linda Carel
That was fab, I had so much fun. Thank you very much.
Imogen Pettitt
Bet you must be completely wiped out from all the shenanigans. But smiling with a stack of wonderful memories. What a great night and from the bits I saw, great weekend. Well done y’all.
Deeky
Fantastic weekend thank you Desperates – the sheer number of artists and performers who wanted to join in, the 300 sparklers and exploding cake said it all. The shows were fantastic and the enthusiasm of so many to take part a testament to your artistic influence and inspiration. I will wear my Desperate Artist badge with pride.
Neil Butler, Director UZ Events
Thanks so much for the invitation to contribute to such an amazing event. I am sure this weekend will be remembered by many for a long, long time. Thanks for your inspiration and thoughtfulness in bringing it all together, and here’s to another 30 years!
Kyra Norman
ACTS OF DESPERATION (BRISTOL) – Young and emerging artists
Thank you so much for having our post van as part of the Festival of Desperation. We had such wonderful time. It was a really exciting and inspiring weekend and we are so appreciative of the support and encouragement that everyone gave. It was amazing to have the opportunity to develop our piece with an audience and talk to people about it and get feedback. Hopefully we can build on this. I loved seeing your exhibition and the footage of your work and the talk and performances on Sunday were brilliant! Quite a mix. I feel very lucky to have been part of it.
Alice Ellerby, Jilted Pig
Me and Denise wanted to thank you and the desperate men for a brilliant weekend and for helping us make a piece that we hope to use again in the future. Still on a high. It was really great. We had an amazing time with our toilet piece and have a piece of work we will use in future thanks to you guys. We thought the festival was brilliant!
Carly Etherington
Thanks so much for all your help with my shows, and for the opportunity to be involved! I had such a brilliant time at the festival, think it was an amazing event and I’m really glad to have been a part of it. Hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Please let me know if you need any help with future projects.
Eleanor Fogg
Thank you for selecting me to be involved with your festival of desperation, I very much enjoyed myself and generated lots of rich material.
Becky Hall
I’ve been banging on to everyone I meet about how good the cabaret was. It was the best event I’ve been to in a very long time. Can it happen every week please?
Kid Carpet
I had a great time volunteering on the Friday of the festival, I had a lot of fun! I just wanted to pass on the comments I had from people. I was stewarding on the Post De Resistance van. One of the students we coerced into the back of the van asked me afterwards if there was a petition she could sign! She said she thought it was a brilliant way of raising awareness about the post offices closures! I also had a guy come out saying it was the most amazing experience of his life and another say it was the most bizarre experience of his!! Needless to say everyone that went in a little bit unsure at what I was trying to get them to do came out having loved it! Shame I didn’t go in myself!! I did tell the girls at the time what comments I was getting but feel free to relay this message to them.
Rachel Groom, volunteer
On behalf of Bristol Old Vic, I just wanted to say that it was a pleasure to be a part of this event. There was a great feeling of warmth and generosity to it all, and I’m glad we were able to facilitate some of that. Great that it was so lively here. You must be moved by the gathering you made. And, quite frankly, knackered.
Kate Yedigaroff, Bristol Old Vic
Thanks for an excellent event last week. It seemed to be very well attended. Thanks also to all your team for being such a pleasure to work with.
Brendan Tate, CoExist/Hamilton House
Pearl Farm Project
The Pearl Farm project was a chance for artists and creative people from different cultures and countries, who live and work in Bristol, to create work together. Performances took place at The Bristol Do, Stapleton Rd Festival, and Mivart Street Open Studios, and included elements of installation, performance, film, dance and music.
Artists came not only from all kinds of artistic disciplines but also from as far afield as Portugal, Greece, Iran, Iraq, India, Zimbabwe, Peru and Senegal.
Audience comments included:
“It was so un-contrived, so natural”
“I felt like I really knew something about them…”
“I didn’t ever think I’d see you make grown people cry.”
The project was funded by Awards for All and Bristol City Council.
Dancing Bear Cheese
Case study: Dancing Bear’s Cheese (2005)
This spoof food product was a sensation at the Soil Association Organic Food Festival,with many convinced it was a real product. The team was congratulated for rescuing dancing bears from Eastern Europe and relocating them to disused wartime bunkers in The Ardennes Forest. Given Anti-Dance therapy they are lovingly cared for and gently milked to provide the dreamy creamy ingredient that is central to that unique yet bearable flavour that is Dancing Bear’s Cheese.
See intrepid food journalist David Rears track down the origin of the unique gourmet delight in this episode of What’s in your mouth.
Case Study: Mermaids At The Dive Show
“The event was a huge success. The Desperate Men mermaids had everyone in stitches and were the talk of the show. Astonishingly, more than 10% of the 16,000 people at the show came to our tiny stand and signed our petition.
The actors were incredibly enthusiastic, energetic and hard-working, keeping the show going all weekend long, and they worked very effectively with the campaign team.”
Lisa Chilton, Marine Development Manager, Wildlife Trusts
Kippered … (2006)
With the smoking ban imminent, Desperate Men rolled up with a comic take on how to ease the cold turkey. Commissioned by Falkirk Council, “Kippered” was a fabulous, fishy, performance.
No longer able to smoke in their cosy smokery, the kipper twins perambulate the streets, looking for a place to puff.
One kipper says to the other “are you still smoking?” The other replies “No, I’m cured.”
The Miracle Show (2005-2008)
A tale of travelling outsiders searching for a better life in their rather miraculous Lada! An eccentric family arrive in Britain presenting a road show from the back of their ramshackle vehicle. Supported by Arts Council England with co-commission investment from Zap Art in Brighton and the Big in Falkirk Festival.
Performers: Vic Llewellyn, Huw Johnson, Agnieszka Blonska, Jenny Sanderson, Dani Landau, Jon Beedell
Original Director: Luci Gorell Barnes
The Miracle Show – review
“We arrive at Brighton’s Town Hall Square via a mock passport control into a charmingly surreal scene – a traveller’s encampment, with a van, a yurt-tent and a resident family of refugees. The opening creates a brilliantly warped sense of another culture in the celebration of The Feast Day of Our Lady of the Bears.
The repeating bear absurdity works with great charm to portray the madness and precious fragility of this imaginary cultural alienation. Was the play inspired by Shakespeare’s infamous stage direction ‘Exit pursued by a bear’?
The visual, physical and verbal elements of the narrative radiate delightfully from a small core of images. This is how theatre poetry should work! Some members of the audience are invited into Ursula’s tent for ‘the cinema of the lost and found’, and others into the van for storytelling washed down with a swig of something heart warming, while outside the main play continues without loss of tempo and with exquisite comic timing, as when Grilho (Jon Beedell) finishes his pantomimic mourning the loss of his son with the mundane question ‘What’s the time’?
Strong performances all–round created a convincing world in which exploration of the plight of refugees was combined with a delightful sense of a dysfunctional family culture and very un-English feelings of volatility and warmth. Agnieszka Blonska’s tremendous energy and vivacious performance as Krusza was nothing short of sensational. From her entry to the end she held the audience in her palm. One needs to see The Miracle Show more than once to get it all – I hope I do get that opportunity.”
Paul Miskin, Total Theatre Magazine, Autumn 05
Short promo film for The Miracle Show
Full length film of The Miracle Show and The Big House, as performed at Brighton Festival 2006
A Stroll in the Park (2005)
And a walk in the dark … Desperate Men worked with Cirque Bijou and Blackout Arts to create this outdoor event in Castle Park, Bristol. A commission from Bristol City Council. Participants were invited to interact with left Brian and right Brian, and think about the value of creativity. Blackout Arts filmed the proceedings and showed it again that evening, remixed and re-invented!
Summerhill Olympics (2004)
Desperate Men were asked to work with Summerhill School to bring a new twist to sports day. Tying in with the 2004 Olympics in Athens, all kinds of strange competitions took place, transforming sports day as years 4, 5 and 6 invented new games for the sports day, based on the elements of earth, water and wind.
Wildstreet 1 (2001) & 2 (2004)
In Foster Street, focusing on the theme of home. We used our theatrical expertise to inspire and encourage the ‘real voices’ of the residents to be expressed. About 240 people were involved in making the event happen and over 1,000 came to visit on the evening.
Conceived and co-ordinated by Shirley Pegna.
Wildstreet by film-maker Paul Gilbert
Middeldam (2001)
Oerol Festival, Holland.
10 day residency co-ordinated by Richie Smith. Working with international street groups including Grotest Maru, Mevrouw Bakker, Fairplay, and Schuurpapier, among others, the main street of Midsland, Terschelling Island, was transformed into an animated garish tourist trap. Workshops with local schools led to a grand “Parade of the Sea” incorporating a local choir and brass band, where the “tat” of tourism was swept away by the “tide”.
Rick, Dick & Vic … Extreme! (2002 –2003)
Set to a pounding, ethereal soundtrack, our 3 lifestyle consultants spin, frolic and soar to the beat of their hearts and souls. In true comic desperate style, Rick, Dick & Vic celebrate friendship and confront illness and despair. They delve into, wrestle with and spit out the bonds we all share.
Performers: Richard Headon, Vic Llewellyn, Richie Smith, Jon Beedell.
Music: Shirley Pegna. Choreography: Ginny Farman. Design: Sarah Salaman.
‘Tender poignancy underlies the physical bravado … there’s humorous sincerity and touching extremity …’
Total Theatre Magazine
‘Zen and the Art of street theatre no less … works wonderfully well …’
Total Theatre Magazine.
‘Most daring piece of street theatre I’ve seen that worked – beautiful and poignant.’
Arts Officer, London
4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1999-2001)
Our hapless horse trainer gets a nasty surprise as Sugar, Trigger, Peter and The Other One fulfil their biblical destiny. Complete with raining fish. Guaranteed to scare the kids.
Devised by the company with script help from Paddy Fletcher. Designed by Sean Donahoe. Soundtrack by Shirley Pegna. Funded by A.C.E. Hugely successful touring in the UK and Europe over 3 seasons.
Performers: Jo Kessell, Jo Smith, Richard Headon,Vic Llewellyn, Jon Beedell and Richie Smith.
Music: Shirley Pegna. Lyrics: Paddy Fletcher.
‘Most perverse thing seen all weekend…..certainly captivated its audience.’
On Tour (British Council)
‘One of the most talked about shows of 2000.’
Streets Ahead / Manchester
‘The audience was spellbound as they took every humour hurdle by storm.’
Aachener Nachrichten, Germany
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse showreel
The Lighthouse (1996-1997)
Our second Comic Street Opera, celebrating 300 years of manned lighthouses. Murder, mayhem, mermaids and pipe smoking at sea. Devised by the company.
Funded by Bristol City Council, A.C.E., S.W.A . Toured the UK and Europe.
‘A true deluge of visuals and sound poured out over an unsuspecting audience.’
Rotterdam Dagblad, Holland
Performers: Jo Smith, Vic Llewellyn, Jo Kessell, Richard Headon, Dawn Burden, Richie Smith, Jon Beedell, Rowen Wylie.
Music: Shirley Pegna.
The Lighthouse – complete version
Os Aviadores 1998 – Alentejo, Portugal
One off spectacular for the Concelho de Odemira. (District Council) A celebration of an historic flight from Portugal to Macau in 1920. Directed and co produced by Jon Beedell with Teatro ao Largo and Teatro do Mar.
Included 100 local people, bands, horses, canoes, fireworks, a crucifixion, and a life size aeroplane travelling through the streets atop a mobile crane.
What on Earth? (1995)
Natural History Museum, London
A collaboration with Small World Productions, commissioned by the Natural History Museum, with four highly skilled circus performers – an adventure in the wonders and mysteries of the natural world. Performed in a big top on the front lawns of the Museum.
‘Topics which can strike terror in the hearts of adults or spell interminable boredom for kids are tackled with humour and panache.’
Time Out, London, UK
‘Their experience and ability showed time and again … a lesson in how to make good circus theatre.’
Catch magazine, UK
Light up the Longest Night (1994-1998)
St. Werburghs, Bristol. An annual event conceived by Richard Headon with The Crew- Fergus Mercer, Bronwen Gwilliam – a celebration of the Winter Solstice with local groups. Lantern parade, music, pyrotechnics, art installations, projections etc, en route.
In the Arms of an Angel (1995-1996)
A radical, bizarre, detailed indoor event concerning three corrupt bastards in a war-torn warehouse making the arms deal of the century. Meticulous, stylized, with a rich and engaging soundscape of live music and triggered recorded sounds.
Directed by Tom Critchley. Premiered at the Bristol Old Vic. Toured the UK.
‘A strange, evocative and thought-provoking piece of theatre.’
Venue Magazine
The Formicators (1994)
Commissioned by Zap Productions to produce a mobile tribe for ‘The Coming’. The result was a mobile analysing co-operative of 5 red ‘ants’ and their inside-out office.
Toured the UK and Europe.
The Pilgrimage (1994)
Amersfoort Street Theatre Festival, Holland
Large scale outdoor piece of rude theatre with 7 days of animations around the town – the last 2 nights being a huge procession through the streets and on the canals relating the story of a sacred statue and a little girl. Historical fact and desperate fantasy were interwoven, with the help of 20 volunteers, an exceptional admin. crew from the city, a rock band, a choir, an ice sculptor, dazzling pyrotechnics and fireworks. Action in buildings, on streets and in canals, with a huge finale in the town square.
A commission from Theater Terras.
‘A cheerful and unruly piece of theatre on a massive scale.’
Amersfoort Nieuws, Holland
The Fountain (1994-1995)
A Comic Street Opera about love, greed, tyranny and water. Featuring our own language – Desperanto. Five piece brass band, accapella harmony singing with surreal characters and live ‘cello accompaniment.
Toured the UK and Europe.
Performers: Dik Downey, Shirley Pegna, Jon Beedell, Richie Smith, Luci Gorell Barnes.
‘Street theatre performed with great passion, alacrity, and fun. Loved it!’
Venue Magazine
The Fountain – complete version filmed at St Werburghs
The Fountain – Teatro del Mar’s Portugese version
The Ghastly Family
Dysfunctional family go on a day trip to Weston Super Mare and cause havoc. Fun for all generations.
Studio for hire
Now under the management of Tit for Tat. This light and airy rehearsal space has been redecorated and updated thanks to an Arts Council grant, and is available for hire.
New features include insulated floor, double glazing and a new kitchen.
Click here for details and rates.
Past Projects
Loads of our previous projects and shows are now available in full to watch for FREE!
Click here to find out more!
Don’t Call Me Love, Love (1989) / Indoor
An island … a rock in a glittering sea, two people in isolation. A traveller arrives. After the storm, the rescue. Comic, sad, terrifying and beautiful, the music fades and the dance begins …
Made in Alentejo, Portugal, with Luci Gorell Barnes. Written and directed by Paddy Fletcher.
Toured UK and Europe.
Deadline (1988) / Indoor
Much music in a stylish black and white setting. A fast moving black comedy dealing with death, washing up, adultery and jazz … a must for everyone who expects to die sometime.
With Ali Houillebecq (Le La Les). Written & directed by Paddy Fletcher.
Toured UK.
White Horse Show (1987) / Street
Conceived and performed by Jon and Luci Gorell Barnes.
Very loosely based on a mummers play.
The Book of Jobs (1986) / Indoor
A multi-layered, over populated musical cartoon. Phil and Simon seek the ultimate job, with the aid of 24 noses and a set made of newspaper.
Written and directed by Paddy Fletcher. First in his trilogy about Work, Love and Death.
Toured in the UK and Europe.
“Rich, dreamlike qualities”
The Guardian, UK
Shaman (1984) / Indoor
A young witch-doctor resists the temptations of a quack travelling salesman, to reach Nirvana.
Toured in the UK and Europe.
Spirit Level (1982) / Indoor
Thematic roller-coaster ride about empire, Thatcher, royalty and death.
Toured UK and Europe.
The Penguin Zone (1981) / Indoor
Absurd, narrative nonsense about penguins taking over the world.
Toured in Europe.
Eggs and Enemies (1980) / Indoor
Absurd, non narrative collection of oddities, with the theme of friendship and obsession. Toured in the UK and Europe.
The Pipe People (1978-1980)
Half dance, half vaudeville, half loony, half art, but one hell of a whole presence.
These strangely clad acolytes with hands on their heads congregate around a scaffolding pole in a kind of surreal dance. One of our most popular animations ever.
The Pipe People in action at Builth Wells Hobby Fair
CSI Clowns
Crime Scene Investigator Dr Litmus and tough New York cop Lieutenant McHeath have been called in to investigate a crime scene. At the centre is a large box with a radioactive sticker. Wires protrude, connected to a variety of everyday objects: water, charcoal, tofu, a bugle, anti-dandruff shampoo, matches, a drill bit and an axe, among other strange items. What is going on? Can our heroes solve the mystery? Are these objects connected in some way? And why is there a wired up a banana-bomb?
In CSI Clowns, our comic investigators look at elements and compounds and explore how the building blocks of life are created. Performances feature comedy and songs and are highly interactive. CSI Clowns is the third in a series of science shows, following on from Darwin and the Dodo and Everything Gets Eaten.
Commissioned by the British Council in Hong Kong and Ciencia Na Rua, Estremoz, Portugal.
CSI Clowns at Ciencia na Rua, Estremoz, Portugal
Everything Gets Eaten
Produced to celebrate the International year of Biodiversity, Everything Gets Eaten explores the relationship between the natural world and your lunch box, looking at the web of life and what humans can do to preserve the environment. Successfully presented at the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival, Natural History Museum and science shows in Hong Kong among others.
Desperate Men would like to thank the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and the Arts Council (SW) for funding the development and production of Everything Gets Eaten.
Darwin and the Dodo
Grounded in science and thorough research, this show looks at Chalres Darwin’s ideas, life, times and legacy. Although he never saw a live Dodo, by weaving the story of this species demise through Darwin’s own it provides an unlikely juxtaposition for a tongue in cheek and sideways look at the ‘mystery of mysteries’.
All carried off in Desperate Men’s inimitable, dynamic and engaging style, Darwin and the Dodo explores themes of evolution and extinction. It premiered at the launch of Darwin 200 at the Natural History Museum.
“I must admit to having been sceptical of Darwin and the Dodo before I saw your performance at the Hong Kong Science Museum. Like many scientists, I am uneasy about mixing fact with fiction – we are always taught to separate very clearly facts (observations) from inferences, let alone suppositions. However, I was won over by the accuracy of the science in your performance and how you were able to convey difficult issues about evolution in an intelligent yet light-hearted way.”
Dr Paul D. Taylor, Dept. of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum
“Went down a storm ! Everyone was really pleased with them and so were we.”
Ashley Kent, Science Development Project Co-ordinator, Centre for Life, Newcastle
Darwin and the Dodo at Ciencia na Rua, Estremoz, Portugal
Water Balloon Toss
A lot of water in a lot of balloons being tossed, thrown, chucked, hurled and caught – without bursting – over immense distances. A knock out competition for all ages. Great fun for every occasion and any community. A bunch of tossers having a laugh!
Pig Pen Riots
The Pig Pen Riots allows you, Joe Punter, to vent your frustrations, whatever they are, in a safe manner. We provide the placards, suitable attire and even a set of foam bricks for you to lob at the department store windows.
Then we herd you all into a pen to have your five minutes of mayhem, before letting you out to go home in a calm and responsible manner. There – who said protest was dead?
Carbonopoly
Like Monopoly, but instead of making money you see how far you can get round the board without using up all your carbon allowance. Land on the farmers’ market and buy some local veg, and that’ll cost you nearly nothing. Land on a big shop and go on a spending spree – that’ll cost you a load of smackers, thanks.
The person with the most credits left at the end of the game wins!
A commission from Bristol City Council.
Rubbish Heads
A live art excursion into the wilderness of the throwaway society. Smartly suited performers with heads covered in rubbish, drop litter and decorate the ground with tin cans, plastic bottles and packaging – and then pick up the pieces. Balletic, wistful, and engaging, the mysterious repetition of clearing up and throwing away causes embarrassment and laughter in equal measure.
An audacious attempt to create high art from low level rubbish and perfectly suited to be part of any environmental based event or recycling campaign. A meditation on the idiocy of our over packaged world.
“The best load of rubbish I’ve seen this year.”
Faye Bradley, Arts Development, Portsmouth City Council
Rubbish Heads by film-maker Paul Gilbert
Eco-pirates
This spin off from the original Pirates Show sees our scurvy scumsucking squideaters turn up on the beach with a chest of what seems to be treasure. Only after the Pirates have sworn all present to an oath of silence is it revealed that the chest actually holds six month’s worth of ship’s rubbish!
The Pirates are eventually persuaded to take it to recycling rather than bury it in the sand. With a piratical take on marine ecology and ocean conservation, lots of bawdy songs and devastatingly cut throat jokes.
“My son (age 8) has often quoted the three R’s – re-use, re-duce and re-cycle which he has only heard from the Pirates and there have been many occasions where this has come up. We have also laughed about the pirates jokes – Arrrrrm wrestling, Arrrrsenal etc”
Teignbridge Holiday maker
Pirates
Originally a commission from The International Festival of The Sea, this crude crew of loveable rogues have been putting the naughty in nautical events ever since.
At their helm that old seadog, Captain Cliché, and with him his crew of historical misfits and comical cut-throats, Mr Mince, Black Eyed Nell, and Billy Boy Fingers.
As they spout authentic sea-faring gibberish and sing lusty shanties they take no prisoners in their quest to find the lost treasure or where they parked their ship!
Pirates by film-maker Paul Gilbert
The Film Crew
Delighting audiences and film fans, The Film Crew employ convincing fake hardware and involve the audience as extras. As befits the film and TV industry, giant egos and artistic temperaments are on display as the crew fight to get footage in the can! Hilarious consequences ensue, resulting in situations as alarmingly realistic as they are unforgettable.
Battle For The Winds
“An unbelievable scene. So beautiful – what an ending to a great show”
Nigel Hinds, London 2012 Festival
As dusk falls, two thousand and twelve people wait on Weymouth sands. One by one, the torches in their hands flicker to life and they process into the sea, carrying fire into the dark waters …
A unique theatrical event marking the opening celebrations of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing events, Battle for the Winds told the story of a quest to gather the winds from across the South West to power the sailing events in July. Co-produced with Cirque Bijou, it’s the largest outdoor arts show we’ve ever worked on and was four years in the making.
The tale began in April 2012, with 52 events in total across the South West culminating in three magnificent days of performance in Weymouth and Portland from July 26-28, involving 5000 artists and a total audience of 530,000 people.The grand finale on July 28 was seen by 8000 people gathered at the Live Site on Weymouth Beach.
The events in Weymouth featured:
- Seven companies of street theatre artists from all the counties of the South West with their specially designed Wind Gathering Vessels;
- Brand new aerial performance directed by Cirque Bijou’s Billy Alwen and devised by 7 of the UK’s most exciting aerialists;
- DiverseCity’s company of 64 disabled and able-bodied performers from UK and Brazil, presenting Breathe;
- Lorna Rees’s beautiful, eerie multimedia installation and dance piece at Doldrum’s Lair in Portland High Angle Battery, featuring over 2000 hand-made blue butterflies;
- A spectacular display by the Royal Marines 4 Assault Squadron, who delivered the stone-hearted Doldrum to the beach amidst flares, ships and pyrotechnics;
- 212 Bridgwater Carnivalites who set the beach ablaze with the first ever Squibbing display outside of Bridgwater;
- The awesome, primal spectacle of 2012 community participants wading into dark waters with flaming torches.
A truly awe-inspiring spectacle and an unforgettable experience for everyone who worked on the project, Battle for the Winds will leave a legacy of new outdoor arts and creative networks across the South West. So far the events have been featured in The Guardian, on Sky News, BBC1 and ITV, in Event magazine and throughout the regional and local press, as well as news outlets across the world thanks to Reuters.
The show was selected as part of the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK, and was also part of Maritime Mix – London 2012 Cultural Olympiad by the Sea.
Partners included Arts University College Bournemouth, Activate, Outdoor Celebratory Arts Network, Quest (South West) Co Ltd, Barnardo’s, DepARTure, Weymouth College, Diverse City and Remix. Battle for the Winds is supported by Arts Council England and South West local authorities. You can find out more about the project at battleforthewinds.com.
Here’s some of the press coverage of the event:
- Torch Wader video on the BBC London 2012 Festival homepage
- Event Magazine interviewing Richard Headon
- Torch Wader video on the BBC London 2012 Festival homepage
- Reuters on the Battle for the Winds extravaganza
- ITV WestCountry’s article
- Blog from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
- The Royal Navy on their part in the show
- Battle for the Winds “good for business” according to Weymouth traders
TESTIMONIALS
“How can Weymouth and Portland ever thank you for what you did last night? It was MAGNIFICENT! And it will inspire all that took part or saw it for years to come”
Alan Rogers, Cultural Co-Ordinator, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council 2012 Operations Team
“Thank you for entertaining, enthralling and exciting us. Overhead lots of great comments from inside the crowd: ‘historic’, ‘once in a lifetime’, ‘tears in my eyes’, ‘wow!'”
Weymouth, Dorset Tourist Agency
“I particularly enjoyed the parade during the day and thought the finale with the squibbers and the torches out to sea was both exhilarating and haunting in equal measure”
Laura Dyer, Arts Council England Area Chief Executive (SW and Midland)
“I had very positive feedback from a Deaf audience member, thanking us for the caption and saying that they enabled her to understand the story….it’s brilliant that we broke through that barrier on this show”
Christine Hathaway, Access & Production co-ordinator, Breathe
Invisible Walls
Jon Beedell was invited by In Situ Theatre to collaborate with Neil Butler and Kosovar theatre company Teatri Oda to develop a project around the “invisible walls” that determine contemporary life in Kosova.
‘Home’ is about a thirst for freedom, and a liberation that brings a different set of restrictions – the social and political barriers that stop movement and sometimes communication. Home is something to dream of and escape to, but also a place to escape from. ‘Home’ looks at situations when you are not allowed a home. ‘Home’ is about how freedom of choice has a price.
Directed by Jon and created with Teatri ODA, “Home” combines installation, performance and radical theatre with Albanian song, dance and history. The audience is drawn to a beautiful installation representing Home. However, it isn’t quite what it appears – a little difficult to enter and even more so to leave.
The content and delivery of the project have been devised in a 2 week workshop. The ‘Home’ artists will reconvene in October in Kosova to continue the devising of the show which will be made in spring 2013 and toured thereafter at major European festivals.
Work in progress from Teatri Oda’s new show ‘Invisible Walls’
The Severn Project
As artistic directors, Desperate Men worked with Shropshire County Council and other local authorities to develop this ground-breaking three-year project (2006 – 2009).
Inspired by the River Severn, its stories and settings, the Severn Project interpreted, celebrated and explored the heritage and culture of the river and the communities that live along its banks, visiting Upton-on-Severn, Bewdley, Bridgnorth, Ironbridge and Gloucester.
In 2009 we worked with Gloucestershire County Council to deliver ‘Severn Mud Larks’ in Tewkesbury, Lydney and Gloucestershire which was based around interpretations of Alice Oswald’s specially commissioned poem A Sleepwalk On the Severn.
Severn Project 2009 Mudlarks
Main Performers: Joe Hall, Chris Bianchi, Claire Thompson, Angus Barr, Jon Beedell
Severn Project: The Sturgeon Hunters
Severn Project:The River Inspectors
Severn Project – Sturgeon Moon (2007)
Main Performers: Ric Jerom, Agnieszka Blonska, Paschale Straiton, Joe Hall, Vic Llewellyn, Jo Kessell, Hilary Ramsden, Richard Headon, Jon Beedell
The Severn Project 2007
(filmed and edited by Chris Smart)
Praise for The Severn Project
“We were delighted to fund the River Severn Project. Villages and towns along the River Severn were able to experience great art in different spaces and places, which we believe is a wonderful example of how communities can come together to enjoy and participate in performances and events.”
Chris Humphrey, Executive Director, Arts Council England, South West
Extract from the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) evaluation report on the Severn Project.
‘Street performance (as in the work of the street theatre company Desperate Men –the Creative Producers and performers at the festivals) is an ideal art form for reaching new community audiences and expanding people’s exposure to accessible but high-quality art. Making the project’s creative producers a street theatre company working in partnership with local authority arts outreach teams and local artists who specialize in participatory outreach work means that Severn Project was highly effective in reaching new audiences and enabling audience participation in the festival host towns. The two main festivals were preceded by live rehearsals and walkabouts in order to promote the events and reach ‘non-arts audiences’. At both festivals the audience were very much part of the spectacle and unfolding dynamic of the event.
Audience feedback included:
- ‘The atmosphere created at Tewkesbury and Lydney by the dance, theatre and music made two truly magical events which were enjoyed by all. The outside “site specific” element made it particularly special. Please, please can we do something like this again?’ (Written feedback from participant and audience member who attended both festivals)
Triangulating communities, arts and landscape/environment: One respondent felt that the festivals ‘got people to new places and the poem made people look at the river in a whole new way’. In this way the wider Project can be seen as forging (new) relationships between community, landscape and art. The need for people to (re)connect with their local landscapes and nature within them is a strong theme of current environmental politics and policy discourses (Adams, 2003). The arts are increasingly being used to do this (Massey, 2005). The festivals were site specific in the way they used the geography of the locations within the staging of the various elements and thus ‘celebrated places’ in ways likely to engender community cohesion, collective self-esteem and environmental sensibilities (Lippard, 1997). One festival-goer commented that she valued “exposure to the Severn – beautiful River – [we] don’t appreciate it enough even though we live so close to it”.’
Mentoring and Teaching
We help mentor young and emerging companies, with 30 years of experience to pass on to artists interested in developing their theatre, street art and creative production skills. We supported eight new pieces of work for the Festival of Desperation, including Poste de Resistance (pictured).
Our most recent artist support was with Fried Gold Theatre. We helped support the creation of their 2012 street show, Ratty, Mole and Mr Toad, by meeting with them to help with the conception of the artistic ideas, funding application, the exploration of producer partnerships and the making and management of the final piece.
We also have an ongoing teaching relationships with Circomedia and Circus Space and have taught at universities including Bristol, Warwick and Winchester. We also have creative partnerships with Arts University College, Bournemouth and Weymouth College.
Work With Us
From small, bespoke shows to epic outdoor arts productions, we can help you create amazing projects. Read on & get in touch
Studio for Hire
Our light and airy rehearsal space is available for hire. It’s a fantastic, low-cost venue for theatre company rehearsals, measuring 17 by 24 feet, with facilities including a piano, sofa and chairs, toilet and kitchen with sink, microwave and kettle. The studio is available for hire 7 days a week and is also great for location filming.
News
DESPERATE MEN IN ACADEMIA
Susan C Haedicke (associate professor professor in the School of Theatre, Performance, and Cultural Policy Studies at University of Warwick, UK) mentions us in her new book: “Contemporary Street Arts in Europe: Aesthetics and Politics”!
“In a simultaneously serious and playful way, they reclaim public spaces as the crowds gather round them, and they encourage the audience to bring debate into those spaces”
OUTSIDE ONLINE REPORT
A live forum about outdoor arts in the UK and beyond, held on Monday 21st January – supposedly the most desperate day of the year.
Summary
We set up Outside Online as a bit of an experiment – to see if we could set up a live, online forum for outdoor artists, provoke some interesting discussions and find out what people were planning for the next year. We fed back the results to NASA’s For the Love of It convocation on Feb 8-10.
Outside Online attracted 20 participants including Jeremy Shine (Manchester International Arts), Claire Teasdale (Bristol City Council) Edward Taylor (Whalley Range All Stars), Liz Pugh (Walk the Plank) and Mandy Dike (previously of The World Famous, now of And Now). Huge thanks to everyone who contributed for their time and input.
We set it up as a 3-hour live forum on our Facebook page, with 16 different topic headings . The discussions generated 147 posts, and we also tweeted as we were going along – tweets were picked up and retweeted by people including Lyn Gardner.
It was also something of an experiment in using the internet and social media to link up outdoor artists and help foster useful new networks / connections / debates. We hope it may become an ongoing project and are thinking about how it could develop in future – perhaps with other companies / organisations hosting similar forums or suggesting topics. Feedback from participants included that it was ‘exciting’ and ‘a great idea’ with a ‘nice feeling of equality’ and ‘sense of community’– but that it would have been better with fewer topics and perhaps a few more laughs …
Posts clustered around 5 popular topics:
- New opportunities
- Name three things that would improve your ability to create work
- Is the UK becoming a receiving house rather than a producing house for large scale work?
- Ace is using an image of Royal de Luxe as its cover photo on Facebook. Discuss.
- Are the opportunities for showing provocative work reducing or shifting to new places?
We thought the conversation might focus on the ‘post-Olympic landscape, but it actually took off in other directions.
In very brief summary – several of the debates circled around the problem of bookers ‘playing it safe’ and not wanting to take a risk on new work. Conversely, UK companies then also tend to ‘play it safe’ or produce work that holds back – either worried about not getting bookings or from lack of confidence, money etc. So perhaps we need to be bolder in our vision / ideas? The most popular debate was on whether the opportunities for producing ‘provocative’ work were shrinking or moving to new areas – and indeed what the word ‘provocative’ actually means to different people.
Interestingly, this ‘provocative’ theme was picked up at For the Love of It by, amongst others, Bim Mason in his session and Ed Taylor provided a very interesting written contribution on the theme.
Outside Online also discussed the differences between European (particularly French) and British work / markets – observing that UK large-scale shows tend to be one-offs whereas European companies (particularly French ones) keep touring the same shows for many years. The different funding / support models must play a part but – given that the UK IS producing these shows – why do they tend to be one-offs? And should we be celebrating the fact that more people are being introduced to outdoor art by UK-commissioned shows like Royal de Luxe – or lamenting the fact that UK artists aren’t getting the commissions? Or even simply accepting that the UK produces great small/middle-scale shows and stop worrying about the large-scale work? No answers here but many questions to ponder.
There were also some good comments on how to encourage young theatre / circus graduates to produce outdoor theatre, with suggestions including more seminars / workshops on courses plus opportunities for students to see shows. This would give a better introduction to the sector while they are still studying as many still have a preconception of outdoor / street art as Covent-Garden style street shows.
And it was good to hear that plenty of people have interesting projects in the pipeline, from Mandy Dike’s new company ‘And Now’ to the Whalley Range All Stars Mintfest commission ‘Future’ and Walk the Plank’s upcoming show in Derry ‘The Return of Colmcille’.
For a more in-depth summary of the main topics please read below:
