It’s taken me a few years to finally get round to going to Pilot. I’m not sure whether to kick myself for missing so many or pat myself on the back for finally making it along (what the heck, it’s the end of the week so I’ll go for the latter).
There was a packed audience (extra chairs had to be fetched twice), a great atmosphere and some good (and as yet unfinished) work on show from Little Earthquake, Hamfisted!, LouDeemY Productions, Heart of the Anchor, Alex Brockie and Rebekka Platt.
I have to admit to being a bit surprised by how many people had turned out for it, and not just in light of recent events around the city centre. From what I could make out the audience was a mixed and supportive crowd of fellow performers, friends/family and theatre fans. Folks from Friction Arts, Fierce Festival, the RSC and Women & Theatre (among other organisations) were there too.
Pilot, by the way is a chance for:
a host of theatre companies from the West Midlands region and beyond to share with you their latest artistic doings in an early form. There is a mix of experienced and novice companies, addressing a broad spectrum of ideas, using a wide range of approaches and in the vast expanses of @ A E Harris, there is the chance for a couple of pieces to stretch themselves out
It was good and I’ll be going again.
Birmingham based theatre company Little Earthquake will be embarking on a regional tour of their brand new production in March, The Haunting. The project will look at the phenomenon of Victorian Spirit Mediums and through performance, story-telling and illusion will recreate the atmosphere, mystery and titillation of a mid-nineteenth century Séance.
Performances will take place in five of the reputedly most haunted heritage properties across the Midlands: Highbury Hall in Moseley, Birmingham; The Molineux Hotel in Wolverhampton; Tutbury Castle in Burton-on-Trent; The Old Guildhall in Leicester; and Gainsborough Old Hall in Lincolnshire. Only 20 seats are available at some venues and the maximum capacity at the larger venues is 40.
Tickets are available from Oxboffice.
Birmingham-based theatre group Little Earthquake will be presenting Gogol’s Madman at the Old Joint Stock Theatre on 24 October. Here’s the synopsis:
Hounded by talking dogs and harassed by his plate-smashing mother, life in St. Petersburg is hard for Poprishchin until he falls truly, deeply…and madly in love. Little Earthquake presents an imaginative new stage version of Gogol’s gripping story, recently voted by Penguin as one of the best books ever written
Gareth Nicholls from the company has been good enough to upload to Scribd plenty of pictures and the press release for further info. The show’s flyer is up too but to save you time here’s the back of that:
Little Earthquake have a Facebook group too.
