If they guess Birmingham (in 2012) before they get to the credits then give them a biscuit.

RoguePlay members Kim Charnock and Lorna Meehan are bringing the trials and tribulations of working as an actress to the stage, taking ‘Portrait of An Actress…‘ on tour around Birmingham.

Portrait of An Actress As… explores the relentless struggle between artistic integrity and agreeing to underpaid roles just to add to the CV through a shamelessly bitchy collection of comedy sketches.

Along with the three date schedule, they’re also hosting a comedy improvisation workshop in conjunction with the show, with a session of ‘whose line is it anyway’ type games, providing hints and tips for great comic performances.

Follow the links below to book tickets for the following dates and for more information;

• 3 March- Portrait of an Actress As… At The Station.
• 4 March – Portrait of an Actress As… At The Old Joint Stock.
• 4 March – Comedy Improvisation Workshop.
• 12 March – Portrait of an Actress As… At The Lamp Tavern.

It’s been on for a few weeks already, and has attracted over 4000 visitors so far, with a free installation exhibition open throughout the day, along with a performance which tuns until 27 February.

The installation allows visitors to explore the sensory space of The Woods, influenced by woodland and the architecture of the gallery. With its provocative nature, the space offers space to invert or project your own narratives or scenarios.

Influenced by an autumn spent under the trees, nature writing and personal stories of letting go, this brave and moving performance tells a story of loss and transformation.

The Woods is intense and poetic – using narrative and gentle audience engagement to create an immersive experience which takes you deep into the richly textured world of the woods and the imagination.

Performances run daily until 27 February, tickets can be booked online via mac’s website.

Take a look at the trailer, filmed by Chris Keenen.

The Woods Trailer from Jane Packman on Vimeo.

In the last of Grand Union‘s Live Acts and Sound programme, artist duos chris+keir and Melville Mitchell will present an evening of live, alternating performance challenges on Fri 25 February.

The duos both use ‘forced performance’ as a working method, meaning their performances go off structures, tasks, systems, rules, formulas and instructions.

‘What performs? Air fresheners, roofing insulation, bicycles, carpets and rugs, powerboats, wallcoverings, drain panels, cleansing towels, car-stereo equipment, bakeware, aquarium filters, tires, fabric, window film, woodworking knives, automotive timing chains, foil containers, audio antennae, deep fat fryers, embossing tools, mop handles, music synthesizers, casement windows’

- Jon Mckenzie, Perform Or Else (2001)

Through a combination of classic performance work, formulaic jokes and wooden contraptions, chris+keir will be searching for a punchline to ‘What is the difference between Bruce Nauman’s Walking in an Exaggerated Manner Around the Perimeter of a Square and Monty Python’s The Ministry of Silly Walks?‘

Melville Mitchel on the other hand, will be utilising the paraphernalia of British drinking culture, by undertaking a series of formidable tasks which place them in both conflict and coalition, together with a set of complex rules encouraging a unified thirst toward a common goal.

Doors open at 7.30pm, performance starts at 8pm

Over the next month, Grand Union have a programme of Live Acts and Sound lined up, which kicks off this Friday, 4 Feb, with performance artist Tom Marshman.

He’ll be performing ‘The Passion of the Pole’, a controversial piece which confronts taboos of mental disorders and religion.

Clinging to a dancing pole, a sentimental character exposes itself to you, with layers of issues, a crude honesty, and a wincing humour. The pole becomes a crucifix: a site for Tom to expose and execute his anxieties.

Doors open at 7.30pm, starting at 8pm and its free admission.

RoguePlay are drawing 2010 to a close with “an awkward gathering of the RoguePlay family”, including all their regular events Rhymes, Notes and our Comedy Cabaret troupe, Funbags.

Jingle Bells is taking place on Saturday 11 December from 7pm at New Life Baptist Church, Kings Heath High Street.

Entertainment will be provided by a variety of performers, including music from Irene Aserie, David Sol and Zoidberg, comedy from Lady Josephine Whittle and Darla Daygwar, improvisation from The Funbags Comedy Cabaret and The Young Actors Company, Shakespeare from ElliNoire Midhani and spoken word From Sean Colletti, Andy Cook & Lorna Meehan.

For update announcements and more information on the line-up, visit the Facebook page. The event is free, but donations will be welcomed as part of RoguePlay’s fundraising,

After a packed month and a half, along with the summer holidays, Birmingham Hippodrome’s Six Summer Saturdays has come to an end. The series provided perfect weekend entertainment for the kids – both young and old, with a variety of performances across the city centre. We posted up a video the other week, but the Hippodrome have also taken plenty of great photos to document the festivities.

And that’s not all, the good news is, that the crew will be back for one last event, transforming the Arcadian into a Land of Fairytales on the Saturday of Artsfest, 11 September.

Six Summer Saturdays Week 2 from Birmingham Hippodrome on Vimeo.

If you’ve been in and around Birmingham for the past four weekends you’ll have seen all sorts of shenanigans going on as part of Six Summer Saturdays. Shows and highlights from the best outdoor theatre have been organised by the Hippodrome, which are free to catch all over the city.

There are only two Saturday’s left in the series, but still plenty of performances to catch on 21 August and 28 August.

After their 40th anniversary last year, Ex Cathedra are continuing their success into 2010/11. Their dairy for the next few months looks pretty packed, have a browse through this season’s brochure to see if anything suits you.

Here’s a couple of things they’ve got going coming up;

3 September: Tallis’s Spem in alium and Alec Roth’s life-affirming 40 part Earthrise commissioned for last seasons anniversary, will be premiered at the Royal Opera House, London as part of the Deloitte Ignite Festival curated by Joanna MacGregor.

16 & 17 October: Ex Cathedra makes its debut at London’s Cadogan Hall on the 16th with a performance of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers by its Consort of ten outstanding young singers accompanied by His Majesty’s Sagbutts and Cornetts and the Ex Cathedra Baroque Ensemble. The concert will then move back up to Birmingham for a repeat on 17th at Birmingham Town Hall.

If you’re not familiar with Fierce they’ve been responsible for some of the most weird, wonderful and worrying live art presented in Birmingham over the past… well, ever.

The event was covered by this is tomorrow who’ve collected together audio, video and some photos, including this interview with Laura McDermott:

and this general summation of the whole thing:

Strikingly, the artistic-directors do not know the content of the next festival, due to commence in February 2011. Over the next ten months audiences will be able to follow the development of these projects as they emerge in response to a series of visits to the city. The fruition of these journeys will culminate in the festival.

The Fierce Festival Caravan of Artists 2010-11 (as they’re calling it) includes Eitan Buchalter, Sheila Ghelani, Stan’s Cafe, Plan B, Lundahl&Seitl, Quarantine, Jeanne van Heeswijk, James Webb, Kira O’Reilly, Dominic Johnson, Manu Luksch & Mukul Patel, Denis Tricot and EXZYT.

A nice touch was the loyalty cards they handed out to everyone who attended. Some super sleuthing tells me that dates for forthcoming Fierce events are:

• 24-26 April 2010 – Fierce Interrobang 1: Regeneration
• 24-26 September 2010 – Fierce Interrobang 2
• 11 November 2010 – Fierce Countdown
• 22-27 February 2011 – Fierce Festival

And if you don’t know, now you know.