Celebrating the talent and creativity of young people in St Albans.

Tip of the Iceberg  and Trestle Youth Theatre

Celebrating the talent and creativity of young people in St Albans.

Production of ‘Peter Pan’ at Trestle Arts Base Monday 12^th December 6pm and 8pm

On the evening of Monday 12^th December Trestle Arts Base will step back in time as the youth theatre will perform an original Victorian version of ‘Peter Pan’.  The production includes every member of the youth theatre with nearly 40 young people aged between 4 and 16 and is a truly magical theatrical production including a flying Peter Pan, puppets and a moving 13ft pirate ship. 

The story is told by J, M and Barrie an eccentric trio who take us from the Darling’s house, to Neverland, the Lagoon and back again. Trestle and Tip of the Iceberg are two professional local theatre companies who joined forces in September to ensure that despite arts cuts they could still offer affordable professional theatre fun and training for all ages and abilities. 

The youth theatre is going from strength to strength and this performance shows how the young people, directors, theatre companies and the Trestle Arts Base are all working together.  Lisa Schulberg the youth theatre director said  “We chose Peter Pan as it’s a story about being young, having fun, and enjoying imaginary places, which is exactly what the youth theatre is all about.  Our production is a large step away from the Disney story and has been a real challenge for everyone involved, however it’s been amazing to watch all the age groups working together and finding creative ways to bring the traditional version to life.” 

The groups meet on a Monday evening at the Trestle Arts Base – TYPTO 4-7yrs 4-5pm TYPT2 8-12yrs 5-6.30pm and TYC 13-18yrs 6.30-9pm and the Spring term starts on 9^th January there are a few spaces available.   

There are also a few tickets available left for both shows. 

For information on the Youth Theatre and for Tickets for the show please contact Tip of the Iceberg on 08454747907 or email admin@tipoftheiceberg.biz

The Man with the Luggage Special Guest Narrator Announced!

Jim Broadbent with Trestle Artistic Director Emily Gray, Oliver Jones of Blindeye and Rhian Desborough,  Trestle Marketing Manager at Trestle Arts Base, St Albans  Touring the UK 21 Sept - 10 Dec 2011 Director                       Oliver Jones Writer                          Lizzie Nunnery Designer                      Anoushka Athique Lighting Designer            Matt Haskins Composer                    Ben Glasstone Associate Artist               Emily Gray This autumn leading theatre company Trestle and the Director of emerging company Blindeye collaborate on the UK premiere of The Man with the Luggage written by award winning playwright Lizzie Nunnery. We are delighted to announce that Trestle’s Patron and Oscar Award Winning Actor Jim Broadbent will feature in The Man with the Luggage, as the voice of an old, war ravaged Tree.   A note from Jim Broadbent: I have supported Trestle as a Patron for over twenty years and have been delighted by the inventive use of mask, puppetry and storytelling through the Trestle's Masked years and into the Unmasked productions. The last show, The Birthday of the Infanta was a celebration of performance, storytelling and physical theatre; evidence of the Company’s continuing and considerable prowess as a creative force in UK theatre. Trestle led the way as the first UK touring company to build its own home and the beautiful Trestle Arts Base in St Albans has inspired artists from across the globe to make new work. The Company has moved with the times and adapted to circumstance while sustaining a strong commitment to artistic quality, community development and young people. However, Trestle's unique creativity and ways of linking touring work with participation programmes and a community building are threatened by cuts in government funding. For thirty years Trestle has given the arts community, young people and audiences across the UK inspiration and learning and now is the moment for you to give back to Trestle. Please support Trestle by patronising their new show and donate whatever you can to help Trestle stay creatively vibrant and effective. Anything our supporters can give will make a difference to Trestle’s future.   About the Show Inspired by the Eugene Ionesco absurdist play of the same name, The Man with the Luggage draws on the themes, and atmosphere of the original piece, but fuses them with contemporary stories of migration and repatriation to create an invigorating, visually stunning, and often very funny stage adaptation, set deep within an imagined European state. The story traces a man’s journey home after becoming a refugee during a war in his homeland. We follow Damir, as he arrives at a train station and starts his tortuous, bizarre, and often hilarious journey back home, to his village, to his house, and to his loved ones. On the way, he is forced to take any means of transport available, from a bus, to a motorbike and side-car, to a solitary roller skate! Through the people he meets along the way, he discovers the true horror of the last ten years, and the divides that are still apparent between different people and neighbouring communities. Make sure you don’t miss this, compelling, highly charged theatrical spectacular!   The Man with the Luggage tours the UK from 21 September at Trestle Arts Base in St Albans and finishes at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury on Saturday 10 December 2011.  Suitable for everyone aged 12 and up / Runtime approx 70 mins (no interval) Please note that this is a Trestle Unmasked production.

Please click here to view photography from the research and development of The Man with the Luggage (NB: Cast members have changed) Click here to view Cast and Creative Teams For further information please visit http://www.trestle.org.uk/pl352.html

Dates and venues 21 September - 10 December 2011 September 21 - 22      Trestle Art Base, St Albans (Previews) 23 - 24      Greenwich Theatre, London 26              E M Forster Theatre, Tonbridge 27              Sundial Theatre, Cirencester 28              Rhodes, Bishop's Stortford 29              Hat Factory, Luton (Post Show Discussion) October 4 - 8           New Diorama Theatre, London 12              Teddington School, Teddington 14              Platform, Hornsey Road Baths, Islington 15              Braintree Arts Theatre, Essex 18              Vivacity Key Theatre, Peterborough 19              Guildhall Arts Centre, Grantham 20 - 22      Trestle Art Base, St Albans December 6 - 7          Capstone Theatre, Liverpool     8 - 10        The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury Text TRES11 £5 (or whatever you can afford) to 70070 to donate to Trestle Theatre Company Limited and make a difference today! www.justgiving.com

The Man with the Luggage R&D 2011

The Man with the Luggage R&D 2011, a gallery on Flickr.

A man strives to return home, in search of his past, hopeful of his future, and longing for those he left behind. As his journey unfolds, he finds his path repeatedly blocked and his identity endlessly questioned. His luggage and his status are lost as borders are crossed, languages confused, and modes of travel conspire to thwart him. Will he ever reach his destination? ...will his luggage? ...and will his identity arrive with him?

Informed by contemporary stories of migration and repatriation, The Man with the Luggage explores our relationship with home, with nationality, and with authority. It also delves into our dependence on travel and the multitude of obstacles that await us on our journeys through stations, through ports, and through life.

Trestle Unmasked and Blindeye use an agile mix of text, movement, music, and projection, to tell a dashing and deeply moving story where notions of time, space, and memories merge to create a dreamscape of great insight, passion, and humour. It illuminates the struggles that face many of today’s displaced people, and speaks to everyone who has ever been stranded in a foreign land.

www.trestle.org.uk

The Mystery of the Random Image

Thanks to those that responded to our Facebook appeal (http://on.fb.me/lEjGpD), we thought we should give you an update on our mystery image.

Thanks to Katerina Radeva (www.katherinaradeva.co.uk), we were able to confirm that the image was in fact taken at Chisenhale Dance Space(www.chisenhaledancespace.co.uk).

After contacting them (thank you Bryony!) we were informed that the image was of dancer and choreographer Mel Simpson (www.melsimpson.com). After tracking down and contacting Mel she informed us that the dancer featured was in fact her ‘doppelganger’ Dani B. Larson, who is also a dancer and choreographer! (http://on.fb.me/jlesTL). Dani kindly has been in touch to let us know that the image in fact came from a dance piece entitled Caught up created by Artistic Director and choreographer Katie Green (www.madebykatiegreen.co.uk) who has agreed to let us use the image –

Thanks to everyone who helped solve The Mystery of the Random Image! Just popping off to the shops to now to purchase a deerstalker and a magnifying glass! "What one man can invent another can discover," wink wink!