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Guest blog post from Sam at Norwich Puppet Theatre

16/9/2014

My name is Sam - I am an intern at the Norwich Puppet Theatre which has been dedicated to improving the life of the community through the creative arts for the last 35 years. Now, we want to celebrate this by putting on the best Christmas show possible for Norwich and Norfolk; and we need YOUR help to do it!

We have launched a Kickstarter project today to put on a Christmas show in December called Beauty and the Beast to celebrate the commencement of our 35th year anniversary as an inspirational centre of puppetry and related arts. The aim is to reach £2,000 to help us do several things that otherwise would not be possible;

It will help us to renovate our marionette bridge which hasn't been used in over 20 years; mixing and celebrating different kinds of puppetry and arts over the years (including shadow puppetry, marionettes and even digital animation) is a fundamental part of the show.

Create brand new and very versatile puppets designed to visually amaze the whole family.
Fund three of puppetry's newest talents to come on board as interns and help develop their future puppetry careers.

This project is about celebrating the past, the present and the future of puppetry, which is what makes it so exceptional. Norwich Puppet Theatre is one of three puppetry centres in the UK and has been providing fantastic puppetry shows and informative workshops for nearly 35 years now and, along with puppetry as a medium, it is a heritage that demands to be celebrated!

The link to the Kickstarter page itself can be found on the following link; https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/631102446/beauty-and-the-beast-1

Best wishes,
Sam Richards
Marketing Assistant Intern
Norwich Puppet Theatre
St James, Whitefriars, Norwich NR3 1TN
Tel Box Office 01603 629921; Administration 01603 615564; Fax 01603 617578

www.puppettheatre.co.uk

Full programme details are on our website or call for a copy to be sent to you.
Norwich Puppet Theatre Trust Ltd is a registered charity (271041) and a company limited by guarantee (England 1243558), and is VAT registered 289 7057 04.

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Symphony by nabokov at The Garage Saturday 6 September 8pm

6/9/2014

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Book tickets
www.thegarage.org.uk

SYMPHONY by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne and Tom Wells

Theatre meets live gig and stand-up comedy as three of the UK's hottest writers collaborate with Fringe First winning new writing company nabokov to present a hilarious and eclectic mix of stories told through raucous live music and spoken word.

First commissioned by Lyric Hammersmith, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, Watford Palace Theatre and Latitude

★★★★★
The New Current
"touchingly beautiful and powerfully frank... an unmissable gem"

★★★★★

The Public Reviews
" treads a blurred line between theatre and gig…one of the highlights of the programme"

“Three plays about growing-up, relationships and romance are belted out by an incredibly versatile five piece that not only act their socks off but sing and accompany each other on a variety of instruments.”
The Stage

"Overflowed with witty heartfelt lyrics and dialogue. A cross between a gig, a musical and a spoken-word event"
The Guardian

"Perfectly pitched, funny and at times strangely emotional, the detail and observational wit is flawless."
Exeunt

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Culture Shift update 5 September 2014

6/9/2014

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This week I have been to see theatre company nabokov perform a warm-up of their show Symphony at the Fat Cat Brewery Tap pub in Sprowston Road - the Fat Cat Tap is a great pub and often has music/bands there but I think this Edinburgh Fringe show was new for them. It was excellent though, sort of story-telling through the medium of a band. Very good musicians as well as actors. And a great pint too! The full Symphony show is at The Garage this Saturday 6th September, 8pm and it kicks off a whole season of contemporary touring theatre, much of it fresh from Edinburgh Fringe

I have also been to see the MA shows at the Norwich University of the Arts. It was also an opportunity to see their remodelled building - last time I was there it was a loading bay, now it is a beautiful access to the Gunton building in St George's Street.

I got there a bit late and didn't see all of the work but did get to see some interesting work by multi-media artist Tracey Tutt using augmented reality and also a guy called Andy who made an interactive particle installation - you have to go and see for yourself, I can't explain it!. The MA shows are open for a week so don't delay.

The Lonely Arts Club also opened an exhibition in the Undercroft at the back of Norwich Market. It's there until the end of September and open 12-5pm each day except Sunday. It's called (Un)Imaginable and there is some lovely work there by a rapidly growing group of artists.

Tonight I am going to see Roger Eno at Norwich Arts Centre. For those of you who don't know him, he is the brother of Brian Eno, made famous through Roxy Music and a well-known career in music and art ever since. Roger is less of a household name but in fact a very accomplished composer and pianist who does a lot of film score work, as well as his own artistic and installation work. Roger lives near Bungay and does a concert at the Arts Centre about once a year. He is a really interesting performer and well worth hearing live. I think there are still tickets so if you are not already booked for something else, please come along. Norwich Arts Centre are also launching a new visual art exhibition in the foyer so come early

Tonight is also Norwich Baroque playing at St Stephen's Church - an Evening in Italy at 7.30pm and they are also playing at Binham Priory tomorrow evening. Details on www.musicinnorwich.org.uk

Noirwich crime-writing festival - excited about the new Hercules Poirot novel event of Thurs 11th
Next week, the new crime-writing festival begins, Noirwich (I am not sure whether that's cheesy or funny) and I am going to make sure I go and see writer Sophie Hannah's event at Norwich Playhouse on Thursday 11th 8pm. Sophie was commissioned to write a new Hercules Poirot novel, given that the great Christie woman herself never will. I love murder mysteries and Poirot in particular and I am keen to meet the woman who is attempting to fill Agatha's shoes. She will be talking with Christie expert John Curran. Again, there are tickets available either via the Writers' Centre Norwich website or at Norwich Playhouse. There are lots of other good events as part of Noirwich including writing workshops, readings and film.

Words and women's short prose competition 'ABOUT' is open for entries: fiction, memoire, creative non-fiction and life-writing
First prize £600 & publication in our anthology Words and Women: 2
20 shortlisted entries will also be published. Judge Sarah Ridgard
DEADLINE: 15th November, 2014.
'ABOUT' is open for entries...
see http://wordsandwomennorwich.blogspot.co.uk/p/about.html

Seachange's OUT THERE Festival - masterclass/workshop weekend
A unique opportunity for artists, street performers and students…
Anarchy in the Streets: Sat 13 - Sun 21 Sep

Discover your inner anarchist!
Anarchy in the Streets brings together three of the world’s leading anarchic street theatre companies to lead a 7 day master class and performance opportunity at this year’s Out There International Festival of Circus & Street Arts in Great Yarmouth.

Members of Cocoloco, Tony Clifton Circus and street arts pioneers, Générik Vapeur take classes covering improvisation, surrealism and characterisation before an epic 2 days of performance at this major international festival.

They are also looking for choir members so if you like to sing please get in touch.
For further information http://www.seachangearts.org.uk/event/-anarchy-in-the-streets

Out There 2014 takes place 17-21 September, features 50 international acts and will this year have around 100 leading circus and street arts professionals attending as part of an international symposium. www.outtherefestival.com

Coming up on Friday 10 October is a great event in St Lawrences Church, part of Norwich Sound & Vision Festival.
It's a screening of the classic silent Gothic film Nosferatu (1922 version) with a live soundtrack by renowned musicians Minima who specialise in making contemporary soundtracks to silent film. Before the screening will be readings by 5 award-winning contemporary writers who work in the Gothic genre, plus a bar with Bloody Marys and other lovelies, all in the atmospheric candlelit church. It might be chilling in more ways than one so dress up warm and book your tickets £10 or £8 in advance book via www.write2screen.org.uk .

That's all for now, have a good weekend and there will be more next week.

Culture Shift updates are a free resource which

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Culture Shift 30 August, 2014

5/9/2014

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Nice to see some sunshine again. I am off on another trip, North Wales this time but before I go I thought I would send a few notices. I have more but you will have to wait till next week.

There are a couple of events that accompany the current Wonder of Birds exhibition at Norwich Castle. Also last chance to see Inspired by Birds, the Open Art Show which end 31 August. Tickets for events are available from Norwich Castle .

Symphony is a new theatre show, just back from Edinburgh Fringe and heading for The Garage on Saturday 6 September. It kicks off a whole new season of new writing and theatre at The Garage, who also have a new logo to celebrate their 10th birthday with - plus a whole series of celebratory events. More details are below.

And there is a Norwich Hackspace Meetup on Monday 1 September 6pm at the new Mash Tun pub. Details are here and we have worked a deal with the Mash Tun so that Norwich Hackers can get a £1 off a pint of Redwell Hells Craft beer so it's also a great opportunity to sample the beer and the new-look pub (it used to be the Hog in Armour but is now owned by Redwell)

The ever-popular Norwich Print Fair is coming up at St Margaret's Church 8-20 September so lots is going on as usual. More details below

Calling all artists, musicians, performers - anyone who has an idea and would like to do something a bit different.
Norwich Fringe Festival is issuing a last call for submissions.
Calling artists, musicians, performers, writers, comedians or anyone with an idea for something unusual and creative Norwich Fringe Festival is looking for you.

Norwich Fringe dates this year are 11 to 25 October and we need to get going.
Submissions have been open for a few months and we have some great things in store. But we have a few more days before we close the books so if you have something you want to do please get in touch.

We have some lovely venues and spaces:

We have Undercroft beneath the Memorial Gardens for the entire month of October and we can now host performance there as well as visual art. So this will be our base and we aim to programme events and workshops as well as art exhibitions.

The Wharf Academy in Oak Street is another brilliant venue. It's a church with a huge space and a smaller gallery space. It's ideal for theatre performance, readings and mic as well as having wall space for visual art.

And the new Mash Tun which used to be known as the Hog in Armour. It's under new management and owned by Redwell Brewery who are great supporters of the arts.

And The Birdcage, already legendary for their range of arts activities as well as being a great pub.
Franks Bar has also joined the list with an art exhibition space.

As well as these we will be calling on some of our old friends, venues that have hosted The Fringe in the past. So if your idea needs a specific kind if place we can usually find the right venue.
It's a festival of homegrown talent, if you have something to show, please get in touch

To apply, there's a form on the Fringe website www.norwichfringefestival.co.uk. We are asking £10 submission fee to help us pay for marketing materials and tech support as the Fringe is unfunded. If you want to talk about your idea before filling in the form, please email [email protected]k
and we will let you know at we think so that you can decide whether to apply.

Inspired by Birds: Norwich Castle Open Art Show
Visitors have been snapping up original art work at Inspired by Birds, this year's Open Art Show. The works have been created by artists living and working in East Anglia - and all of it is for sale. To date they have
sold 56 pieces worth over £10,000.
With prices for individual pieces starting from as little as £28, you might like to treat yourself.
Inspired by Birds runs until 31 August.

Norwich Castle presents....
Two special events supporting The Wonder of Birds and Inspired by Birds.

Golden Gobblers: The Turkey in Art and Life - Weds 3 Sept, 5.45 to 8pm. Dr Tom Duncan presents this year's National Art Fund lecture. Price £12.

Why are Birds Wonderful? Sat 6 Sept, 10am to 4.30pm. A study day with writer and environmentalist Mark Cocker, who will lead a panel of expert speakers including Katrina van Grouw, Adrian Marsden, Mike Toms, Francesca Vanke and David Waterhouse. Price £30, Museums Pass £27; includes refreshments and lunch.

For details and to book tickets, telephone 01603 495897.

Happy Birthday to The Garage, Norwich
The Garage Norwich is about to celebrate its 10th birthday and it has changed a lot in that time. It has been known as a venue for young people since the outset, some people saw it as a kind of Fame Academy for kids from North Earlham, Larkman and Marlpit and indeed it was originally funded by NELM as a way of getting young people to come into the bright lights of the city centre to broaden their horizons.

And they did - dance groups proliferated and there were a number of real successes - Passion Productions, a street dance group led by Scott 'Scooby' Atkins started in his aunt's garage and was nurtured by the Garage team. The group is still very busy and productive and are seen everywhere, and Scott has pursued a professional career in dance.

But The Garage is much more than a place for dance workshops. It is a venue and theatre in its own right and each year has season's of programmed shows, specialising in new writing and adventurous theatre which appeals to all audiences, including young people - though it is probably fair to say it is not aimed at those who 'like what they like'. I have been to many shows at The Garage and there have been many surprises in both direction. Normally the shows are about an hour long and it is well worth taking the risk of something that defies easy description - they are normally the most interesting.

New season of theatre at The Garage
Anyway, coming up is a whole new season, kicking off with this show by nabokov who brought BLINK to Norwich last year - a Valentine love story

This year, they have brought Symphony which is at The Garage on Saturday 6 September. This time, the cast are members of a rock band who play as they tell stories about life as they see it. Tickets can be booked at http://www.thegarage.org.uk/symphony-eid533.html and there are 3 for 2 deals and cheaper tickets fro young people. They are also doing some warm-up performances at The fat Cat Brewery Tap (Wednesday 3 September 8pm), St Gregory's Green (Thursday 4 September approx 12.30-2pm) and The Forum (Friday 5 September 12.30-2pm)

SYMPHONY by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne and Tom Wells
Theatre meets live gig and stand-up comedy as three of the UK's hottest writers collaborate with Fringe First winning new writing company nabokov to present a hilarious and eclectic mix of stories told through raucous live music and spoken word.

Symphony was first commissioned by Lyric Hammersmith, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, Watford Palace Theatre and Latitude

“Three plays about growing-up, relationships and romance are belted out by an incredibly versatile five piece that not only act their socks off but sing and accompany each other on a variety of instruments.”
The Stage

"Overflowed with witty heartfelt lyrics and dialogue. A cross between a gig, a musical and a spoken-word event" 
The Guardian

Out There Festival, Great Yarmouth, 17-21st September.

The Out There Festival in Great Yarmouth hosts a bumper programme of international circus and street arts this September,
It's always a great few days and if the weather is good you can't beat this east coast extravaganza of outdoor arts.
http://www.seachangearts.org.uk/out-there

Circulus presents, in association with the National Centre for Circus Arts
SILVER LINING
Friday 19 September, 7.30pm. The Hippodrome, Great Yarmouth
Tickets: £10, 01493 844172 / www.hippodromecircus.co.uk
Part of the Out There International Festival of Circus & Street Arts (17-21 Sep)

Silver Lining sees some of Britain’s freshest, most exciting circus talent come together for a showcase performance at Great Yarmouth’s Hippodrome.

The group, all graduates of the National Centre for Circus Arts in London, features Tom Gaskin, a young man who began his personal circus journey at the historic Great Yarmouth venue, working in various roles including spotlight operator and stage manager before being bitten by the performing bug.

Tom’s old school juggling and silent movie style comedy form one part of a show that sees vibrant young exponents of the Cyr Wheel, hand balancing, aerial hoop and acrobatics showcase their skills.

With artful direction, this tight group skip through a fluid and fast paced series of ingenious sketches that bring to the fore, not only their individual and collective talents, but also their genuine camaraderie.

Brimming with infectious energy, clever humour and music this disparate group of uniquely talented individuals deliver an explosive, feel-good show. Their ambitious artistry carefully packaged in fabulously charming circus show.

You can catch Silver Lining at this year’s Out There Festival on Friday 19 September at 7.30pm at the Hippodrome. Tickets are £10 and are available from the venue on 01493 844172 or online atwww.hippodromecircus.co.uk The Out There Festival runs from Wednesday 17 to Sunday 21 September. Further information: www.outtherefestival.com

I will let you know some more Norwich delights very soon.

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Symphony by nabokov : More excellent theatre and new writing come to Norwich

5/9/2014

0 Comments

The Garage Norwich is about to celebrate its 10th birthday and it has changed a lot in that time. It has been known as a venue for young people since the outset, some people saw it as a kind of Fame Academy for kids from North Earlham, Larkman and Marlpit and indeed it was originally funded by NELM as a way of getting young people to come into the bright lights of the city centre to broaden their horizons.

And they did - dance groups proliferated and there were a number of real successes - Passion Productions, a street dance group led by Scott 'Scooby' Atkins started in his aunt's garage and was nurtured by the Garage team. The group is still very busy and productive and are seen everywhere, and Scott has pursued a professional career in dance.

But The Garage is much more than a place for dance workshops. It is a venue and theatre in its own right and each year has season's of programmed shows, specialising in new writing and adventurous theatre which appeals to all audiences, including young people - though it is probably fair to say it is not aimed at those who 'like what they like'. I have been to many shows at The Garage and there have been many surprises in both direction. Normally the shows are about an hour long and it is well worth taking the risk of something that defies easy description - they are normally the most interesting.

Anyway, coming up is a whole new season, kicking off with this show by nabokov who brought BLINK to Norwich last year - a Valentine love story

This year, they have brought Symphony. This time, the cast are members of a rock band who play as they tell stories about life as they see it. Tickets can be booked at
http://www.thegarage.org.uk/symphony-eid533.html

SYMPHONY by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne and Tom Wells
Theatre meets live gig and stand-up comedy as three of the UK's hottest writers collaborate with Fringe First winning new writing company nabokov to present a hilarious and eclectic mix of stories told through raucous live music and spoken word.

Symphony was first commissioned by Lyric Hammersmith, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, Watford Palace Theatre and Latitude

★★★★★
The New Current
"touchingly beautiful and powerfully frank... an unmissable gem"

★★★★★
The Public Reviews
" treads a blurred line between theatre and gig…one of the highlights of the programme"

“Three plays about growing-up, relationships and romance are belted out by an incredibly versatile five piece that not only act their socks off but sing and accompany each other on a variety of instruments.”

The Stage

"Overflowed with witty heartfelt lyrics and dialogue. A cross between a gig, a musical and a spoken-word event"
The Guardian

"Perfectly pitched, funny and at times strangely emotional, the detail and observational wit is flawless."
Exeunt

0 Comments

Guest blog post from Sam at Norwich Puppet Theatre

Symphony by nabokov at The Garage Saturday 6 September 8pm

Culture Shift update 5 September 2014

Culture Shift 30 August, 2014

Symphony by nabokov : More excellent theatre and new writing come to Norwich

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