News

Mayfest kicked off on Friday night with the premiere of the Mark Bruce Company’s Love & War, an extraordinary dance-theatre show that took me to places I never knew existed. It’s been flooring the critics, too, receiving great reviews in local web-rags Suit Yourself Magazine and Make Me Neon. The show is now heading off on its national tour, so if you missed it check out the company’s website to see where you can catch it next.

The Guardian’s been going a bit mad for Bristol’s theatrical treasure trove-plundering fortnight that is Mayfest, with a feature on Lyn Gardner’s blog and also a pick of the week slot. Everyone’s excited and who could possibly blame them? The mouth-watering TF programme continues tonight with the incomparable John Moran and his Neighbour Saori previewing in the TF’s main space (last year’s sleeper hit and an absolute must for fans of avant garde performance of the highest order). Meanwhile at the Brewery we’re delighted to be welcoming back Dancing Brick, the young English-Italian company who had a hit with 21:13, a show about missed connections on a railway platform, in our baby space last autumn. Charming, witty and effortlessly skilful, 6.0 is a real joy; it’s easy to see why it sold out at the Edinburgh Festival last year and was short-listed for a Total Theatre Award.

And later in the week we welcome Kristin Fredricksson with Everything Must Go (also plugged by Ms Gardner and winner of an afore-mentioned Total Theatre Award at last year’s Ed Fest) and Inconvenient Spoof’s Dean Gibbons and the Knowledge of Death, a provocative and compelling work of social-science fiction. Want to know what other goodies are in store? You can find the full Mayfest at the TF programme here.

More comedy!!

Naughty but nice Geordie comedienne Sarah Millican’s autumn show has proved such a hit already that we’ve programmed an additional date! Don’t miss this chance to catch the star of Live at the Apollo and Have I Got News for You right here in Brizzle. Click here to book.

The final act at this summer’s Bristol Brouhaha Comedy Festival has now been confirmed! In an inspired double billing, the Comedy Box brings us fresh young improv troupe The Noise Next Door to accompany pop-spoof duo Frisky and Mannish. Find out more here.

And don’t forget that you can still buy tickets for Jon Richardson’s re-scheduled show.

Coming soon…

We’re already getting excited about what’s coming up after Mayfest. One of the highlight’s of the summer programme is Quarantine’s Susan and Darren, a unique party-cum-show, featuring dancing, sandwich-making and a good old gossip with real-life dancer, Darren, and his real-life mum, Susan. Read a lovely interview with the pair in this Sunday’s Observer. Susan & Darren was also The Guardian’s pick of the week!

And if that weren’t enough, for one day only later in the month the TF becomes the country’s theatrical hotspot when we’re visited by Antonia Fraser as part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas. Hear the renowned biographer talk to Ian Rickson, former director of the Royal Court, about her life with Harold Pinter.

And if that’s not enough to get your theatrical taste-buds tingling, then click here for his week’s feature Mystery Show...