Trestle Theatre

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

2011-12-09T08:25:00.001-08:00

Tip of the Iceberg and Trestle Youth Theatre

Celebrating the talent and creativity of young people in StAlbans.

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

On the evening of Monday 12^th December TrestleArts Base will step back in time as the youth theatre will perform an originalVictorian version of ‘Peter Pan’. Theproduction includes every member of the youth theatre with nearly 40 youngpeople aged between 4 and 16 and is a truly magical theatrical production includinga flying Peter Pan, puppets and a moving 13ft pirate ship.

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

The youth theatre is going from strength to strength andthis performance shows how the young people, directors, theatre companies andthe Trestle Arts Base are all working together. Lisa Schulberg the youth theatre director said “Wechose Peter Pan as it’s a story about being young, having fun, and enjoyingimaginary places, which is exactly what the youth theatre is all about. Our production is a large step away from theDisney story and has been a real challenge for everyone involved, however it’sbeen amazing to watch all the age groups working together and finding creativeways 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 theSpring term starts on 9^th January there are a few spaces available.

There are also a few tickets available left for bothshows.

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

The Man with the Luggage Special Guest Narrator Announced!

2011-09-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

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 donateto Trestle Theatre Company Limited and make a difference today!www.justgiving.com

The Man with the Luggage R&D 2011

2011-07-06T04:03:00.001-07:00

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

2011-06-06T02:55:00.000-07:00

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!

Author Blog On Burn my Heart--The Play!

2010-09-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

August 2010

There are more than twenty characters in Burn My Heart. So how would you turn it into a stage play for just five actors? This challenge is being undertaken as I write, by Trestle director Oliver Jones with translator and playwright Rina Vergano. While I’ve previously adapted some of my own work (The Other Side of Truth for radio and The Playground for stage – see www.beverleynaidoo.com ), this feels rather like handing over a child for adoption! Yet some paths, I believe, are meant to cross...

A month before Burn My Heart was published in Britain in 2007, Oliver Jones and I spoke for the first time. He told me about his passion to form a company, Blindeye (www.blindeye.org.uk), that would make theatre about human rights. When he spoke of his interest in the Mau Mau, I suggested he read the novel. “I’ve so many images about how I’d stage it!” he said afterward, “but one thing is difficult--the number of characters.” I wondered if he would be deterred.

Yet Oliver's ideas brewed on. Making a play is a collaborative process and quite different from brewing a novel in your head. In addition to the director’s resolve, a lot depends on “things coming together.” Now, three years on, with Oliver now working at Trestle, he has set up Blindeye. I was delighted when he got in touch again. I not only knew of Trestle as one of Britain’s leading touring companies but I’d seen productions on tour and admired the physical storytelling.

In May, when I made my first visit to Trestle’s Art Base in St Albans - during development workshops on Burn My Heart - I wasn’t expecting this hundred-year-old chapel full of gothic shadows and ghosts of a huge Victorian asylum. When I stepped inside the large wooden doors, it felt like the right place to dig into Burn My Heart’s secrets.

It’s now only a few weeks until the play’s autumn première, at Trestle Arts Base, St Albans before its eight-week UK tour. And how are Oliver and Rina tackling the challenge of twenty-plus characters? Well, with a good script, good actors, and imagination you can do almost anything. The list below reveals who will morph into whom, plus some other creative surprises in the casting! Of course specifics can change because that’s the challenge of physical theatre – discovering what works. But women will play the boys and the same actors will play both black and white characters. Am I nervous about seeing the story that still lives in my head take a completely new form on stage? You bet. But what a grand journey for my characters as they stride out beyond the page.

CHARACTERS (5 actors – 3 female, 2 male)

Mugo (Female)

Lance (Female)
Mrs Grayson
Dreadlock
Auntie
Gitau

Mathew (Female)
Mami
Mrs Smithers

Kamau (Male)
Old Josiah
Insp. Smithers
Child at club
Waiter at club
Schoolboy

Mr Grayson (Male)
Longcoat
Schoolboy
Child at club

Red Hats/Guards random members of cast

By Beverley Naidoo

Trestle's Summer School Blog

2010-08-16T02:30:00.000-07:00

At the start of a week of Trestle Summer School, 2nd August 2010, twelve children aged 5 to 10 meet an artistic team of director (Emily Gray), performer (Georgina Roberts) and musician (Philippa Herrick) and take inspiration from Lewis Caroll’s Wonderlands of both Alice and Through the Looking Glass.

A question: can Trestle fully immerse the group in a world in which the artists share theatre techniques and the children make sense of them to create a thoroughly enjoyable week long theatrical experience?

Another question: can Trestle achieve the challenge of researching our next show for this age group without distracting from the major theme and ambition?

Day 1 – We begin with: a theatre building set up to be explored, a group of expectant children, most of whom do not know each other and the dramatic arrival of our performer, falling down the tower of the refurbished chapel, Trestle Arts Base. This character asks ‘Who am I’. ‘Where am I?’ ‘What am I’ and as we move around the building, following the clues and sounds of the White Rabbit, the children embrace the mission to discover who this intruder is by showing us who and what they are.

We end up in the theatre, which has become an installation of Wonderland and the children readily enter the otherness of this world; the contrariness of Wonderland is soon shared between us as each child is measured in vegetables “you are a runner bean”, “you are three beetroot's and a spring onion” and umbrellas become banqueting dishes, apples become powder puffs and recorders become hat stands. The intruder is named Ah-Um by the children and some secretly suspect she might be Alice.

Day 2 - No time to dwell on identity today; time has indeed fled and we are in the kingdom of the Red Queen. The terrifying and absurd monarch arrives and we discover it is her birthday, so games are to be played, rules to be made and unmade, winners and losers to become muddled and heads to be chopped off. The children adapt games to suit the Queen, for example, “What’s the time, Mr Wolf?” becomes “How many jam tarts have you Red Queen?” to which she replies, “A crumb, a puff of flour, a smear of jam”. She commands us to learn Spanish rhythms and flamenco poses, so a bull fight can be played out before her. A Jabberwocky made out of a parachute with bins for eyes is made; it dies and there is much galumphing.

Day 3 - The White Queen celebrates her non birthday and we enter her wood, full of tissue paper petals, ethereal sounds and strange creatures. Imaginations run wild as we create hand creatures inspired by Indian mudras (hand gestures) and body monsters made by four hand creatures evolving into a shape made by 4 bodies. Junk puppets are made and brought to life through breath and sound led interactions. Instruments are also given breath and move as if they were creatures, making sounds and conversations. The creative brilliance of the children is evident in their ideas; one suggests an auction in the wood of the White Queen and the group invent objects which were then bid for, not by monetary value, but by crowns, jewels, sneezes and cosmic entities.

Day 4 - With the presence of the White Rabbit comes a chorus of rabbits, caught frozen in the headlights of the imagined Red Queen’s stare. Masks are worn and worked with as the group prepares entertainments for the imminent tea party of the Sad Patter, no, the Glad Matter, no, the Rabbit just can’t get his words out right so nonsense is spoken and understood by all. We borrow ideas for entertainments from Oscar Wilde’s short story, The Birthday of the Infanta, which conjures a world not too far from the strictures and absurdities of the Wonderland gardens and courts.

Day 5 - At last the most frequently requested character of the week arrives, the Mad Hatter himself; he is eccentric and Scottish, unnerving and charismatic. He helps the children to create the experience that they want their parents to have in the afternoon; he is demanding and kind and then he falls asleep, leaving them to set up for their performance.

There is no script and there is no rehearsal. The week’s work has been grounded in Trestle’s approach to physical theatre, creative learning and storytelling. We invited the children in as individuals and demanded from them the depth of creativity and bravery we would expect from an adult professional. If we as professional artists have engaged and guided the young people in skilled way, then this culmination of the process will genuinely show the audience what the week has been like and draw them too into experiencing Trestle’s work.

The Sharing
In come parents, grandparents, carers and aunties for an hour of the utterly unexpected; experiential live art meets physical theatre performance in an installation setting. Trestle have lost the children in Wonderland and the audience have to coax them to appear – in dappled light, poems of defeating great beasts are told, the children lecture their parents on the exotic puppet creatures of the White Queen’s wood, the adults dance to the demands of the Red Queen and suffer elimination, the Mad Hatter invites us all to a virtual tea party. Only once the entertainments have entertained, culminating in the futterwaken fashion show, can the real tea, cake and jam tarts arrive and be shared by all.

Parents comment on their children coming home each day with questions the adults cannot answer, the performance opens some parents’ eyes to new types of theatre; the children also appear to have grown each day. There has been great enjoyment and in terms of creative learning many valuable life skills have been developed, we hope with a lasing effect. The performer has delivered brilliant performances in role, becoming a different character each day, all of which the group has engaged and improvised with. The musician has used exemplary facilitation skills; encouraging instrument playing and rhythmic performance which are story based and musically open. As director, I have shared the physical theatre skills that Trestle uses and supported the children in their play with them.

Responses from parents about their children:

He showed increasing enthusiasm as the week went on. He was desperate to come from about 8am every day.
Absolutely loved it and had lots of fun.
So lovely to see them looking so comfortable in the space

From a practitioner:

What the children brought to it was genuinely integrated into the work; it was far more than a workshop!

by Emily

http://infinitesouls-carp.blogspot.com/

Howling at the Moon Fool

2010-04-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

I started working for Trestle as Marketing Manager just before Christmas, and in these few short months I have already been bombarded by giraffes, fairies and arctic weather conditions, seen two key members of the team off and away on maternity leave and their wonderful replacements hit the ground running straight into 2010 and the spring season. I can’t help feeling that this is the beginning of a new phase for us here at Trestle. The Glass Mountain marked the end of our three international collaborations and our current production Moon Fool; ill met by moonlight heralds the beginning of a series of co-productions with emerging companies.

My journey to Trestle began bizarrely, a long time ago when I was studying at what was then Melton Mowbray Performing Arts College. I was fortunate to be taught my acting lessons by, among others, one Sally Cook – now Melton was a serious Performing Arts College, it was a place that at the time was a little controversial – I studied a Btec course which was still considered a sure fire way of not being able to get into University (a point I later proved wrong). Sally, unbeknown to me, had been a founding member of a theatre company that was known as....Trestle. Well, I took her mask and physical theatre module and it has formed a major part of my practice and my life ever since.

Melton and Sally lead me to Dartington College of Arts, a place which at this very moment is disintegrating in the same way as (children of the 80s, please stand up) Never Ending Story’s Fantasia. The tiny grains of sand that remain have settled in Falmouth – hopefully into a place where people are still allowed to dream of things that amount to more than money. The course at Melton was created by two ex Dartington students who experienced the place at its time of true shining during the 1960s and the reality of their vision helped form my view of live arts.

Dartington is not a place to be mentioned lightly, especially at this time of mourning and rebirth; I refuse to admit that the heart of the place will die, but I can't convey how much I hope the essence of why we all went there remains in spirit. My college, our college, our community, spans and crosses graduation dates and years of study and exploration- Foxhole and Higher Close, of reminiscing via Google maps and hitching up the hill, (well remembering when hitching was just something you did), of all the things you should have figured out when you were there before life came stampeding towards you and put it into context... finally, the lectures slept through, but the twelve hour durational performance that was the reason you slept in, of yoga in the gardens and gin outside the SU. Any time spent in the company of such an auspicious place (and I do think that Dartington is that), is a privilege and it stays with you throughout the rest of your life.

After Dartington the world seemed vast and tiny simultaneously and like any contemporary arts graduate I stumbled through individual projects, taught, worked and wondered. Within a few years I was fortunate enough to find steady employment in a Theatre as a Marketing and Press Officer. The Alban Arena in St Albans is hailed as Hertfordshire’s premier entertainment venue and hosts everything from Jools Holland to the Tweenies (not quite where I saw myself when I was at University), but for two and a half years I was nurtured and allowed to focus my skills and began to understand the engineering of commercial theatre. Without this experience, I could not have made the journey back to the Theatre in my heart.

I am feeling now as if my feet are under the desk and all the elements that are encompassed within Trestle are coming more into focus every day. I am facing a period of great learning and improvisation at time when it seems harder than ever to produce work that invokes feeling and reaction; Moon Fool; ill met by moonlight is out on the road and has been met by some rave reviews reflecting both the passion and drive behind the shows conception and the power and love of all of those involved.

Work has already begun on our next co-production with new company Blindeye. Burn My Heart is based on the novel by award-winning writer Beverley Naidoo. The show will use African and European music and movement styles through a powerful mix of text, compelling storytelling and physical theatre to tell this fast-paced, devastating and highly relevant story. Blindeye’s Director Oliver Jones will be visiting Kenya, where the novel is set, to collaborate with artists during April.

Blindeye is an exciting new theatre company, dedicated to the production of and participation in work on national and international human rights issues. Both Trestle and Blindeye share a passion for collaboration with artists from an early stage in the process; Blindeye experiment with traditional tools of theatre-making to create work that is visceral, provocative and relevant to the world we live in today.

I feel now as if I am in the right place, as Marketing Manager for Trestle and as an individual. I am certain that whatever is thrown at us as a Company we can face head on and overcome.

by Rhian

When one door shuts another one opens...

2009-11-18T09:02:00.001-08:00

Last week the tour of our latest production, The Glass Mountain, came to an end. It's funny but I can't help feeling a real sense of loss about this - after all the hard work (and sometimes even blood, sweat and tears) it has suddenly come to an end.

As Marketing Manager for Trestle, I'm involved from the very early stages of a production - working with Emily Gray our Artistic Director on the shows marketing materials, which often need to be ready far in advance of when the show itself has even been devised.

Trestle creates devised theatre and the cast always play an integral part in this process. If I feel attached to the production I can only imagine what the cast and crew must feel when they have been living and breathing the show from its development, during rehearsals and then once it goes on tour. Some of our cast and crew have been on this journey with us for over 12 months!

Of course the tour might have come to an end but The Glass Mountain will hopefully continue to live on in people's hearts and minds. And for the rest of us here at Trestle there's no time to wallow as work is already in full swing for our next touring production - Moon Fool - an inventive re-imagining of Shakespeare's well-loved play, A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is the first time in its 28 year history that Trestle has taken inspiration from Shakespeare and so we're all really excited about what this next adventure will bring.

By Gemma

Tibilisi International Theatre Festival

2009-11-03T03:18:00.001-08:00

Oliver Jones, Trestle's Associate Director (Taking Part) talks about his recent visit to Georgia for the Tibilisi International Theatre Festival with fellow Arts Council East artists...

It's odd what you find out about people. Who would have thought that Ivan Cutting, Artistic Director of Eastern Angles, shares a passion for airline food as I do? And Turkish Airlines did not let us down, sating us with a plethora of Turkish delights as we made our way to the Tibilisi International Theatre Festival in Georgia.

Our trip was predominantly to savour the best in Georgian theatre. We also had time to discuss our recent work in our own region with fellow ACE artists, whilst also meeting producers, artists, and critics from around the globe.

The theatre we indulged in was as rich and varied as the plenteous banquets we were offered, some stunning, some, well, not so. A remarkable ‘Macbeth’ and a fantastic circus themed ‘Bierderman and the Fire Raisers’ directed by Robert Stura, was tempered by some unintelligible and rather dour affairs. There were plenty of puppets too, the best of which was a marionette and live action fusion of a Chekhov short story, that we hope may make its way to the UK.

Tibilisi itself was a fascinating mix of old soviet, and even older middle eastern architecture, and our hosts were incredibly welcoming, making our stay as well organised as they possibly could, which was very different to the traffic system which was as crazy as the man I encountered lighting a cigarette knee deep in a fountain.

Roger McCann of the Arts Council was more Georgian than the Georgians, toasting away during dinner like a man possessed, and Gavin Stride, of the Farnham Maltings shocked most with his choice of shirts.

This is the first year of the festival, and with Roger and the Tibilisi mayor behind it, I am sure it will go from strength to strength. Many fruitful relations were made with the Georgian theatre companies, and we hope that in the future collaborations will blossom. I very much look forward to Trestle being at the heart of these and that I will return to such an interesting, cultured, and friendly city.

By Oliver

The Idiot Colony at Trestle Arts Base

2009-10-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

This week we had the fantastic Red Cape Theatre Company bring their award-winning show The Idiot Colony to Trestle Arts Base.

The Idiot Colony is based on real life accounts of the treatment and incarceration of young women in mental asylums during 1940s England. This might not appear to be the stuff of a fun night out at the theatre; yet despite the serious subject matter the show was funny, poignant and affecting, if at times quietly unnerving.

The Idiot Colony was created after two years of research and interviews with former patients, mental health workers including those who lived and worked at St. Margaret's Hospital, Great Barr - known locally as The Idiot Colony. Trestle Arts Base, Trestle's home in St Albans, is housed in the former chapel of Hill End Hospital, once itself a lunatic asylum. Trestle's Community Company produced a promenade performance earlier this year called Out of Sight Out of Mind, which offered a journey through the building and into the minds of the patients and staff who lived and worked at the hospital over a 100 year period. Out of Sight Out of Mind, like The Idiot Colony, told stories that were full of sadness and pity, but also full of great humour and courage.

The imagery and lighting on stage was incredible. The set was simple but used to great effect. White towels were a key feature of almost every scene - most memorable were the bath and rain storm scenes. Another highlight was the portrayal of a romance between one of the patients and an African American GI; one of the actresses 'blacks up' in order to relive the love affair that saw her incarcerated in the first place.

Unfortunately a lot of the acting took place on the floor and due to poor sight lines (which surely they've experienced in other venues and might have accommodated for?) most of the audience missed out on what were probably quite poignant and powerful moments.

The Idiot Colony has won a stack of awards at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has had great critical acclaim. The Times called it "...an affecting, humorous piece of physical theatre" and The Metro said is was "...endlessly inventive, thoroughly disquieting. It's stunning". The full house at Trestle Arts Base also seemed enamoured with the play. Definately one to look out for as it tours the UK. Click here for tour dates.

By Gemma

Turkish teens' Trestle taster!

2009-10-15T03:31:00.000-07:00

Last week Trestle Arts Base was buzzing with the sound of Turkish teenagers, Uskudar International School were in the building!

Embarking on an intensive theatre residency the eighth graders took a four day journey through Trestle's established mask techniques and into the unmasked physical storytelling that has characterised Trestle's work since 2004.

The work concluded with a sharing of favourite ideas that had been explored for each other, Trestle staff and colleagues.

"I don't have to rely on my voice" remarked student Tessa, on being asked what she would take with her from the project. "I know now that my body is powerful on stage."

Uskudar hope to return to Trestle next year for a similar experience, but meanwhile they will take back Trestle's unique Flamenco, Indian and Polish styles of working to inspire their colleagues and create a show in April.

Trestle Taking Part works with schools, universities, professional and community organisations worldwide to devise and run workshops, residencies and projects.

By Anna.

Looking for an MA in Drama and Education? Look no further...

2009-10-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of our inaugural MA in Education (Drama) which we are jointly running with Middlesex University. The three-year part time masters programme is designed for teachers and lecturers of Drama, Theatre Studies and Performing Arts and will be run at Trestle Arts Base, Trestle's home in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

There is a growing trend of educational institutions and theatre companies joining forces to deliver post-graduate programmes - Polish theatre company Teatr Pieśń Kozla (Song of the Goat) and Manchester Metropolitan University's joint MA springs to mind for instance. However, this is the only instance of a professional theatre company and university co-creating and delivering an education drama MA in Britain.

It's also great to be continuing our long relationship with Middlesex - Trestle's founding members were all performing arts students at the university back in the 1970s. Inspired by their course tutor, John Wright, the students set up the Company in 1981 and established Trestle as one of Britain’s leading theatre companies.

Oliver Jones, Trestle's Associate Director said, “All the hallmarks of Trestle’s work: physicality, storytelling, and devising, are now at the heart of the drama and theatre studies curriculum, and it is a perfect time to launch what we are hoping will be a very successful and sustainable MA degree”.

Interested? Contact Programme Leaders Kevin Morris (Middlesex) on 0208 411 4310 or Oliver Jones (Trestle) on 01727 850 950 or at takingpart@trestle.org.uk for more information.

By Gemma

The Glass Mountain Press Night

2009-10-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

We held a press night last week for our latest production, The Glass Mountain, at the Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol.

We had a great turn out. The Bristol press came out in force and we were delighted to have members of the arts industry press, as well as theatre bloggers in attendance. We were also thrilled to have our friends from Radiowski BCfm (Polish community radio programme) who brought along the most amazing feast of Polish treats for us all to enjoy. Here are some photo's from the night...

The cast go through notes with Director, Emily Gray before the show opens

Emily and cast member Jacek after the show

Cast member Sean chats with Basia from Radiowski BCfm

The amazing Polish bread that was devoured on the night

Technical Stage Manager Becky and cast members Lenka and Jacek enjoy a well deserved drink

We've already had some great reviews come in. Check out this 4 star review from What's On Stage. The Glass Mountain continues its tour of the UK - this week we're heading up north to Pocklington and Scarborough and then onto the Unity Theatre in Liverpool. Click here for the full tour schedule.

By Gemma

Sean Gets Physical...

2009-09-23T07:13:00.000-07:00

Sean plays the role of the King in our new production The Glass Mountain, which starts its UK tour tomorrow. Of course we knew he was a great actor but had no idea he could pull such fine aerobics moves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7OgOmVuVyo

If you want to see more of him... check out the tour schedule for a theatre near you.

By Gemma

What would you do if you had your time on the Fourth Plinth?

2009-09-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

One performed the Time Warp, another dressed as a giant turd and one graduate even scored himself a job for his efforts. What do these people have in common? They have all had their one hour up on the Forth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.

Since 6 July 2009, every hour, 24 hours a day, people from across the UK have been performing, demonstrating or simply just, well, standing there. The brainchild of sculptor Anthony Gormley, One and Other has turned the usually empty Fourth Plinth into a living monument and ‘a representation of the whole of humanity’. While some critics have debated its merit as a work of art, One and Other has certainly captured the publics imagination with 500,000 people having watched the live web stream and countless newspaper column inches been dedicated to the project.

This Sunday 13 September between 10 and 11am, Caroline McCarthy will have her hour up on the Plinth. Caroline has Systemic Lupus (lupus), which is an autoimmune disease. Like me you might not have not heard of lupus (apparently it has very similar side affects to ME and MS), which is I guess the very reason why Caroline is using her time up on the plinth to create awareness around this debilitating condition.

Caroline is 23 years old. She was diagnosed with lupus when she was at university doing a drama degree. It was during a university lecture that she had a blood clot caused by a secondary condition triggered by lupus. Unfortunately she had to pull out of her degree while she recovered but did manage to graduate some years later. Today, Caroline runs a successful drama school in Birmingham.

Up on the plinth, Caroline will be using the aid of masks (Trestle masks, in fact) to convey the emotions and feelings that she and fellow sufferers of lupus regularly endure. The masks, she told me, would 'allow her to demonstrate in a very visual way what lupus does to a person'.

If you can’t get down to Trafalgar Square you can watch the live web stream or follow the Plinthwatch Twitter feed.

By Gemma

2009-09-10T04:32:00.000-07:00

We may have only just packed up Lola’s bloomers, castanets and whip but rehearsals have already begun for our next production.

The Glass Mountain tells the story of Olek, a Polish baker who boards a bus for England only to find himself on a much bigger journey than he bargained.

The impetus for the show came from Emily Gray, our Artistic Director's interest in finding a meeting point between the enormously respected theatre made by Grotowski influenced theatre companies in Poland (such as Song of the Goat and Gardzienice) and the struggles experienced by recent Polish immigrants to England.

Trestle is based in St Albans, Hertfordshire where there is a large Polish community. During the shows development we held a series of hertbatkas (Polish tea parties). While not based on any one persons account, the stories shared at these events helped inform the characterisation of Olek and gave us a greater understanding of the migrant experience.

Featuring a cast of four, The Glass Mountain fuses traditional Polish theatre techniques and Eastern European traditions of singing stories with Trestle's process of devising physical storytelling theatre. Traditionally, Polish theatre is an intensely dramatic theatrical experience, however we hope to balance this with the humour, empathy and playfulness that Trestle has become renowned.

The Glass Mountain is touring the UK from 24 September - 14 November including the Tobacco Factory in Bristol, Hat Factory in Luton, Unity Theatre in Liverpool and Theatre Royal Wakefield. Click here for the full tour schedule.

By Gemma

Have you ever been to the theatre alone?

2009-08-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I went to the cinema on my own. It's something I do every now and again - especially when my husband isn't up for viewing the latest "chick flick" (this time it was Coco Before Chanel). I must say I quite enjoy going solo - you can sit wherever you want (my preference is always in the middle and slighly right of screen) and you don't have to share the popcorn.

Whilst waiting for the movie to start I was reminded of the SATC episode when Charlotte exclaims in horror "...but you can't go to the movies alone on date night" in response to Carrie's admission that she'd been to the movies on her own. Of course you can and many people do. Indeed I wasn't the only person there flying solo that night.

And so I got to thinking, would I ever go to the theatre on my own? I've never done so up until now. But why is that? Why is it any different to going to the movies sans friends? Is it because I feel that somehow theatre is more deserved of a bigger audience (and by that I mean myself and at least a plus one) or do I revel too much in the obligatory post show debate with friends?

It's ironic perhaps that for someone in marketing who is responsible for audience development that I can't even explain the logic (or lack there of) behind my own behaviour as a consumer. I guess that's is why major corporations pay the big bucks for extensive research into this very thing. So without a definative answer I think I will end this blog with the very question that inspired it... have you ever gone to the theatre alone?

By Gemma

People are "dying" to get their show noticed at the Fringe

2009-08-17T09:02:00.000-07:00

I spent alot of time on the Royal Mile while up in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival. Like its name suggests, this is a pedestrian street exactly one mile long and at the heart of the Edinburgh Fringe.

At all times of the day it is absolutely heaving with people promoting their shows; they cajole, coax, bribe, plead and beg people to come and see their show in favour of one of the other 2089 on offer at this years Festival.

People will do just about anything to get noticed. I've stepped over people playing dead in the middle of the street, had to duck under a clothes line lined with ladies underwear, and then there are the costumes...

It's fair to say that pretty much anything goes at the Edinburgh Fringe. I've even been told about a bar where people can plug their show to punters for free - just as long as they do it in the nude - and I hear there have been no shortage of people willing to do just that!!!

By Gemma

Twinge-tastic!!!

2009-08-12T04:33:00.000-07:00

I was excited and somewhat bemused to discover yesterday that Lola has been given a "karma" rating of 68 - indeed the top "karma" score for a physical and dance theatre show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Ironic really given that the woman herself didn't have the cleanest of conscience.

This "karma" rating comes courtesy of EdTwinge, "a real-time, Twitter-based review service". The site collects all the zillions of tweets sent about the festival and reveals who is getting the most "noise" on Twitter. It then generates a "karma" rating for each show ranking them in order of positivity.

The site states that it believes that lots of people saying the same thing is much more meaningful than just one or two. Indeed EdTwinge claims to let you "put your trust in the wisdom on the many" - the topic of much discussion yesterday with articles in both The Guardian and The Stage commenting on the ploriferation of audience based reviews as a direct result of social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Mark Shenton from The Stage stated in his blog "it will shortly be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff". He does have a point of course but I for one am all for audience based reviews (probably because I write them). Although like every professional critics review they should be used as a guide only and read in conjunction with other commentary. But at the end of the day isn't it what you, the individual audience member, thinks of the show that really counts?

Alas our "karma" rating has taken a bit of a nose dive today with a rating of 49 (down to 6th spot). Come on Edinburgh - make some "noise" for Lola!!

By Gemma

Celebrity Spot (Part 1)

2009-08-10T14:51:00.001-07:00

Two celebrity spots today at the Edinburgh Fringe although one was arguably more exciting and slightly more credible than the other.

Spot 1: The gorgeous Lauren Laverne filming for The Culture Show in the Pleasance Courtyard.

Spot 2: The actor that played the gay priest in Hollyoaks who recently died at the hands of the evil Nile (Myra McQueen's illigitimate son, not the river) queuing for tickets outside the Assembly Dome.

Speaking of celebrities, the infamous Spanish dancer and courtesan, Lola Montez, took to the stage for the first time last night at the New Town Theatre (Fringe Venue 7). It was a great show and the people of Edinburgh came out in their droves to see the most famous woman in the world tell the truth about her many lives and loves. Don't miss your chance to see the lady who shocked Europe! Until 30 August, 6.45pm, New Town Theatre, 96 George Street, Edinburgh

By Gemma

Tonight's the Night

2009-08-09T04:08:00.000-07:00

The heavens have opened here in Edinburgh but nothing is going to dampen our spirits. Lola opens tonight at New Town Theatre (Fringe Venue 7) and we are champing at the bit to officially start our 2009 Edinburgh Fringe adventure. Preview ticket prices are available for tonight and tomorrow night's performances - tickets just £7 and available through www.edfringe.com, www.univeralartsfestival.com or at the door.

If Lola whets your appetite for more flamenco beats, stick around to see our good friend Ricardo Garcia in Flamenco Jazz Late Night also at the New Town Theatre every night throughout the festival at 11.10pm.

We hope to see you there!

By Gemma

A very good start to the day...

2009-08-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

We were very excited this morning to read over our breakfasts that Lola has been recommended by ThreeWeeks as one of the their top three physical theatre shows at this years Edinburgh Fringe. Hoorah!!!

I'm taking 'Lola' to the Meet the Media event later this afternoon. I must admit I do fear for their safety... this is the woman who once horse whipped a journalist who dared publish a bad review of her famous spider dance. Edinburgh critics beware - Lola Montez has a whip and she ain't afraid to use it!

Don't miss your chance to meet 'the most famous woman in the world'. Lola: The Life of Lola Montez opens tomorrow at New Town Theatre (Fringe Venue 7). 9 - 30 Aug, 6.45pm. Box Office: 0844 477 1000.

By Gemma

Let the show begin...

2009-08-07T03:04:00.000-07:00

We've arrived in Edinburgh for the Fringe and the sun is shining down on us; a good omen surely especially as we've heard it's bucketing down in London (who would have thought you had to come to Scotland for the good weather)!!

Our brand new tour van departed St Albans at 11am yesterday after much hilarity trying to fit everything in and only an hour behind schedule. After one false start having realised 5 minutes into our journey that we'd left a prop behind, we turned onto the M1 and there we stayed for the next 9 hours and 38 minutes.

Natalie our Administrative Producer took the helm behind the wheel with Emily (Artistic Director) and Fi (Miss Eliza Gilbert) up front and our lovely General Assistant Sam sandwiched between Georgie (the one and only Lola Montez) and I (Marketing Manager) in the back. A couple of pit stops and countless jelly babies later we made it to Edinburgh just before the sun set. After a quick run through with Neil our tech guru and with our bellies full of yummy pasta (thanks Nat!) we all stumbled into bed about midnight.

And so it is day 1 one of our Edinburgh adventure. Let the mayhem and madness of the Fringe begin...

By Gemma

Lola Montez continues to cause a scandal!

2009-08-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

If you’ve seen the papers over the past few days, you’re likely to have come across the story of Madonna’s latest indiscretion. As featured in The Guardian - http://tiny.cc/ii3jF - love letters between Madonna and an old boyfriend have surfaced and are up for auction. What caught our attention here at Trestle is that Madonna used the pseudonym "Lola Montez" – the infamous 19th century dancer and courtesan and the subject of our latest production – Lola: The Life of Lola Montez.

Ironically our Artistic Director, Emily Gray, has often referred to Lola as the Madonna of her age. Like Madonna she was the queen of reinvention, someone who practised sexual liberation and created public dramas.

Lola Montez was one of the most infamous and mysterious figures of the 19th century. Born into humble Irish beginnings, Eliza Rosanna Gilbert spent her childhood in India but her “spoilt and half-wild ways” saw her sent back to Britain to boarding school. At 16 she eloped with her mother’s lover but soon divorced him and set her ambitions on a life upon the stage.

Reinventing herself as the Spanish dancer Lola Montez, she travelled the world performing her famous spider dance and seducing many powerful and influential men along the way. At times she was the most famous woman in the world: just as much for her personal antics as those on stage. This is the woman who once brought her pet bear to a court case, horse-whipped a journalist for writing a less than complimentary review of her show, and held the first ever press conference. And then there were her many ‘conquests’ - French novelist Alexandre Dumas, Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt and King Ludwig I of Bavaria, just to name a few. Lola died of syphilis in her late 30s, penniless and alone. Quite possibly the original tabloid celebrity you might say?

And so back to Madonna and her love letters. While Madonna might not be too pleased that she finds herself the centre of attention, we at Trestle are all secretly chuffed that Lola can continue to cause a scandal, even from the grave!!!

Don’t miss Lola at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 9 – 30 August at the New Town Theatre (Venue 7), Freemasons’ Hall, 96 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3DH. Box office: 0844 477 1000 or www.universalartsfestival.com.

By Gemma