Stars of the Royal Ballet and London’s West End will join together with acclaimed choreographer and director Lynne Page, to bring a unique production to the historic Sussex town of Rye in late September.
Spurred on by the absence of any live theatre, Lynne has put together an exquisite cast of performers that have not performed in front of a live audience since March. As James Graham said in the FT “We need to begin making work again. Any work. Anywhere. Anyhow.”
The show will be held at Bridgepoint, a new creative arts complex in Rye, East Sussex. The performance space at Bridgepoint is part of an immersive regeneration project being undertaken by Martello Developments, whose mission is to create a vibrant campus for artists from many disciplines, drawing inspiration from this historic town’s cultural heritage.
Lynne has taken a “by any means necessary approach” to produce this exciting new production and has spent the last five weeks jumping through health and safety hoops and making sure she can make an evening of work that is safe for the artists and the audience.
Lynne has created new work specifically for these performances, not only creating new choreography for these exceptional artists, but has also creatively choreographed the audience experience to be not just compliant with Covid-19 regulations, but to make adherence to these rules fun, strange and just a little bit theatrical. The audience (social distancing allows for 130 per performance) will wear super stylish transparent visors, will sit 1 metre plus apart at strategically placed cabaret tables, rows two metres apart, will have staggered entry times and be escorted to their seats by very entertaining physically-distancing wardens.
Having spent years solving problems of physical space as a choreographer, the challenge of getting an audience moving around safely is one Lynne actively embraces. The result will be an intimate evening of exceptional quality in a safe and exciting new space.
The evening will feature four members of the Royal Ballet in new pieces Lynne is creating for this event. They will dance live to members of the Royal Opera House orchestra and other top-class players who featured in last week’s proms. Shostakovich to Debussy via Elbow and all the way back to Ravel. This outstanding talent will be joined by two professional dancers Gareth Mole and Julie Ann Minaai.
Katie Brayben, Olivier award- winning star of ‘The Carole King Musical’ and ‘King Charles III’ in the West End, will also be performing. Audiences are set to enjoy her remarkable voice and there will be collaborative moments of theatre, spoken word and two-hander scenes, all reflecting the extraordinary time we have just experienced, whilst also celebrating the tenacity of the human spirit as we push on forward in this extraordinary time.
Most importantly it will be a live theatre experience, hopefully installing confidence in audiences, so they return to the performance arena and enjoy that extraordinary thing we call theatre.
Book tickets at: www.bridgepointrye.com
Saturday September 26
2:30pm Matinee: £120 per table (up to two people per table i.e. £60 each)
7.30pm Evening Gala: £200 per table (up to 2 people per table i.e. £100 each)
Includes refreshments and a post performance meeting (compliant with social distancing rules) with the performers, artists, musicians, and Lynne Page herself.
Sunday September 27
2:30pm Matinee: £120 per table (up to two people per table i.e. £60 each)
Running time: 60 minutes, no interval
Covid-19 Safety Information
The government has announced that, from Monday 14th September, the limit on social gatherings will be reduced from 30 to 6. This change does not affect performances at Bridgepoint as we are a Covid secure venue. This is because we are following the safety and hygiene measures for businesses set out by the government in its performing arts guidance. Alongside this, tickets are only available in fixed pairs of 2 seats at a cabaret table; each pair must only consist of people from one household or support bubble; each pair of seats is distanced by 1m+ from the other seats, with rows of seats distanced by 2 metres.
Safety measures include:
• All members of the audience and staff will wear visors supplied by the venue
• Track and trace system
• Staggered audience arrival
• Choreographed and escorted flow of audience to their seats
• No interval
• Anti-microbial dance floor supplied by Harlequin Floors
• Fogging of venue before and after each performance
• Hand sanitiser stations at strategic points
• Large entrance and exit points
• Portacabin loos with social distancing control
We ask that all members of the audience support these safety measures by following national government guidelines for social distancing and hygiene. Mask or visors must be worn at all times. Children should be supervised and also follow social distancing guidelines.
Importantly, any person with symptoms of Covid-19 or who have been advised to self-isolate following contact with someone with symptoms of Covid-19 should not attend the performance.
Source: Bridgepoint Rye press release
Image Credits: Lynne Page .