Bristol Ferment: Jam, Sleepdogs and 'adult' nursery rhymes

This week our hello comes to you from the spectacle of spontaneity that is Bristol Jam, the city’s festival of improvisation. The theatre is over-run with things and people and noise and improvising…

One particular highlight for Ferment so far was Tuesday’s Beyond Jam workshop with Karla Shacklock. Thirteen movers tucked themselves away in Coopers Loft to go ‘beyond’ what they thought was physically, vocally and emotionally possible. If that sounds like a challenge you’d like to take on, email Karla to register your interest in future workshops at info@karlashacklock.com.  You can also catch her with Mark Brew and Marie-Louise Flexen choreographing their perfectly formed bodies into some delectable dance in Swindon or Bournemouth. 

Overwhelmed by everything that’s still to come in Bristol Jam? We recommend you prioritise Palimpsest (see pic above), tonight at 6pm. Here’s what happens:
Two artists create live sketches, drawings and video projections and, using graphite sequencers, translate them into an ever-adaptable musical score of techno rhythms and electronic pulses. This hypnotic performance work transfixes the viewer, as they begin to lose track of where the drawings end and the music begins...
There are a limited number of £5 tickets available. Call the Bristol Old Vic Box Office if you fancy joining us (0117 987 7877).

Fermenter (just trying it on…) Lizzie Westcott, has masterminded a piece of ‘adult’ theatre that takes an unconventional look at nursery rhymes. Death & Treason, Rhyme & Reason promises to be a sexy and debauched cabaret-style evening, and will go on sale next week. 

Action Hero are stepping out with the early stages of Hoke’s Bluff at Warwick Arts Centre on Fri 16 & Sat 17 Nov. Hoke’s Bluff shifts and re-arranges the trite conventions and narratives of American teen movies to talk about what it means to be a winner on the inside. China Plate will host an exchange with the company following the performance so that, as an audience, you can help shape the future of this exciting new show.

We’ve just got back from Spill Festival of Performance in Ipswich. Once you got through the throng of industry peoples, there was some very nice work indeed: Jo Hellier, Subject to_change, Reynir Hutber, Liz Crow, Rosana Cade and many many more.

Sleepdogs are launching into the premiere of their fully-realised production of The Bullet & The Bass Trombone NEXT WEEK, seen in its early stages in July 2011’s Ferment Fortnight. We barged into a rehearsal last week and we can guarantee that the narrative, the music and the tales of the individual musicians will haunt you long after you leave the Studio…

And finally… Idiot Child are flying the Ferment flag high and proud as they’ve just completed another successful run of I Could’ve Been Better at the Bike Shed in Exeter. Next stop, London.