The New Vic Theatre today affirmed its commitment to nurturing talent after announcing the circus and theatre-makers selected for its Circus 50:50 artist development programme – part of the theatre-in-the-round’s Circus Past, Present and Future celebrations marking 250 years of modern circus.
Working in partnership with Roundhouse, London, and Upswing, Circus 50:50 will see the New Vic bring together five circus-makers and five theatre-makers who will work to develop a critical dialogue across the artforms over the course of the year.
The named artists are: Catherine Boot (Artistic Director of Can’t Sit Still and freelance circus-theatre and movement director); Ellie Dubois (listed on British Council’s Artist to Watch List 2017 and winner of the Herald Angel Award for No Show at the Edinburgh Fringe); Daniela Essart (co-founder and Artistic Director of touring and site-specific aerialists, Scarabeus); Fergus Evans (award-winning poet, performance artist and theatre-maker); Sarah Fielding (circus and theatre director and Associate Director of Invisible Circus); Rowan James (poet, theatre-maker and educator who draws on his lived experiences of disability discrimination); Layla Rosa (circus artist and theatre-maker and founder member of performance collective, Shunt); Roland Smith (founding member and co-Artistic Director of Theatre Delicatessen – described by The Observer as one of the “bright young things of British theatre”); Rishi Trikha (actor, director, writer and dramaturg); and John Walton (director of theatre, comedy, opera and circus, and Artistic Director of Fol Espoir).
Building on the work of Roundhouse and Upswing’s Circus Directors’ Exchange Programme in 2016 and 2017, Circus 50:50 will seek to understand the processes, form, skills and audiences across theatre and circus.
Led by Vicki Amedume (Artistic Director of Upswing and longtime collaborator of the New Vic), the course will run from 13 April to 6 May 2018, with two sessions held at Staffordshire’s New Vic and one at the Roundhouse. Sessions will be delivered by directors and practitioners from across the arts, including New Vic Artistic Director Theresa Heskins.
Circus 50:50 forms part of the New Vic Theatre’s Circus Past, Present and Future programme, part of the nationwide Circus 250 celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of modern circus.
Circus Past, Present and Future will see the New Vic collaborate with national and international partners, including NoFit State Circus and the Victoria & Albert Museum, to spectacularly showcase the extraordinary artform in its anniversary year. Taking place between March and August, the programme will see Newcastle-under-Lyme, the birthplace of the father of modern circus, Philip Astley, become a hub of celebratory activity as it joins in with the national celebrations of Circus250.
The Circus 50:50 artists:
Catherine Boot
Catherine Boot is Artistic Director of Can’t Sit Still, a circus and physical theatre company that tells stories, starts conversations and tries to change the world. Current shows in development include Plink and Boo for 2-5 year olds and Invisible Thread for mothers and babies up to 6 months. Freelance directing credits include The Context of Each Other, Circomedia; assistant director on Me, Mother, Roundhouse; and co-director of Industriosity by PanGottic. Catherine also teaches movement on the degree course at Circomedia.
Ellie Dubois
Ellie Dubois trained on the Contemporary Performance Practice course at The Royal Conservatoire and at The National Centre for Circus Arts. Listed on the British Council’s ‘Artists to Watch List 2017’, she recently won the Herald Angel Award and was nominated for a Total Theatre Award for No Show at The Edinburgh Fringe. Recent work includes, Ringside, a unique circus show exploring female strength and power, and Bird Bones, which was performed by one adult and two children and explored feeling invincible and taking risks.
Daniela Essart
Daniela Essart is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Scarabeus. Since launching in 1988, the company has pioneered the use of aerial skills in site-specific and touring performances with the aim of transforming spaces with boundary-breaking aerial art and creating unforgettable experiences for a wide range of audiences. Recent productions include Be-Loved in 2015, the first in a planned trilogy of indoor and outdoor work created for and with young people aged 12-25. This was followed by Depths Of My Mind in 2016 and will conclude with Exodus, researched and created in 2017 and 2018.
Fergus Evans
Fergus Evans is an award-winning poet, performance artist and theatre-maker. He has made work for a number of arts organisations, including Contact, Apples and Snakes and Battersea Arts Centre. His work regularly tours to venues such as the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Northern Stage, Southbank Centre and Oxford Playhouse, as well as The Big Chill and Latitude Festivals.
Sarah Fielding
Sarah is a freelance circus and theatre director and an Associate Director of Invisible Circus. Directing credits include The Last Waltz, a commission for Showzam at the Blackpool Winter Gardens (2013); and Under the Dark Moon, which played at Bristol Old Vic Theatre in 2014 and 2015. Sarah recently worked as Associate Director on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the West Yorkshire Playhouse with Sally Cookson.
Rowan James
Rowan James is a poet, theatre-maker and educator and his work reflects his lived experiences of disability discrimination. His time in the education sector has seen his work with SEN Schools and HMPS Young Offenders Institutes. As a performer and poet, he has been supported by Stopgap, Writers Centre Norwich, Liberty Festival, MetalLab and Unlimited.
Layla Rosa
Layla Rosa is a director, teacher and choreographer. As a circus artist and theatre-maker, she is a founder member of acclaimed performance collective Shunt, with whom she has created large-scale site-specific performances and events for more than 15 years.
Roland Smith
Roland Smith is a founding member and co-Artistic Director of Theatre Delicatessen, described by The Observer as one of the “bright young things changing British theatre”. Recent projects he has developed for Theatre Delicatessen include Home, Hikapee; The Owls Are Not What They Seem, Lemonade and Laughing Gas/Blanche and Shock; and Shelter Me, Circumference.
Rishi Trikha
Rishi Trikha is an actor, director, writer and dramaturg. UK credits include projects at the National Theatre, Royal Court, Roundhouse and Almeida. Internationally, he has worked across Canada, the US, Europe and Cuba. He is currently Senior Lecturer and Course Leader of Theatre and Performance at The Cass, and trained at York University and the Central School of Speech and Drama.
John Walton
John Walton is a freelance director of theatre, comedy, opera and circus. He is also Artistic Director of Fol Espoir, whose hit comedy Instructions for American Servicemen in Britain will transfer to Manhattan’s 59E59 theatre as part of the 2019 Brits-off-Broadway festival. Recent directing credits include Dracula (Bristol Old Vic Theatre); Around The Globe In Sixty Minutes! (Arts Centre Melbourne); and Elixir (London Southbank Centre and Edinburgh Circus Hub).