Our circus journey

Our circus journey
Just a few weeks to go now before we open our latest show The King of Tiny Things- show 3 in our 10 shows for Metta10 - 10 shows to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Metta Theatre. It's a circus and puppetry adaptation of the delightful story by celebrated children's author Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward, packed full of puppetry and song, and most of all circus. So I've been musing on our relationship to, and ongoing love for, the weird and wonderful art-form that is circus.

As Tom Wicker so eloquently wrote in the Stage recently, British Circus is having a bit of a moment. With the wonderful Circumference's beautiful Shelter Me currently running at Theatre Delicatessen, Barely Methodical Troupe's spectacular Bromance touring the country and Circus Geek's hilarious, quirky and astonishing Beta Testing about to close at Udderbelly Festival (where we open July 11th), there's a lot of home-grown talent to enjoy. Not to mention every show ever made by juggling genius Gandini, especially the mesmerising 4x4 Ephemeral Architectures.

So what is it about circus that gets us so excited here at Metta towers, apart from the obvious - that it's full of excitement. Our big thing always, as with all the other art-forms we exploit, has been using circus as a tool to better tell the story. Sometimes this works amazingly well, sometimes it means we fall into the trap of making something serve the story at the expense of a wow-ier spectacular trick. But we've never been so interested in the tricksiness of a trick - hence our ongoing love for aerial work performed 30cm, rather than three metres, above the ground. I think at the heart of it all is the constant potential for failure and conversely the permanent need for hope. There is a collective willingness for something to succeed - a shared moment of hope between audience and performers that the ball will be caught rather than dropped, that the aerial artist will remain airborne rather than fall. Circus unifies an audience like no other artform because everyone is willing the performers to succeed with the knowledge that in some instances failure can mean serious injury or even death. And that creates an immediate investment in the work from the audience - it's very hard (unless you have such circus-blindness that you've lost the ability to be wowed by virtuosic physical feats) to sit back in your seats, both metaphorically and literally. And as a company led by a director with a penchant for symbolism and metaphor and a Motley trained designer circus also affords a myriad of aesthetic possibilities. An aerial hoop becomes both a prison and the bottom of a well, a red aerial silk by turns a wedding sari, a flow of poisoned water and an escape route.

We started our circus journey 5 years ago with our adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's Sexing The Cherry - starring west-end actor and musician Loren O'Dair who spent 45 minutes of the show airborne, after a rather gruelling six months training in

aerial, with our circus choreographer (and veteran British circus maker) Shunt co-founder Layla Rosa. Plus a soupçon of juggling from the wonderful and multi-skilled Jon Hinton. It was a beautiful show which sold out it's short run at the Southbank Centre in 2011 (note to self - we should bring that one back!!!).

Next came our first foray into creating a full blown circus-theatre show (as well as our first foray into making outdoor performance, and indeed our first foray into work for young audiences). We started developing Monkey & Crocodile in 2012, winning a National Centre for Circus Arts (then Circus Space) Lab:time award for it in 2013 and then touring the full show throughout playgrounds across the country. As well as the lovely Layla we also worked with aerialist Rosie Rowlands as an acrobatic aerial monkey, a wonderful foil for Phillip Whiteman's skateboarding, apple juggling Crocodile.

In autumn 2013 we also premièred Well - our fusion of aerial circus with Indian classical dance to tell the story of the ongoing tragedy of arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh. With stunning choreography on the ground by performer Shreya Kumar and in the air from Leyla Rees and another Circus veteran Lindsey Butcher of Gravity & Levity fame. Probably the most beautiful show we have ever made. We also managed to squeeze in a week of R&D at The Point's Creation Space, in Eastleigh, beginning to explore our Circus Magic Flute - surely the most ambitious idea ever - to train circus artists to sing opera, and opera singers to perform circus. Another collaboration with Rosie, as well as acrobat Jack Horner and paralympics performer Milton Lopes. Might still be another 5 years before that one has the funding necessary to put that in front of people...

Then last year in 2014 we began to develop 'The King of Tiny Things' and also our urban Jungle Book which will première (and tour the UK) in spring 2016 thanks to a £90k Strategic Touring grant from Arts Council England. With a 7 strong cast of street-dancing circus artists, plus a 20 strong local community chorus of skateboarding wolves, a beat-boxing bin-man Baloo and a Chinese pole lamp post it's gonna be a biggie! As well as the wonderful Rosie returning to the Metta fold to play Mowgli (oh didn't we mention - we rewrite most of our stories to make the protagonists female).

There was just time in 2014 to sneak in one more circus piece when we were commissioned by the Wellcome Trust to create Switch for the Evening Standard's 1000 Most Influential Londoner's Party. Yes, Stephen Hawking and Boris Johnson both saw it. Just saying. And Leyla Rees and her aerial partner Katie Hardwick aka Starfiz Aerial Duo created a stunning choreography within Will's double helix of light bulbs in a piece exploring twins and epigenetics.

I've even managed to sneak a sequence of egg-juggling into my first play Box, which received a staged reading at English Touring Theatre last week, directed by award-winning Director David Mercatali with Simon Muller and Game of Thrones star Gemma Whelan.

Now here we are 5 years down the line and about to open our 5th circus show... gosh no wonder some people think all we do is circus. How did we also fit another 3 UK tours, 1 new opera, 7 new plays (admittedly 6 of them short) and 2 babies into that time (note to self, I think we're due a holiday).

So I think, hope, that this one,  The King of Tiny Things builds on our previous work to create something fun, playful, spectacular as well as deeply moving as we watch two sisters - the fabulous Rosamond Martin and Maddie McGowan overcome both a fear of insects and a fear of the inevitable metamorphoses our bodies all go through in the journey from child to adult. Plus backflips!

By Poppy

Stilts, songs and sobbing

Stilts Songs and Sobbing

Very excited to be writing my very first Metta theatre blog post, as the assistant director for their next show - circus and puppetry extravaganza - The King of Tiny Things. The first week has been jam packed with singing and circus play time, and I have spent a good amount of time in awe of our multi-talented cast. As a fairly fledgling director the professional rehearsal room is already a new thing to me, but circus is something of which I am a real Grade One novice. But already, even after a few days, I think it's going to be magical and the skill level of the circus artists alone has been enough to wow me.

Pretty much the first thing I saw in rehearsals was the wonderful Maddie creating a daddy long legs on three, and then four stilts several metres above the ground. Then we spent some time working through the 8 original songs with award-winning composer Jon Nicholl's - sounding amazing - especially the finale which had Poppy crying so much (in a good way) that she had to hide behind one of the puppets.

The set is also swimming along nicely, and whilst Jon and Poppy were tightening up the rest of the music I lent a hand in the metamorphosis (see what I did there) of a less-than-sturdy shed to serious levels of sturdiness. Without giving it away, I think the newly sturdy shed is going to give us greater scope for some unexpected circus play. Most fun so far has been the opportunity to see Poppy at work – her favourite word is 'play' – rehearsals take place in a friendly collaborative atmosphere, and by playing the cast are finding some really great stuff. Bodes well for a fantastic circus theatre show about bugs for the whole family right? Too right. Also, Noah and baby Finn, part of the Metta Theatre family (who are quite present throughout the whole process) are unbelievably cute.

By James Ellis

revivals

It's a joy to revisit a piece - and something that we don't often do as a company. Sadly the vagaries of the current funding system make it easier to develop and create new work rather than bringing back shows from the back catalogue - not least because it costs us almost as much to revive something as to create a show from scratch because the vast majority of our costs are people rather than the physical production (set, costumes, puppets etc).

However ALICE is now heading out on its second tour and its third incarnation and it's been an utter delight reviving and refreshing it. It's such a privilege to be in a rehearsal room and know already that the piece works, and is good. With that pressure gone and the show still fresh in the performers's minds (the first tour only finished 3 months ago) we can use the rehearsals to openly play and to refine those niggling moments that you know you never quite nailed but made work well enough when there wasn't enough time first (or second) time round. One could argue that this could be solved by longer rehearsals in the first place, but it's the space, distance and perspective that you gain on the work that only comes from time away from it which allows you to see these things clearly (also why I'm such a fan of making work through several separate periods of research & development).

So here we go again down the rabbit hole - hopefully with even more nuance, subtlety and clarity in the story-telling. The only downside it's even harder to get the press along (already a struggle because it's a work for younger audiences and it's a tour - both of which seem anathema to critics) because it's not new. It's a shame as I think the piece has got even stronger, richer, deeper and more moving but that does at least mean the audiences are in for an even bigger treat.

What an energetic start to the day! Pushing a box (by box I mean a flight case with a PA on top) through Fullham with baby Finn strapped to Poppy’s chest was a huge achievement. Not flattening any members of the public even more so! We reached our location; Dance Attic Studios and started the great climb (with set) up the flight of stairs to our final destination; our rehearsal room and home for the week.

What do you get if you cross a fur stole, an old purse and a Venetian mask? ... A Cheshire Cat of course! We opened rehearsals focussing on the creation of this fabulous creature. The cat is created from Alice’s memories of a ballroom dance. This worked marvellously this morning as we had music to play with! The cat takes shape gradually, its progression mimics the progression of the music as she builds from stole to purse to mask to a full bodied cat. The mad enjoyment of the music in this scene soon turns sour, the mood changes when Alice begins to question her own sanity. The music then slows and the cat disperses and we see Alan who also is thinking of his mother whilst in the trenches.

It shows they have an intuition; like that of identical twins. It's incredible how both 
Jack and Mandy capture not only the chemistry of their human characters but the 
relationships between the objects that they give life to.

I also noticed another point where music is used in an ironic way. This features in the Turtle and the Gryphon song - the Lobster Quadrille. The song is bright and chirpy and is sung by two quite comically lovable characters. One is a Turtle made from a WW1 helmet and a gas mask and the Gryphon is made from a gun holster and two feathers. The merry melody is a duet and its not until you visually see the turtle losing his pal in the heat of the battle that you realise the true sadness of the song. I didn’t think it was possible to feel so much empathy for an old tin hat and a pair of feathers, but that's just the magic of this show.

After a precarious moving mission this morning, the day has become an exploration of magical and moving music! Music has become the glue in uniting scenes, worlds and emotions. Its power has also kept little Finn snoozing all morning which may be it’s greatest quality of all! Having the full set to rehearse with today has enhanced the magic and opened my eyes further into the subtleties and attention to detail that makes this show unique. Yet another fab day! Well done team!

By Hattie

Alice Rehearsals

Alice Rehearsals

It all began when the team (including 7 week old Finn!) re-convened in the rehearsal room to get started on creating the magical world of wonderland. Not before a cup of tea of course! "We're all mad mad mad here" is a quote from the fabulous production of Alice. This was the general feeling in rehearsal today as the actors played with the madness of scarf cats, turtle hats and book caterpillars.

Creative is an understatement when describing the rehearsal process. Every character has been brought to life through manipulating day to day objects. The characterisation of these objects are fantastic and were really beginning to feel full of life by the end of today's rehearsals. However this unique style does come with a price as we found today when actor Jack needed to 'lubricate his holes', in order for his fingers to fit inside a rugby ball to become a rabbit. However this was nothing compared to the chaffing that poor young Alice has encountered whilst jumping from a  grandfather clock to a stack of books, multiple times! Her paint work has become a little patchy in some of her more delicate areas.

'Dreaming the Caterpillar into existence', has been a focal point today. Baby Finn has contributed enormously with his live snoring sound effects, adding that extra touch of dreamyness to the scene. Created from  a Jacob's ladder of books; the Caterpillar has to be my favourite character. The way that Jack makes him grow and move is mesmerising and mystical; adding to the bizarre world that's gradually being revealed. His pipe and spectacles give him a noble but slightly insane appearance and as he speaks you begin to wonder what he's really smoking in that pipe.

The connection between the lands of dreams and reality have been cleverly thought out. At one point Alan dreams of Alice who dreams of Young Alice who falls asleep and dreams of the Caterpillar. This, as you can see has the potential to become very confusing. However using the puppets makes everything very clear as they signify the switch between reality and wonderland. For example in the run though today I noted a lamp in reality is just a lamp, but when in wonderland it suddenly becomes a woman and gets transformed into a fiery, hormonal and bad tempered Queen of Hearts. Another example is a ball of wool that Alice uses to knit with in the real world, that becomes a little dormouse, with an eerily scratchy voice.

Overall it's been a fab start to the wondrous weeks to come. 'Playing' has been the theme of today which has allowed the actors to have fun exploring and discovering successful accidents in the rehearsal room. Other than the odd pang of cramp from puppet holding and the re-appearance of a torn ligament from violently pulling the ears off a bunny rabbit it has been a great first day! I feel privileged to have been let into the magical world of the rehearsal room. I also feel privileged that baby Finn did me the honour of remaining vomit-less all day. Well done team! Roll on tomorrow.

Hattie Eyre

My time with Metta...

I am already a professional stage manager but I felt I needed to gain more experience in my field within particular parts of the industry. So I got in touch with Metta Theatre company to shadow their Stage Manager. I hadn't worked on a puppet or a circus show before and Metta Theatre are known for both - and the timing of my email was serendipitous as they were in the middle of mounting a UK tour of their puppet adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

I spent one week helping out on ALICE and the first day of rehearsal was mesmerising, I felt like a child again. They didn't just have puppets ready made but they formed puppets during the play which was magical along with the music.

I helped with most stage management duties and felt like part of the team, they were warm and welcoming. I enjoyed watching the process throughout the week and watching the work ethics of another SM.

Every director has their own way of working and Poppy is open to suggestion and has a comfortable working environment. She knew exactly what she wanted and everyone was on the same page and delivered.

I thank Metta Theatre for allowing me into their bubble and am hugely grateful to be offered a paid role - when I join them as Stage Manager for the R&D of their exciting circus theatre JUNGLE BOOK in June - looking forward to gaining yet again more experience (and maybe learning a bit of circus too!)

Sylvia Darkwa-Ohemeng

Opening night

It's finally here. After months of research and development and four intense weeks of rehearsal we put the show in front of an (impressively large) paying audience at the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds. I didn't know what to expect. Would they love it? Would they hate it? Would they understand it?

Apart from a few niggles with ironing out sound levels - the sound design is a richly layered epic beast - the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. People found it beautiful, spellbinding, dazzling and spectacular which is always lovely to hear as an artist. But much more importantly nearly every audience member commented on how the piece had opened their eyes to something of which they'd previously been entirely ignorant. And in the post show discussion after the performance they asked such intelligent and difficult questions which Professor Stuart Reynolds (our scientific adviser) and Dr Sheila Halliday-Pagg (from our partner charity Impact UK) answered with clarity and sensitivity.

Here's hoping that all the other organisations with whom we're talking about the future life of the show follow in the footsteps of Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds and Luton Hat Factory (who are taking the work in December) and programme the work in their venues and festivals so we can enlighten and educate more audiences about the ongoing tragedy of arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh whilst simultaneously giving them an evening of beautiful aerial performance.