Tmesis Theatre Announce A Second Tour Of That’s Amore Including Five North-West Dates

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Tmesis Theatre

Tmesis Theatre have announced plans for a second tour for this Autumn of That’s Amore; it’s all about love: wanting it, having it, keeping it and losing it.

That’s Amore completed a successful UK tour earlier this year, and will now open in five venues across the North-West in Chester, Warrington (part of Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival), Northwich, Ulverston and Liverpool in October this year.

That’s Amore is a hilarious, fast-paced, passionate and emotional piece of physical theatre which explores the vast world and culture of romantic love, from chance encounters to hidden desires, and emotional extremes to the science of romance. The piece discovers the flesh and philosophy behind what makes our hearts beat faster.

Tmesis Theatre’s Elinor Randle will once again take the role of Director of the piece. This production is the first time in the company’s 10-year history that she has not performed in a Tmesis piece.

That’s Amore combines Tmesis’ trademark physicality and an ensemble of performers, with text from long-term collaborator and award-winning writer Chris Fittock, stunning visuals and a combination of popular and original music.

A Unity Commission, the play promises to be one which everyone can relate to. That’s Amore will feature a cast of four: Jennifer Essex, Adam Davies, Eleni Edipidi and Ross McCall.

Audiences can also look forward to the production talents of designer Lois Maskell, lighting designer Beccy Hillam, projection designer Sam Meech, and composer Meike Holzmann to set the scene and showcase the play’s musical and visual setting.

Artistic Director Elinor Randle commented: “After a brilliant reception to the first stage of the tour from audiences everywhere, I'm really excited to take That's Amore out to more national venues. I'm working with four hugely talented performers and a bigger and more visual new direction. The show has an amazing creative team and is a crazy, funny, emotional rollercoaster of a piece, which explores what we all want in the end, to be loved.

“We want audiences to be caught up in the moment, swept away with the excitement, confusion and agony of romance. To recognise how love strips us of our dignity and just how funny it all really is.”

The production will feature songs familiar to most audiences who have been struck by Cupid’s arrow, such as Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart; A-ha’s Take On Me; Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares To You; George Michael’s Careless Whisper, Leonard Cohen’s Take This Waltz and, of course, the title name, That’s Amore by Dean Martin.

The newest addition to Tmesis Theatre’s impressive production repertoire, That’s Amore, joins the list of successful European toured shows, following Tmesis, Memento Mori and Anima, their trilogy on life’s journey, The Dreadful Hours and Wolf Red.

View the That’s Amore promo video at http://tmesistheatre.com/performances/thats-amore/.

Physical Fest 2015

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Unity Theatre

Just one week until Liverpool's International Physical Theatre Festival returns

It is now just one week until Liverpool’s Tmesis Theatre and Physical Fest return to the city for 2015. This year’s festival runs between Friday May 22–Saturday May 30 and offers an incredibly diverse range of acts and performances that are not to be missed.

As always, Tmesis Theatre will be bringing the very best and most established artists from all corners of the globe, with companies from Italy and Spain joining the UK performers for a truly international Physical Fest.

Physical Fest will launch on Friday May 22 at The Unity Theatre with Pact with Pointlessness, a one woman performance that lies somewhere between stand up and vaudeville. A double act for one from acclaimed choreographer Wendy Houston, who created it to tackle the death of her friend, choreographer and dancer Nigel Charnock - who she performed with in DV8, the show is full of crackling wit and ridiculous movement and is a frank demonstration of how it feels to be knocked sideways by death, renegotiate and carry on.

On Saturday May 23, also at The Unity, Ship of Fools present From the Cradle to the Bin, a hilarious odyssey about being thrown on life’s scrapheap, told through live music, grotesque parody and shocking imagery. Follow Mr Whitey, an affable English gent, as he spends his final days on the edge of a broken care system. Meet inept carers, sneering owners, money hungry family members and a whole host of others who are sure to make Mr. Whitey’s final day a memorable one.

Following on from his fifteen minute debut at Physical Fest 2014, Leebo Luby has had direction from Aitor Basauri (Spymonkey) to create a new absurd and extraordinary show, Faruchio Peru is Extraordinare. On Sunday May 24 at The Bluecoat, self-proclaimed ‘showman’ Faruchio Peru is an enigma wrapped in an ego, surrounded by an unpronounceable name, in this one man clowning show. An extraordinary man in ordinary times? Or a very ordinary man in extraordinarily absurd times? What does he want? What does he mean? Is there anything Farucchio Peru cannot do? He thinks not but is he mistaken?

Monday May 25 sees a night of work in development extracts at The Joe H Makin Centre, LJMU. In a double bill of exciting new physical work, Animikii Theatre present biblical tale Cain and Abel, exploring the theme of brotherhood through reimagined mythology, weaving vocal and movement languages with striking imagery and powerful music.

Then Yorgos Karamalegos presents some initial ideas from a two week workshop exploring the idea of Home and feelings of alienation with his core team, dramaturge Despina Sidiropolou and actor Tatiana Spivakova. Using the story of Medea as an entry point to their research as well as a personal study of the psychological triangle of mother, father and child.

Monday May 25 and Tuesday Ma 26 also feature Wild Trio, a site specific dance performance at 45-61 Duke Street, providing a refuge from capitalism in the heart of Liverpool 1. The Wild Trio have assembled and prepared, rigorously shedding social skins for the arrival of unexplainable phenomena. Site specific performance with dance artist Laura Doehler, Cathy Walsh and Genevieve Say.

Also on Tuesday May 26 at The Unity, Animal Religion present a stunning contemporary circus performance which brings out the inner animal in us all. In a grotesque parody of the modern human and the differences between the sexes, the stage is transformed into an “animalarium”; with acrobatics, heels, a spoon in the nose, rooster fight and ritual dances. It questions what is animal and what is human and includes a post show Q & A.

Friday May 29 sees the return of the annual Fest Live  at The Unity, an international showcase for the most exciting new physical and visual work from both emerging and established artists internationally which is carefully selected by a panel of the UK festival directors. With styles ranging from clown to dance theatre and hosted by a very special comic guest compares, Fest Live is an entertaining evening not to be missed.

Following the success of last year’s first draft of his hilarious clown show at last year’s festival, Jamie Wood returns with Oh No! to bring in the end of the festival on Saturday May 20. The new version of the show has been polished, trimmed, tucked and battered. When John Lennon fell in love with Yoko Ono the world was shocked. When they claimed there love was politics and art, the world squirmed. When Lennon was assassinated the world mourned. Playing amongst the enigmatic instructions of Yoko Ono's art works, in the shadow of Lennon's death, Oh No! is a psychedelic ride - a wonky homage to the woman damned for destroying the Beatles and a show about reckless optimism, high art and what we might yet have to learn from the hippies.

And if this line up wasn’t enough, The Unity Theatre also comes alive before and after the show. Come early to see intimate performances, pop up street theatre and have a bite to eat.

Squash Nutrition are serving delicious, locally gown food at every Unity Theatre show from 6pm. Buy two courses for just £5 with your ticket! Or just turn up and choose from a different seasonal menu every night.

Tmesis Theatre Graduate Company present Honky Tonk Hideaway before every show. A strange saloon, some deadly sins all add up to a physically immersive 15-minute experience. Presented at Unity 2, every night before and after the main Fest show at The Unity.

And as a final preshow warm up go on a solo trip into the bizarre beyond; Solotoria invites participants to step into the only seat in the house to view a repertory of shows including ballet and opera- totally immersive experiences in less than three and a half minutes. This is theatre for one, a miniature personal entertainment that has charmed and delighted all ages. Pop by and smile between 6-8pm before all of the Unity Theatre shows.

There will as ever, be a wide selection of participatory workshops and classes to take part in and full details of these can be found at www.physicalfest.com.

Physical Fest has become one of the international key events in Liverpool’s cultural programme, bringing the world's best local, national and international movement and physical theatre artists to Liverpool in an exciting 9 day programme of events, workshops, taster classes and performances. With an exciting and diverse line up, 2015 promises to deliver the exceptional class of entertainment this festival has become renowned for.

Liverpool's International Physical Theatre Festival returns

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Tmesis Theatre/Physical Fest

Liverpool’s Tmesis Theatre and Physical Fest are back for 2015 with a line up that will be bigger and better than ever.

This year’s festival runs between Friday May 22–Saturday May 30, and for those who can't wait that long, there is a special festival warm-up weekend for young people with Young Physical Fest on Saturday May 2 and Sunday May 3.

As always, Tmesis Theatre will be bringing the very best and most established artists from all corners of the globe, with companies from Italy and Spain joining the UK performers for a truly international Physical Fest.

Physical Fest will launch on Friday May 22 at The Unity Theatre with Pact with Pointlessness, a one-woman performance that lies somewhere between stand-up and vaudeville. Created to tackle the death of her friend, choreographer and dancer Nigel Charnock (with whom she performed with in DV8), the show is full of crackling wit and ridiculous movement and is a frank demonstration of how it feels to be knocked sideways by death, renegotiate and carry on.

The Unity will also play host to mini performances Honky Tonk Hideaway (a 15-minute immersive experience) and Solotoria, a show for one audience member in less than three and a half minutes. Both will be performed before the main shows at The Unity throughout the Festival.

On Saturday May 23. also at the Unity Theatre, Ship of Fools present From the Cradle to the Bin, a hilarious odyssey about being thrown on life’s scrapheap, told through live music, grotesque parody and shocking imagery. Follow Mr Whitey, an affable English gent, as he spends his final days on the edge of a broken care system.

Following on from his fifteen minute debut at Physical Fest 2014, Leebo Luby has had direction from Aitor Basauri (Spymonkey) to create a new absurd and extraordinary show, Faruchio Peru is Extraordinare.

On Sunday May 24 at The Bluecoat, self-proclaimed ‘showman’ Faruchio Peru is an enigma wrapped in an ego, surrounded by an unpronounceable name, in this one-man clowning show.

Monday May 25 sees a night of work in development extracts at The Joe H Makin Centre, LJMU. In a double bill of exciting new physical work, Animikii Theatre presents the biblical tale Cain and Abel, exploring the theme of brotherhood through reimagined mythology, weaving vocal and movement languages with striking imagery and powerful music.

Then, Yorgos Karamalegos presents initial ideas from a two-week workshop exploring the idea of Home and feelings of alienation, using the story of Medea as an entry point.

Monday May 25 and Tuesday May 26 also features Wild Trio, a site specific dance performance providing a refuge from capitalism in the heart of Liverpool ONE.

Also on Tuesday 26 May at The Unity, Animal Religion present a stunning contemporary circus performance bringing out the animal in us all. In a grotesque parody of the modern human and the differences between the sexes, the stage is transformed into an “animalarium”; with acrobatics, heels, a spoon in the nose, rooster fight and ritual dances.

Friday 29 May sees the return of the annual ‘Fest Live’ at The Unity, an international showcase of the most exciting new physical and visual work from both emerging and established artists, which is carefully selected by a panel of UK festival directors.

Following its UK Premiere at last year’s festival, Jamie Wood returns with Oh No! to bring in the end of the festival on Saturday May 30. Playing amongst the enigmatic instructions of Yoko Ono's art works, in the shadow of Lennon's death, Oh No! is a psychedelic ride, a wonky homage to the woman damned for destroying the Beatles and a show about reckless optimism, high art and what we might yet have to learn from the hippies.

There will also be a fantastic selection of Street Theatre set loose upon the public, taking place at various locations across the city including performances from Boom Booms, Eggmen and Conflux.

As always, the festival will also include a series of interactive workshops with sessions available in clowning, improvisation and physical theatre from top names in physical theatre including Anna-Helena McLean, a former member of Poland’s Gardzienice Centre for Theatre Practices; Yorgos Karamalegos; Jamie Wood; Italian company Instabili Vaganti; Vivien Wood; and Spanish company Animal Religion. Workshops will take place at The Bluecoat; full details on how to book a place can be found at www.physicalfest.com.

Ahead of the main festival, Physical Fest presents a weekend of free workshops and shows between Saturday May 2-Sunday May 3 at The Bluecoat. Aimed at young people and families, the special programme of events will feature workshops and performances suitable for all ages, including Parkour performance with The Urban Playground Team, life-sized Punch & Judy from Foolsize Theatre, plus puppet making, stage combat, circus skills and theatre games. There will also be performances inspired by The Bluecoat itself performed by local youth groups, and a show exploring life as a 17-year-old in a collaboration between Young Everyman Playhouse and Off the Ground.

Elinor Randle, artistic director of Physical Fest, commented: “Last year was a milestone for Tmesis Theatre and Physical Fest with it being the 10th Anniversary; it was an incredible achievement and testament to the artists and everyone involved, and of course for the people of Liverpool that have supported us and made it possible for us to come back year after year. This year, we have been working harder than ever to ensure a fantastic programme of events. There is more performance than ever, with something to do every night, food and festival club at the Unity, street theatre, as well as a developed and packed weekend for young people in early May.”

Physical Fest has become one of the international key events in Liverpool’s cultural programme, bringing the world's best local, national and international movement and physical theatre artists to Liverpool in an exciting nine-day programme of events, workshops, taster classes and performances. With an exciting and diverse line up, 2015 promises to deliver the exceptional class of entertainment this festival has become renowned for.