Blintzes and blitzes

Blimey! I can't quite believe it's been almost four months since we last updated the blog. It won't happen again, I can promise that. Because right now we're 'all stations go'. Unfortunately we have been forced to postpone 'Beowulf' to another year, but we're not letting that stop us. Instead, we have two projects planned for the remainder of 2008:

The first is our ongoing 'Invisibilitie' work, which has evolved from our 'Everyday Fairytales' performances. A series of 'invisible theatre' events across Cambridge City Centre designed to make people smile as they go about their business. The first of these is THE GREAT BIG RED PICNIC on Sunday 25th May at midday. We're hoping it will be the biggest picnic Cambridge has ever seen, so we're going to need hundreds of people to attend. So if you fancy taking your lunch in the (hopefully) glorious sunshine, eating good food and meeting new people do come along. All you need is to bring some food to share and wear an item of red clothing. It should be great fun and we hope to see you there!

The second is our promenade production of ROMEO AND JULIET set in 1940s London during the Blitz. With some of the beautiful, melancholy music of that period combined with an energetic ensemble of 8 performing all the roles, it should be a really original production of the play. We're going to be casting in a few weeks' time so sign up to the mailing list or keep checking the website if you'd lie to be kept updated about auditions.

More soon, and hope to see you at the picnic!

Progress

With six or so projects going on at once, it's been a bit tricky finding time to update the Mutabilitie website. I've had a burst of website creativity over the past few days, though: not only am I writing this now, I've also managed to add a gallery to the main website - http://www.mutabilitie.com/gallery.html. You can see the best photos from 'Everyday Fairytales' all in one place.

I really wanted to use this time to make a belated comment on the proposed Arts Council cuts that have caused such a furore in the theatre world recently. I must say that I'm not against the funding cuts per se; I do think that the Arts Council has to be more transparent in its decisions and include the industry in its process. However, I've read all the articles and arguments, and signed all the petitions, but over this time I have been coming to two conclusions.

The first is that theatre has and continues to rely too heavily on funding bodies as its primary (and sometimes only) source of income. There have got to be other ways of gaining upfront money, whether from companies or individuals. I know that it's almost more difficult to gain any decent amount of sponsorship from companies, but individual support of theatre through donations is, statistics show, the fastest growing source of income for theatre companies, if only we would harness it more. As such, if anyone reading this is feeling in an affluent and generous mood, please remember that Mutabilitie could do with some cash...

The second conclusion is that we have to make people - and by people I mean non-traditional audiences - aware of the worthwhile nature of the arts. I've read a lot over the past few weeks from people questioning the validity of theatre, wondering why it should be funded out of taxpayers money. And it's true that any company supported by the ACE has a duty to the taxpayer to put on something 'good', whatever that awful word may really mean. But it's about more than that - it's about changing people's minds about theatre and the arts (with the possible exception of film) in general. We have to remind them that theatre is part of what makes us human - what separates us from animals. It is a ritual. It is a time and a place when a multitude of unrelated people come together to enjoy and share an experience. Theatrical traditions stretch backs thousands of years and are woven so thoroughly into our everyday interactions that we don't even notice them anymore. We have to remind people that theatre is not just for the privileged, the educated and the wealthy. 'Every savage can dance' - that's something to celebrate. We have to get the public - theatre-goers and non alike - behind us if we want the arts to survive unscathed.

The next question, I suppose, it how are we supposed to garner this public support? The answer is, I don't know. What I do think is that it has to first come from us. We have to stop bickering about which is better - new writing or new work (and really they're the same, surely?) - and which deserves funding more; we have to stop writing and saying derogatory things about each other in public forums (mentioning no names). On the other hand, seeing my fellow young directors protesting in Trafalgar Square on Tuesday (see http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/19556/hundreds-gather-in-the-west-end-to-protest) was magnificent, and I wish I had not been too ill to be there with them. That's the sort of teamwork that theatre is all about, and it's the sort of teamwork that will help us most when it comes to getting the public on our side.

Reading this post back I realise it sounds terribly naive. But perhaps that's a good thing - you have to believe something can change in order to change it, and if that means being naive, then so be it.

What Holly does when she procrastinates:

The writing reads:

-What are you doing?

-Oh the usual - funding applications... job applications... venue applications... grant reports...

- ARGH! I didn't sign up to write stuff like in a proper job! I just wanna be in a rehearsal room!

And they lived happily ever after...

First things first - Merry Christmas to all our Mutabilitie fans, friends and performers!
Our Everyday Fairytales project came to an end on Sunday, just before the Christmas festivities began, with a fantastic finale.

We've even enjoyed proof of our impact upon the city. We've had people come up to us to ask where the street theatre they'd seen the flyers of was taking place. We've had people randomly contact Holly to ask where to be and when. And we've enjoyed entertaining everyone who's stopped to watch or simply passed by.

I also noticed a transformation in our performers' approach towards our outings. On our first performance back at the beginning of the month we were all of us nervous, not knowing what to expect and coping by focusing on our work.


By Sunday's performance we hit the streets with confidence and an attitude that got us noticed. We knew the reactions we might receive - we'd faced most of them in previous excursions. Our inhibitions had been stripped - as performers we lay bare to all who took notice and we revelled in the experience. We not only took our work seriously, we also took a true pleasure in the absurdity of it all.

For anyone who wants to know how our story ended - here's the final part!

The Prince, having seen his father and faithful servant both murdered by the Winter Queen and her Ice Henchmen, returns to his kingdom from which he had been banished.

There, with his true love the Summer Queen, he finds the Winter Queen and her minions. Whilst the henchmen make their way towards his love, the Prince focuses on battling the Winter Queen.

The Summer Queen melts the Ice Henchmen with the love and warmth bestowed upon her and her kingdom. The mortal Prince is meanwhile struggling to fight the power of the Winter Queen.

The Summer Queen renews his strength with her love and power, giving him the determination and energy to overpower the Winter Queen, finally wrenching her face from her wintery head. She is weakened and dies.

Gathering their spirits, the Prince and the Summer Queen make their way to a safe haven, where the Summer Queen's courtiers join them.



The Prince is crowned as the rightful King and everyone celebrates.

So thank you to everyone who helped us with this project. It came off brilliantly and we learnt so much from it. If anyone saw our performances and would like to comment on them - please do on our messageboard. We're keen to get any feedback.

Here's to a very happy 2008!

The story so far...

Before our final performance tomorrow, a quick recap for anyone wishing to join us of the story so far...

The benevolent King rules the land with his young, irresponsible son the Prince not quite willing to take on the duties of royalty. Why be responsible when you can lark about?

The evil Winter Queen has her cold heart set on ruling the King's land.

She lures him into a trap before killing him.

In his pursuit of fun and frolics, the Prince had been oblivious to his father's death. On discovering this he is held back from danger by his trusted Wolf Servant. The Winter Queen banishes him from the kingdom.

The Prince embarks upon a quest to win back his father's kingdom. As he sets out across the wild land he encounters some mischievious Tree Imps who harrass him with their curious ways. He uses his cunning to make his way past by distracting them but is parted from his Wolf Servant in the process.

Now alone, he sees the Temptress. She captivates his impressionable heart with her seductive charms until he discovers her brandishing a dagger to his chest. He is able to overpower her and moves on, learning to be careful of who he trusts.

Finally our Prince's path is blocked by the Keeper. Using a new-found strength and ingenuity, the Prince fights off the Keeper who then honours him by letting him past.

Meanwhile, having realised the Prince may well return to seek revenge, the Winter Queen sends out her Ice Henchmen to follow the Prince and kill him.

Back on his journey, the Prince has finally made his way to the Summer Queen's abode where he makes his way through protective Summer Courtiers to discover the Summer Queen herself. The two fall in love and she agrees to help him in his quest.

The Prince is reunited with his loyal Wolf Servant who then meets the Summer Queen but they have been followed by the Ice Henchmen. The Wolf Servant encourages the lovers to flee whilst he stands guard ready to see off the threat.

The Summer Queen and Prince watch on helpless at a distance as the Ice Henchmen move in on the Wolf Servant. His bravery is no match for their power and with an icy chill they kill him.

So, what will happen in our final part of the story tomorrow? Come to Kings Parade in Cambridge tomorrow from 4pm, then to Parker's Piece afterwards to find out!

Socialising skills

On Sunday evening, Holly and I got into the festive spirit at the ADeC Christmas party. All dressed up in our sparkliest clothes, we attended our first networking bash as a pair to promote Mutabilitie theatre company.

I'd like to recommend the venue for this get-together - the Babylon Gallery in Ely. Not many people know of this haven for artists and artistic types. It houses the work of some of the local area's most vibrant and exciting artists - a selective collection worthy of a visit for sure. Located by the picturesque river, just a short walk from the Maltings theatre and with some lovely waterside pubs nearby, it's a great place for a Sunday afternoon stroll. Had Holly and I had more time, I'm sure we could've spent the whole afternoon there ourselves.

We joined the room of chattering sounds, bright artworks and smiling faces. Picking up one cranberry juice and one orange (we know, we must calm down our wild partying ways!) we began to let some really rather lovely people know about the wonder that is Mutabilitie.

Amongst those we spoke to were ADeC Director Jane Wilson and Events Manager Nathan Jones.

Nathan seemed fascinated by our Everyday Fairytales and hopes to come watch one of our last performances during his Christmas shopping. We can't wait to see you there Nathan! And having heard of our escapades, Jane enquired into our walkabout talents. It turns out the ever-popular Strawberry Fair needs a team of entertainers. Reflecting on our recent experiences we believe we could do a fine job! So another project may well be on its way!

Both kind souls seemed very interested in Beowulf. Thanks to the scale and depth of this piece, it is sure to be the most exciting project yet for the company. And Holly's plans for our Edinburgh Fringe play were helped by both Nathan and Jane's suggestions. We'll be letting you know more details of this asap.

So, with a productive year almost behind us we're now looking forward to a very promising 2008 ahead.

A Hat-trick!

I'm at a loss to know how we managed it. Somehow on Saturday our little team performed three times in the space of three hours across Cambridge - from Trinity Street to Cambridge Leisure. But how on earth did we do it?! Join me as I reflect on a busy afternoon to find an answer...

We at Mutabilitie like to keep busy but this afternoon was more manic than most! Driving my over-stuffed polo into town, I wasn't sure how to get the costume bundles currently nesting on the backseat of my car from the car park to our makeshift dressing room at Heffers, let alone manage the whole schedule of events that afternoon.

We owe everything to our willing volunteers. The real stars of this whole adventure, Andy, Paul, Rob, Matt and photographer Carl kept us going on Saturday. We're so indebted to them, I'm not convinced the chocolates and biscuits we keep giving them is payment enough.

So to Heffers we made it, changing in the underground warrens of the store before Holly, Radha and Radha's talented friend ventured upstairs to perform. Radha's haunting melodies told of Hans Christian Anderson fairytales. Accompanied by Matt and Paul on harmonica and percussion, the three songstresses did a fantastic job.

While this was going on overground, underground (wobbling free) were the rest of us. When Holly returned we headed to Hobson's Passage for the next phase of our cunning plan.

With delicate ballet movements, Max, Ellie, Holly and I took on the physicality of Summer Queen and courtiers. We handed out flowers to passers-by to signify love and warmth. Most people thought we wanted money in return: an example of the scepticism rife in our culture but that's another blog/rant altogether!

Our Prince discovered the Summer Queen and the two fell in love, shown through tender contact work. We think this made a decent impression - some outspoken young people yelled in our general direction that we looked like we were from Strictly Come Dancing. I'll gladly take this as a sign my costume makes me look like Kelly Brook...although Chris is far more talented than Brendan Cole.

Meanwhile Jared, our crowd-pleasing Wolf Butler, had taken his place at Cambridge Leisure park. We made our way there and whilst the Summer courtiers transformed into Ice Henchmen in the dressing rooms of the Junction Shed, the Prince and Summer Queen joined Wolf Butler outside.

The atmosphere of this expansive area took us by surprise; it proved to be the perfect setting. The modern landscape was a blank page upon which we could paint our scene and the people who walked by were in no rush, happy to stand and watch our movements for a few minutes. So Chris and I showed off our contact work and Jared sniffed around small children, to their delight. And once the Ice Henchmen appeared, even more spectacle drew the crowds in.

With our brave Wolf Butler's death, we had aimed to bring a dark shade to our fairytale and comments from crowds showed we'd succeeded. The cause of death may've only been mild-strangulation by icy ribbons but was sufficiently gruesome for people to feel real concern.

As we regrouped to shed our fairytale attire, the mood was bright, festive and optimistic - a stark contrast to that of the beginning of the afternoon! As a team, we'd made it through a challenging day, coming closer in the process and provided some onlookers with some festive entertainment on a bitterly cold December afternoon.

Holly and I are learning all the time during this project. We can see when our planning works and when it is stretched. We can see when we take on too much and how to make things more simple. We can also see that the busiest places are not always the best in which to perform; a captive audience will only be captive if they have the time to be. And perhaps, next time, we will invest in thermal underwear for all cast members.

We're continuing to bring a little magic to the cold streets of Cambridge. And to see faces like these, it's all worth it...

More Mutabilitie...

Just a couple more pictures to show you what last Wednesday was like before we embark on our next late-night shopping excursion tomorrow evening.

Whilst Holly and Toby were playing chess as Icewoman and green Keeper, Chris and I as Prince and Summer Queen made our way to the Market Square to show off our contact work (beautiful dance skills, most of which is down to Chris' fantastic strength and balance) with some stunning scenery.


It may've been extremely cold but it was worth it. Our terrific friend and photographer Carl Fletcher came along to capture some sweet moments although his evil arch-nemesis aka The Darkness (as in lack of sunlight, not the band) caused him a few difficulties. Still, with his talent, he managed to produce these gorgeous images.


So we'll be back in Cambridge city centre tomorrow evening. This time Holly, Max and I will be prowling around to entertain, excite and possibly confuse a few late-night Christmas shoppers. Who knows what we'll get up to this time! Look out for three oddly-dressed fairytale characters whilst you're grabbing those last few Chirstmas presents from the shelves...

Juxtaposed!

Well, Wednesday evening was memorable! Dressed in all our finery, Holly, Toby, Chris and I took to the streets of Cambridge - poor Jared had caught a chill from our first performance so was sensibly taking it easy at home. So the four of us strode out in character to make an impression.

And I think we did. Whilst Chris and I, as heroic Prince and Summer Queen, made our way to the Market Square to dance amidst the Christmas lights, Holly and Toby (aka Ice Henchwoman and the green Keeper)headed to Starbucks in Borders. Having ordered coffee silently with the use of a chalk and slate, the two sat down to a game of chess. We then met up in a bar to play a silent card game gambling with gem stones and trinkets. A fantasy world fully formed in some rather everyday locations. What a juxtaposition.


Hats off to Holly's innovative direction, we each had aninstruction to hold onto when our improv inspiration ran a little dry. Princely Chris searched on an old, sepia-toned map, Toby could 'block' any street with his impressive stature and I would look lovingly at red shoes in the shop windows.

Now I'm fascinated at people's reactions to what we're doing. During our daytime performances so far we've had young teenage girls applaud loudly, young teenage boys shout unmentionables at us, we've had little children stare in awe and wonder and parents smile broadly. Adults alone will usually either do their best to ignore us or smile in a confused but intrigued manner.


With Wednesday evening's frolics being past most children's bedtimes (and mine really in all honesty!) and with a sparser cast we really had nowhere to hide. As a performer it was heart-pounding but we soon found out we had to throw ourselves into it to see where it lead.

The more we engaged with people, the more they seemed to respond positively (a flyer explaining things seemed to help!). The more confidence with which we hold ourselves the stronger the impact. Sticking together as a team seemed to show it's a performance although seeing the reaction to a lone performer is fascinating as well. It is so rewarding to see any reaction on people's faces, positive, scared, confused, whatever: Cambridge has a reputation for being rather reserved so to get the people of the city responding in any way is exciting.

This project is something captivating, something absurd, something DIFFERENT. It's worth being excited about.

Mid-week fun

So usually by a Wednesday morning, the initial post-Sunday rehearsal rush of note-making and emailing Holly with absurd questions and suggestions has subsided and "normal life" of work and responsibility has resumed...

But this week, the vivid fantasy world of Everyday Fairytales is still very much at the forefront of my mind. And I'm smiling all the more for that.

Tomorrow evening Holly, Jared, Toby, Chris and I will be 'freestyling' it in Cambridge City Centre from 6.30pm - possibly in the warmth of Lion's Yard although we've yet to hear from the relevant people regarding that. I'm hoping very much we're positioned there as I will be dressed as the Summer Queen and Holly will be my Summer Courtier and, well, Summer Queens and courtiers really don't dress for winter...

Wherever we are, we will take a break from telling our Everyday Fairytale to get back to the basics of total improv. Neither we nor the audience know what will happen - we may end up attempting to purchase things from shops in our silent performance state or we may end up dancing and interacting with the crowds. Madness it may be but it certainly beats sitting at home watching Hollyoaks!

So why not join us? Hopefully we'll brighten a few people's evenings whilst they do the mad pre-Christmas late night shop. Personally I've resorted to mail order and online shopping this year - every time I'm in the city centre I'm dressed like a fantasy character and I'm mute, which makes Christmas shopping a bit harder. Maybe tomorrow evening we'll give it a go...