451 Degrees Fahrenheit , and I'm a Firestarter (well, a Bookburner actually)

451 Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper ignites. Allegedly. It is also the title of a Ray Bradbury novel, published in 1953 amidst the height of Cold War paranoia and McCarthyism, when pro-Communists and pro-Communist literature were sought out in the United States and dealt with - many lost jobs in government positions, many in the creative arts were 'outed' as Communist sympathisers, and the idea of 'book burning' arose out of the seizure and censure of pro-Communist literature.

Now, in 2015, Periplum, the visual theatre company founded in Brighton in 1999, has designed a spectacular outdoor show based on Ray Bradbury's book and, after performances in Newbury and at the Brighton Festival, has taken over the development site by St James' Mill in Norwich in order to perform '451' as the free outdoor finale to thisd year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

It is Thursday afternoon, and along with thirteen other festival volunteers I have arrived at the site expecting to be briefed on stewarding the following evening's performance. The shift is scheduled to last from 5.30pm to 10.30pm, and is described on the volunteer rota as a 'rehearsal'. We assume that we are here to watch the rehearsal, and to learn how and where we are to be placed in order to assist and guide the audience. The site can hold up to 3500 people, and as this is a performance that occurs within and around the audience, using 360 degree sound effects, lights and pyrotechnics, health and safety is obviously going to be a paramount concern.

Some of the volunteers have received an e-mail suggesting that they wear dark-coloured clothing and sensible shoes. I have turned up in my blue festival t-shirt. Only when we are greeted by stage manager Danielle with, "Are you the volunteer performers?" does the penny drop. We are not just here to steward. We are going to be a part of the show!

We are to play the part of firemen, or 'book-burners' as they are in the storyline. We seek out, seize and set fire to all books, which have been banned completely in Bradbury's dystopian society in which '451 Fahrenheit' is set. In reality, we are really there to aid and assist in allowing the performers to move around the site safely during the performance without setting fire to, or running into, any members of the public. However, because of the layout of the action, which moves between three main locations throughout the show, we need to be dressed in black coats and balaclavas, get into character, and be rehearsed in moving with the action as the show progresses. We also get to use whistles to move the crowds back, and some of us get to actually detonate the pyrotechnics.

Danielle walks us through the script, explains the plot, and directs us through our movements and roles. By 9.45pm we need to be good enough to take part in a full dress rehearsal, with members of the press present to preview the show and take photographs. Some of us are more confident than others - some of the younger volunteers are drama students from the UEA, but some of us are considerably older. Not only do we take longer to learn the choreographed movements, but we find it more difficult to perform moves like holding a kneeling position on hard concrete for what seems like hours, but is actually only about five minutes.

We are taken up to the dressing room, which is actually a floor of the office block in St James Court directly above Barclays Bank. As we emerge, fourteen of us dressed in black with balaclavas, we hope and pray that we are not stumbled upon by a pair of passing PCSO's. After the recent Hatton Garden heist I'm not sure what they might think we are up to.

The dress rehearsal seems to go off OK, although there are are a couple of moments where we exchange worried glances with each other, and try and remember what the cue is for our next move.

Friday afternoon comes around. I have just got back from picking up a couple of Irish musicians from Stansted Airport who are performing in Norwich Cathedral tonight, got home, had a cup of coffee and now arrived back at the St James site. There is time for just a couple more run-throughs for the volunteer book-burners in order to refresh and remind what we are doing. After a meal served at the company's red double-decker bus, we get changed and get ready for showtime.

We have been asked to hand out, in character, burnt pages from 'banned books' as the audience arrive with instructions for them to keep the text safe and hidden, and to remind them that they are being watched. All part of the fun, and helping to build a sense of tension and subterfuge. The site is filling up, and audience are still streaming in as we line up ready for the start. This time it's for real!

The next forty minutes fly past. The audience gasp as the book tower goes up in flames, scatter as the giant wheeled turntables are escorted by the whistling book-burners around the site, and gaze in wonder as the character of Montag spins on the trapeze. At the show's finale the pyrotechnics are detonated, and then we can remove our balaclavas. We join the cast in exiting the site whilst reciting text from the 'banned' books, and the audience are left to reflect on the spectacle that they have just witnessed.

I am sure I speak for all the volunteers when i say how much we have enjoyed our involvement with the production. In the space of just over 48 hours we have gone from arriving for a stewarding shift rehearsal to having actually taken part in the show. The adrenaline and the buzz from us all is palpable, and we all want to do it all over again!

Thank you so much to the whole company from Periplum for making us feel so welcome as a part of the show, and especially to Danielle, and to artistic directors Claire and Damian (and, yes, I did eventually get my jacket back off Damian!), and to all the performers and crew including Milo, Florencia, and Will for all their support and encouragement. Please can we do it again soon!

Photo credit from www.edp24.co.uk

Find out more about Periplum, past and future shows at their website http://www.periplum.co.uk/content/home/ , or 'like' them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Periplum/26693955851?fref=ts

White Lines, Smoking Men, and Green and Yellow Shirts - The Chapelfield Garden Party with Norfolk & Norwich Festival

If there is one event within the programme of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival that is really dependent on the weather, it is the Garden Party in Chapelfield Gardens. Now before the shivering maids, and anyone else who has had their crow's feet frozen off over at Felbrigg theses last few weeks, have a go at me, from an audience perspective a little bit of rain and wind considerably adds to the elemental authenticity and power of WildWorks' 'Wolf's Child'. However, nobody enjoys standing around watching jugglers with wet balls in a downpour.

Last year's weekend event was held in glorious sunshine, and although I spent much of it inside the Norwich Puppet Theatre, constructing dinosaurs out of scrunched up newspaper and lolly sticks, my enduring memory is of enjoying a leisurely pint of Adnams from the Spiegeltent bar, lying on the lawns in the sunshine with some fellow volunteers at the end of our shift.

This year, whilst it may not be a heatwave, the forecast is looking good, and a mixture of blue sky and fluffy white clouds greets me as I turn up for my Saturday shift. Originally I would have been scheduled to work right through to the close at 5.30pm, performing a range of duties including the completion of Customer Satisfaction Questionnaires (CSQ's), and some Festival fundraising. As it turns out, I will now only be approaching visitors to get some important feedback on audience demographics, and reaction (good and bad) to the day's events. Which is an excellent excuse to approach anyone listening a radio, or checking their mobile telephone, and get a score update from Carrow Road. For today is the second leg of the Old Firm soccer match between local rivals Norwich City and Ipswich Town. The winner progresses to a Wembley final, and a chance to play in next season's Premier League.

Over the next two hours I manage to get a clipboard full of completed surveys, and still keep abreast of the football. Most people are quite happy to provide feedback, although as it is still only the beginning of the first day, it is possibly a little too early for them to have formed a representative opinion. Some are quite happy just to chat, and a few moments spent engaging with the public is always good PR. Only a very few treat me with the contempt normally reserved for a timeshare salesman, and a few that have already been asked several times already by other volunteers are beginning to show signs of their patience being tested.

Two advantages of a shift that finishes at 2.00pm are, a) I get a chance to enjoy the rest of the day, saved from having to point out the toilets every two minutes, and b) my son, who has driven up from Hampshire to watch the football, can join me for a pint of Adnams Ghost Ship in the Spiegeltent bar. Before he arrives, jubilent at a 3-1 victory for Norwich City, I get a chance to hear the wonderful House Gospel Choir perform from the bandstand, prior to their Spiegeltent gig later in the evening; I marvel at the choreographed juggling from the Gandinis; I am mesmerised by the strength and fluidity of Company Chameleon's street dancing; and I am bemused by Plungeboom's 'Smoking Man', a gentle ambulatory comedy performed by Ben Faulks (CBeebies' Mr Bloom).

Gospel House Choir

Gandini Juggling

Company Chameleon

'Smoking Man'

After that, it all goes a bit pear-shaped. We enjoy the Adnams hospitality until the bar ends its afternoon session, then adjourn to the nearby 'Sir Garnet' for a couple more before ordering a taxi home. Leaving the motorbike in the city seems like a sensible idea.

Day 2 - Sunday. The son and I are up like larks - he has to meet friends for lunch in Cambridge, and although I have until 11.00am to get myself back to Chapelfield Gardens for a full day of stewarding. I am dropped off back in the city centre just after 8.30am! Plenty of time for a stimulating cup of coffee to re-ignite the brain cells.

Kat and Lewis give us our volunteer shift briefing - just to check that we have not forgotten where the toilets are, and that we remember how to deal with a lost child, then we are assigned to our roles. Four of us are posted to the main performance pitch and bandstand area, where we will get to watch both performances by Gandini Juggling and Company Chameleon whilst at the same time attempting to keep the audiences behind the demarcated lines of white tape. We also have to protect the sound equipment on the bandstand from over-enthusiastic children, often encouraged onto it to dance by their parents.

The jugglers perform on dance mats, which have to be unrolled and swept before each performance - cue more inadequately supervised children whose parents seem to think that the dance mat arrives courtesy of Tumble Tots, whilst the street dancers, obviously, perform on the street. We still have to sweep the area thoroughly for them, in order to remove enough the smallest of potentially sharp stones. White tape is again used to attempt to keep the swept area clear before the performance, and, to be fair, most of the audience remain stalwartly behind it during the actual performances. In between, local folk band Feral Mouth arrive and perform a rousing set on the bandstand.

Feral Mouth's singer Jape

The weather remains bright and sunny, and the afternoon is a great success. There is one lost child (who is quickly reunited), one minor injury over by the café, and a couple of concerns over anti-social behaviour, but these are inevitable at any large-scale event, and the Festival organisers have plans in place to deal with all these eventualities, so that the audience experience is not in any way compromised.

There is just enough time for a quick pint at the end of our shift before dispersing. I am safe to reclaim my motorcycle, so head off home for a quick bite to eat, and a change of t-shirt, before heading back to Norwich Arts Centre for the Festival's Sunday Night Beat Club with local jazz band, Mammal Hands.

  

Caterpillars and Conductors - from The Castle Museum to St Andrews Hall with The Norfolk & Norwich Festival

Tonight I steward at the Philharmonia Orchestra concert at St Andrews Hall, the spiritual home of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Dating back to 1449, it forms a part of the most complete medieval surviving friary complex in England. Bought from the king by the City Corporation during the Reformation, it was used as a 'common hall'. Norwich's four day 'Grand Music Festival' of 1788 used St Andrews Hall for the evening performances, and the establishment of the Norfolk & Norwich Triennial in 1824 (the precursor of today's Norfolk & Norwich Festival) formed a partnership with St Andrews Hall that exists to this day.

A series of concerts at this year's festival celebrate the 19th century German composer, Felix Mendelsshohn, and along with the tonight's Philharmonia Orchestra performance, there have been concerts of the composer's chamber music at The Octagon Chapel, choral works at Norwich Cathedral, and culminating with a performance of Elijah, back at St Andrews Hall, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Festival Chorus. The soprano role in 'Elijah' was reported written for Jenny Lind, the Swedish singer whose name is associated with our own Jenny Lind Children's Hospital. Mendelssohn himself was once courted for the role of director of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival.

But before I present myself, suitably attired in volunteer t-shirt, at St Andrews Hall, I have time to visit the Castle Museum to check out the Artist Rooms exhibition of works by Jeff Koons, the American artist, and former New York commodities broker, renowned for his reproductions of banal objects.

'Puppy' by Jeff Koons outside the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

The first piece of Jeff Koons' work that I remember was the enormous topiary 'Puppy' outside the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Whilst Artist Rooms have not managed to have this 13 metre high living work of art dismantled and transported to Norwich, they have managed to secure a number of pieces which illustrate the different stages in his creativity, probably the most iconic of which is 'Winter Bears' (1988) from the acclaimed 'banality' series. To stand so close to this polychromed wooden masterpiece that, in photographs, looks simply like a piece of cheap kitsch pottery, is quite wonderful, a bit like seeing the 'Mona Lisa' for the first time.

'Winter Bears'

Other pieces include the gorgeous marble 'Bourgeois Bust - Jeff and Ilona' (1991), a self portrait incorporating his newly-wed wife at the time, Ilona Staller. Staller, an Italian pornography star of the time, was also immortalised musically by English band Pop Will Eat Itself in their 1990 dance hit 'Touched By The Hand of Cicciolina'.

'Bourgeois Bust'

The vitrines of basketballs  and Hoover vacuum cleaners from 'The New' series (1980-87) pre-dates Damien Hirst's tanking of ordinary objects as art by almost ten years, and manipulates familiar objects into an artistic setting, realising the artist's desire to capture and preserve the instant of perfection when everyday objects are first formed and released.

 

The coloured mirror animal heads from the 'Easyfun' series reflect not only the viewer, but also the surrounding exhibits, suggesting that neither should not take be taken too seriously, or even take themselves too seriously. Art is just another consumer product. The fun of 'Caterpillar with Chains' (2002), a heavy aluminium sculpture hung from the ceiling, is that it looks exactly like a weightless inflatable pool toy. The beauty and exquisite quality of the Murano glass pieces that together form 'Mound of Flowers' (1991), is balanced by the fact that, in a photograph, it looks exactly like a cheap piece of pottery.

'Mound of Flowers' with 'Easyfun' mirrors behind

'Caterpillar with Chains'

Koons may be controversial in challenging our perceptions of what constitutes art, but he cannot be ignored. This is the first chance to see his work publicly exhibited in Norwich, and really should not be missed. I took advantage of the Castle Museum's 'Pop in for £2' offer, which includes access to the temporary exhibitions for one hour at lunchtime, or for one hour before closing. I still had enough time to visit some of the works by artists from the Norwich School of Painters, just to remind myself what a traditional landscape artist also has to offer.

Back to St Andrews Hall, and the start of my shift has been brought forward by half an hour to 18.00hr. This is a big venue, and the seating plan can be slightly confusing so, as this is a sold-out performance, we have been brought in earlier to familiarise ourselves with the layout. After placing promotional material from Festival sponsors Abellio Greater Anglia onto the seats, we are given our roles for the evening. I am to be responsible for guiding ticket holders for the South Aisle to their seats, and for marshaling the audience away from the Steinway grand piano as it is moved during the interval. We are given reserved seating so, once everyone else is settled, we can take our places.

The programme starts with Mendelssohns' Overture 'The Hebrides' Op.26, before Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi joins the orchestra for the stunning Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor Op.5. After the interval, during which the piano is intriguingly removed by using a cantilevered ramp hidden beneath a section of the hall floor immediately adjacent to the stage, we re-take our seats for Wagner's 'Siegfried Idyll', and the concert finale, Mendelssohn's Symphony No.4 in A major Op. 90, 'Italian'.

This is my second concert of Mendelssohn works this week, and I have to admit that, despite the undoubted quality of the settings and the performers, I have not changed my personal appreciation of him as a composer. I have never really been a huge fan of the early Romantic composers. The 'Italian' symphony is a little too familiar and 'jolly' for my liking. The Schumann Piano Concerto, though, was absolutely beautiful, the conducting of Jérémie Rhorer, and the technique and concentration of pianist Francesco Piemontesi a pleasure to hear as well as watch, combining together to produce an inspired performance.

A final sweep around the venue to clear glasses and litter form the floor and the seats, and we are discharged. Another packed day as a volunteer for the Norfolk & Norwich Festival comes to an end as we head towards the weekend, and that orgy of free entertainment in Chapelfield Gardens that is 'The Garden Party'. Oh, and there is just the small matter of 'that' football match as well.

Norfolk & Norwich Festival runs until May 24th. For full programme and tickets go to http://www.nnfestival.org.uk/

The Jeff Koons exhibition runs at the Castle Museum until September 6th. For ticket details go to http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/Visit_Us/Norwich_Castle/index.htm

Deborah Pearson's Wonder Striker at Norwich Arts Centre

This was the first of two Live Art performances at Norwich Arts Centre by British-Canadian theatre producer and playwright Deborah Pearson, scheduled as part of this year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Whilst I am scheduled to work the Box Office on Thursday's second performance, and may have still had a chance to see part of the show, the offer of a free ticket for Tuesday's performance was simply too good an opportunity to let pass. The Festival Communications Team had released a limited number of complimentary tickets for Volunteers, and I had arrived in good time to guarantee my place.

The Festival programme, and the posters for tonight's performance do not give much away about the nature of the show, 'The Wonder Striker'. It is described, in brackets, as 'A Work in Progress', but is this to be taken literally? As well as a writer and producer, and co-founder of Edinburgh's award winning Forest Fringe, Pearson is also a performance artist, possibly best known known for her £1 'Advice Booth' which originated in Brick Lane, but also appeared at Latitude five years ago. 

So, who knows what tonight might bring? I have a pound coin ready, just in case.

The show starts with the opening credits to an old black and white movie. It is a foreign film. I recognise the word Magyar, and realise that it is Hungarian. Whilst the film continues, Pearson sits at a desk to the right of stage, monitoring a laptop screen and speaking via a microphone. She begins to translate some of the dialogue into English, even though there is already some sub-titling. 

Gradually it becomes clear that she is actually re-enacting a conversation had with a friend who had been watching the film alongside her, a friend who does not speak Hungarian. From snippets of the conversation we learn that one of the actors was her grandfather. The film is a 1950's comedy farce, so Pearson comments on the appearance of the cast, as well as the absurdity of the plot, and continues to translate as much as her Hungarian allows.

The story is set in the fictitious country of Futbolia. Following the recent football humiliation at the hands of a neighbouring country it is decided to buy the Hungarian wonder striker Ferenc Puskàs in order to bolster the national team. However, instead of purchasing Puskàs, a mix-up during negotiations in a hotel results in them buying instead a petty con-man and pen salesman (played by Pearson's grandfather). 

Just as we begin to wonder if this monologue is how the entire performance is going to pan out, Pearson moves from her desk and sits instead directly in front of the screen facing her audience. The film continues, but now the dialogue and plot become less important. Instead, Pearson is now having a present day conversation with the original Hungarian scriptwriter who, it transpires, fell out of favour with the authorities around the time of the Hungarian uprising in 1956. Whereas her grandfather was deemed to be a 'non-political' man, and managed to escape retribution, the scriptwriter had been viewed as a political subversive. Although the film was completed, and released in Hungary after the uprising, no writing credits were assigned, and entire scenes featuring the real Ferenc Puskàs had to be reshot using a doppelganger.

And so the whole idea behind 'The Wonder Striker' becomes clear. This is a performance of two halves, initially a personal journey of discovery about her grandfather, the film star, and a commentary of the film plot. It then becomes a commentary on the stifling of creativity and freedom of speech and movement during the aftermath of an unsuccessful revolution against communism and Soviet Russia. 

A totally thought-provoking and idiosyncratic performance that leads you to your own conclusion. Pearson's softly spoken delivery lulls you into a relaxed state before hitting you, with devastating precision, with laser-sharpened confidences and revelations. Whilst it is, Pearson stresses, still very much still a work in progress, this is very much a personal journey that may still have further to go.  

And if she gives me a £1 coin, I'd be more than happy to give her some more of my thoughts and advice. 

For the full Norfolk & Norwich Festival programme, and to book tickets, go to http://www.nnfestival.org.uk/

To learn more about Deborah Pearson, or to provide feedback, go to https://deborahpearson123.wordpress.com/

String Quartets and Octagonal Chapels - Northern Chords at The Norfolk & Norwich Festival

A bonus of volunteering at the Norfolk & Norwich Festival is the chance to see performances that perhaps I would not have otherwise have attended. Sometimes my limited finances pose an obstacle, although the chance to steward a Festival event will often allow free entry to the performance itself. On other occasions, the release of a limited number of complimentary or concessionary tickets for volunteers on a first-come first-served basis will tempt me along to an event that may have slipped under my radar, or of which I am not acquainted.

So far this week I have already picked up one extra shift, and taken advantage of one complimentary ticket, thereby boosting my Festival tally by yet another two events.

A chance to steward a concert of three Mendelssohn String Quartets at The Octagon Chapel in Colegate came very much as a last minute surprise. After an exciting two days working with French theatre company X-TNT Monday morning was a chance to catch a bit of a lie in, then catch up with household chores. Only whilst I was cutting the grass in the late afternoon did my mobile phone flash up a Facebook message from the Volunteer Co-ordinators - an urgent call for an extra steward required in just over one hour's time.

Now I live about six miles out of Norwich, and just after five o'clock in the afternoon is probably not the best time to try and get through the city traffic. Fortunately I own a motorbike which not only provides a rapid mode of transport, but also avoids any parking problems. I worked out that I just about had time to shower, don the Volunteer T-Shirt, and still get over to the Octagon Chapel in time for 18.15pm.

And I am so glad I did. The Octagon Chapel is a beautiful setting for a chamber concert - the acoustics are perfect, and the audience is guaranteed a marvellous view from every one of the seats, either downstairs or from the first-floor balcony.

I am met on the steps in the evening sunshine by the Event Manager, Hannah, with whom I worked at Holkham Hall during last year's Voice Project festival performance. She gives us our briefing and allocates responsibilities. I am to be outside on meet and greet.

As all seating is unreserved we are warned that ticket holders may well start arriving well before the start time of 19.30pm. And they do, even before we have managed to locate the keys for the toilets in the adjacent Martineau Hall. We have one wheelchair user to look out for, and a fair number of cyclists are looking for secure railings to lock their bikes to. Several of the older members of the audience have brought their own cushions, and seem to know exactly which seats they are heading for. This is the first of a series of three concerts, and many have purchased tickets for all three. Fortunately they are all well organised, and nobody has brought along the wrong ticket.

The Northern Chords Ensemble is led by cellist Jonathan Bloxham. Drawing current and future artists from the award-winning Northern Chords Festival, based in Gateshead, tonight's other three performers are Bloxham's colleague and former schoolfriend, Ricky Gore, on violin; Bloxham's Estonian born girlfriend, Liisa Randalu, on viola, and newcomer to the ensemble, the Greek-Albanian violinist, Jonian-Ilias Kadesha. Tonight's programme consists of Mendelssohn's String Quartets No 1 in E-flat Op. 12; No 4 in E minor Op.44 No2; and, after a twenty minute interval, No 2 in A minor Op.13.

Not that I am overtly familiar with any of Mendelssohn's string quartets. I had already blown my classical credibility with Hannah by whether we could re-admit latecomers after the interval. 'Yes, string quartets are always of four movements', she reminds me. 'You could let them in at the end of the first movement'. And I could have got away with it as well. Nobody was late back from the interval.

What I will say, though, is that the Northern Chords Ensemble turned in an exemplary performance that even one of our festival interns was taken aback by - it was her first ever 'classical gig'. The wild-haired Jonian played with such energy and flamboyance, Ricky and Liisa added precision and grace, and Jonathan was the rock solid leader on cello. The combination was totally engaging, and, as Jonathan quite rightly pointed out, Mendelssohn is one of those composers for whom programme notes are really unnecessary for the String Quartets. "Audiences just 'get them' instantly", he declared.

The Northern Chords Ensemble received a totally deserved second call-back, and really set the bar high for the rest of the week at The Octagon Chapel. They graciously allowed us to take our wheelchair user through their dressing room to exit the venue, allowing me a chance to congratulate them in person. I would now second that appreciation via this blog entry. Bravo!

For full Norfolk & Norwich Festival programme and tickets go to http://www.nnfestival.org.uk/

For more information on the Northern Chords Festival go to http://www.northernchords.com/

A Weekend of DeDrivng with Norfolk & Norwich Festival and X-TNT

I've just had one of the best weekends ever with a small group of NNF volunteers, working with X-TNT theatre group on a series of social experiments as part of their current project, 'The DeDriving Code'. This is, in, effect, an antithesis of 'The Highway Code'.

Whereas 'The Highway Code' is a book of instructions of what we legally must do whilst out on the streets and highways, 'The DeDriving Code' will educate, enlighten and reawaken citizens to their right to reclaim and reuse public space.

X-TNT is a French company, and exactly what you would expect from the country that invented 'liberté, égalité, fraternité'. On Thursday afternoon the volunteers are led into a vaulted undercroft beneath Augustine Steward House on Tombland to meet with Ludovic Nobileau and Antonia Taddei, directors of the company. The building pre-dates the French revolution by two hundred years, although it is best not mentioned to our Republican friends that, in 1549, it was also headquarters to the Royalist forces that crushed Kett's Rebellion.

Celine, our Event Manager for the three days, has given nothing away, and we are still under the impression that we are here simply to steward the event (although the word 'rehearsal' on our volunteer rota perhaps offers a salutary clue). Ludovic soon puts us straight.

X-TNT main man, Ludovic Nobileau

X-TNT are here in Norwich to perform a number of social 'experiments' as part of their pan-European project to examine what it is possible to do, and what not do, in public open spaces. As their arrival topically coincides with this country's General Election, Ludovic has devised a number of  simple experiments based around the concept of voting, and voting booths. The experiments will be performed over two days, and four of them will require participation of  us, the NNF volunteers.

We discuss our roles, examine the props, and throw together a crude rehearsal of what to expect on Saturday and Sunday. As is appropriate for any trans-European collaborative meeting, the rehearsal is great fun, but still ends with a degree of confusion and uncertainty, partly caused by the frequency and number of Gallic smoke breaks, and partly by the vagary and volatility of the English weather. The afternoon ends with a photo-call on the roundabout opposite the Maids Head Hotel.

Photo from EDP24

Saturday arrives, and the volunteers gather mid-morning on Gentleman's Walk in front of the market. We are here for the first 'experiment', the Disco Voting Booth. Looking to all intents and purposes like a standard electoral voting booth, complete with blue curtain, the X-TNT booth concertinas outwards, claiming space as it does so and allowing the public to indulge in a spot of disco-dancing, whilst maintaining confidentiality and protecting their identity from surveillance.

Ludovic explains the booth to the gathered audience, and company member Natasha duly places her vote before commencing the dance as the music plays. We are then led, one at a time, into the booth as it grows in length, and we continue the party. At its peak the booth holds twelve boogieing voters, complete with rotating mirror-ball. Then, as the booth contracts to its original size, the volunteer revellers leave one by one, having cast their votes and having helped to reclaim the city as a place to party, under the terms of The DeDriving Code.

Photo - Celine McKillion

Whilst Ludovic and his crew went off to the War Memorial to prepare for their 'Observation Booth' experiment, we volunteers were given a break for lunch before reconvening outside St Andrew's Hall at 2.00pm. giving me a chance to wander across to The Forum to catch a few minutes of 'Bill & Bobby', a tribute to the dance partnerships of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and their comedic masterpiece 'Swing Time'. Performed and choreographed by Lucy Bennett and David Toole from Stop Gap Dance, the short except that I caught was together entertaining, comedic and inspirational.

Lucy Bennett and David Toole from Stop Gap dance perform 'Bill & Bobby'

Back down at St Andrews Plain and Celine has managed to persuade the builders refurbishing the former Delaney's Irish Bar to move their van out of X-TNT's planned performance space. Agnès, the set manager, is climbing up and down a ladder like a monkey on heat, fanning yellow cords from a surveillance camera to the ground to indicate its range of vision. This is a popular pedestrian thoroughfare connecting the city centre with the Norwich University of the Arts and the Playhouse Theatre, so each successive strand potentially increases the likelihood of a public garottage from strolling students or theatre patrons.

Photo - Celine McKillion

The 'Umbrella Experiment' is intended to demonstrate that, by wearing a polling booth style 'umbrella' it is possible to reinforce our right to perform legitimate leisure activities without fear of reprisal instigated via a CCTV camera network. To confirm the theory a number of volunteers are allowed to 'perform', under the beam of a CCTV camera, a range of activities including 'Dancing Like a Mama', 'Singing Out of Tune' and 'Simply Being French'. The 'DeDriving Code' will give further examples of behaviour that is allowed in a public space.

The final experiment of the afternoon which, for obvious reasons, did not require the participation of Festival volunteers, was the 'Striptease Booth'. Designed to challenge the prevalence of CCTV surveillance to which we are subjected to on a daily basis, and under the direct gaze of a pole-mounted camera, this experiment turns the tables on the watchers, and attempts to invade the privacy of the monitoring station. Or it might just be an excuse for Natasha to get her kit off for the benefit of a solitary police officer.

Photo - Nikki Davies

The blustery wind provides a challenge for the curtains of the specially converted voting booth for the experiment, threatening to reveal to the audience in Chapelfield Gardens a lot more than just Natasha's voting preferences. Some last minute weighting of the fabric copes with the wind, but not necessarily the backlighting effects of the afternoon sun. As first the boots, and then the dress and remaining clothing were removed and thrown over the booth, their were definitely glimpses of proportional representation, despite the masking effects of the red smoke canisters.

Four more experiments are scheduled for the Sunday, but these are preceded by a 'DeDriving Class' in The Curve Auditorium of The Forum, presented by Ludovic Nobileau. We are shown video excerpts of other X-TNT projects, and we are briefed in Gallic antipathy towards authority and loss of liberty.

The first experiment of the day is the 'Demonstration', in which an anonymous group, shielded by the blue curtain, parade around the city centre, chanting indecipherable slogans and displaying placards consisting only of digitalised 'QR' codes, and the ominous disclaimer 'To be decoded at your own risk'. After a little prompting, some of the Norwich audience did pluck up the courage to point their smartphones at the placards and decode the messages. As I was inside the curtain, working myself hoarse as part of the volunteer platoon, I had no idea what the codes translated to. Interestingly enough, it appears that some of the public did think that we were a genuine post-election 'anti-austerity' demonstration!

Photo - Polly Rayns

'Demonstration' had a serious point to make. In most countries demonstrations have to be registered with the police in advance. By remaining anonymous, and providing protest by proxy, X-TNT prove that a spontaneous gathering can still provide a platform for free speech in public spaces.

The 'CCTV Shower' provided a moment of light relief outside The Forum, where a 'We Are Washing You' sign positioned beneath a surveillance camera proved to be more than a simple typographic error. As anyone approached the camera it sprayed a shower of water in lieu of its more usual invasion of privacy. Even the Festival's Artistic Director, William Galinsky, was persuaded to investigate more closely, even if he was anoraked up and provided with an umbrella first.

One of these is NNF Artistic Director, William Galinsky

The 'Privacy Booth' involved us creating an island of calm at the bottom of London Street, much to the bemusement of the busking saxophonist at the invasion of his 'pitch'. Surrounding the circular bench outside Gap with a large blue curtain, we re-claimed a small part of Norwich city centre as a temporary oasis from the hustle and bustle of a busy afternoon, and invited in members of the public for a quiet moment or two of rest and reflection. We then decided to take our curtain across Castle Meadow, where we attempted to instil the same peace and tranquility to a pedestrian crossing. Unfortunately, Norwich taxi and bus drivers do not appear to share our passion for reclaiming a slice of urban serenity, preferring instead to sound their vehicle horns as an appropriate soundtrack.

Finally, we all retire to St Gregory's Alley, opposite The Birdcage, so that Natasha can take a refreshing and cleansing visit to the 'Shower Booth', proving once again that city spaces can, and should, be used freely and according to the needs of the citizens. The grass lawns and benches can also be used for drinking strong cider, or enjoying cod and chips from The Grosvenor Fish Bar, but that's democracy!

Photo by Gavin Sargent

Photo by Sue Allison

There is time for one final performance within the 'Disco Booth' and then it is time to bid 'au revoir' to the team from X-TNT. It has been a wonderful few days, and all of us have been so enthused and enraptured by the principles of DeDriving. Please come back and see us soon.

For more information about The DeDriving Code, and all other projects by X-TNT, including the wonderfully quirky 'StreetReView' (a reinvention of the Google Street View set amidst the streets of Mons) go to http://www.xtnt.org/index.html

Don't forget, the Norfolk & Norwich Festival runs until May 24th. Pick up a programme or go to http://www.nnfestival.org.uk/


Thanks to NNF staff and volunteers for their photographs.

OK Plank Buddies, This One's For You! - 'Fitting' with Willi Dorner

Friday 8th May. First official day of this year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival, and look at the lovely blue sky. A group of volunteers have gathered outside The Playhouse Theatre in St Georges Street. None of us are quite sure what we will be asked to do, as we have had a chance to see the photographs from the press launch earlier in the week at Norwich Railway Station, in which a member of the Willi Dorner Company was suspended upside down and wedged against the main entrance by a plank of wood. We assume that we are here simply to act as event stewards for a full public performance of 'Fitting' scheduled for two o'clock, but with the Norfolk & Norwich Festival one can never be sure. I have eaten a very light breakfast, just in case.

'Fitting' is an outdoor performance that involves an audience promenade through an urban landscape, challenging preconceptions and asking the audience to examine the spaces through fresh eyes. To facilitate this, the performers position themselves into various nooks and crannies along the route, thereby presenting the audience with the unexpected. At the end of the promenade a choreographed routine examines and challenges the way in which we are expected to interact with architecture. This will be the UK premiere of the work. There are to be performances on each of the first three days of the festival.

Now that we understand what the work is about, it becomes clear why so many of us have turned out on this lovely Friday morning. We are all here for a dress rehearsal, and to familiarise ourselves with the route. We will then accompany the audience on one or more of the actual performances, either later today, or over the weekend. The idea is for us to safely guide the audience, at a leisurely pace, through the streets towards the location for the the finale. At nine points along the route performers will be secreted into unusual and challenging spaces, and hopefully the audience will spot them all.

As the choreographer Will Dorner runs through the detail of the performance with us, there is much mention of planks of wood of varying lengths, and of locations referred to only by number. By the time we have been briefed as to which planks need to be where, by when, and for whom, I was beginning to wish that perhaps I was simply being hung upside down and left to dry. Never fear. Lizzie, our Event Manager, soon had a handle on things and had us paired up as Plank Buddies to move the props around in the correct order. The rest of us could concentrate on shepherding the audience in the right direction without them getting run over.

The dress rehearsal passes off smoothly, and after a coffee and a Greggs sausage roll for lunch, I am ready for the afternoon performance, which is being attended by an audience that includes Festival patrons, local dignitaries and members of the cultural glitterati of the Norwich arts scene. They have apparently not had their lunch at Greggs.

Lizzie announces the start of the promenade, and requests that the audience remain behind her as we make our way along St Georges Street. And so it is that a slightly surreal, messianic procession of our Event Manager, flanked by volunteers, and followed by an audience of festival guests, members of the public, and media photographers meanders its way through the streets of NR3. As each hidden performer is revealed there is much clicking of cameras and excited chatter. Our job is to ensure that we keep the convoy moving, and to protect it from other road users. We do  not want to rush anyone, but we are also aware that the performers can only hold some of their poses for a few minutes maximum. To maximise impact, we ideally do not want our audience to see the performers getting into position, or back onto the ground at the end.

As there are still two more performances to go, I don't want to include any plot spoilers, so suffice to say that we arrive at our destination in time for the finale, which is also watched by a number of bemused shoppers and passers-by. As far as I know, all the VIP guests made it to the end of the promenade, and we all followed the Green Cross Code every step of the way.

No doubt there will be some press photographs in tonight's local paper, but here's a few of my snapshots in the meantime:

I might put a few others up after the weekend, when it is OK to reveal the exact locations used.

From Norwich to Felbrigg Hall for Wolf's Child (About 22 miles as the Crow Flies)

Last night saw the first full preview performance  of Wolf's Child, the outdoor drama production by the renowned WildWorks theatre company. Staged in the grounds of Felbrigg Hall, a 17th century Jacobean country house close to the North Norfolk coast and now owned by the National Trust, Wolf's Child is a site specific work, written and conceived as the jewel in the crown of this year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival. It will be performed every evening (except Sundays) between now and May 23rd.

The first planned performance on Tuesday was cancelled because of  dangers caused by the high winds, so last night was, in effect, the world premiere. My volunteer rota had me down as an Event Steward, with responsibilities to include 'Coach Chaperone / Box Office Assistant / Tramper Mobility Scooters', and my instruction was to report to the Theatre Royal at 17.00hr. The final weather check, and decision to go ahead with the performance would be taken one hour earlier - the winds were still gusting strongly right through the morning. Cancelling would mean another round of phone calls, text messages and e-mails to all the ticket holders as well as performers and stewards.

First advice to any volunteers listed as Event Steward for Wolf's Child. If your shift starts at 17.00hr, that is the time that the coach LEAVES the Theatre Royal in order to get through the rush hour traffic in order to arrive at Felbrigg by 18.00hr. If you arrive at five minutes past, the coach will have left without you.

The coach was filled with a mixture of 'Crow Stewards', whose job is to dress up and, in character, escort an audience of 250 along the meandering woodland paths of Felbrigg Hall to the various sets; and 'Maids', who perform as a chorus in several of the scenes. They have all been travelling out to Felbrigg for rehearsals for the last month, and there is a real cameraderie on the coach, as well as an air of excitement and anticipation at finally performing in front of a live audience.

On arrival at Felbrigg, the wind is blowing, the rain has started, and waterproof and windproof jackets seem more appropriate than the light cotton costumes that the maids are going to be wearing. Whilst I await my instructions the maids are taken through a vocal warm up and a final run through of their parts, and the 'crows' are given a final briefing to take account of some last minute changes and amendments to the route the audience will take.

Because this is a site specific piece, the company arrived with only an outline of how the final show would appear. As rehearsal got under way Artistic Director Bill Mitchell familiarised himself with the landscape of the Felbrigg Hall estate, sets were conceived and built and the script was finalised. The version that the audience gets to see is the result of much experimentation, fine tuning, and collaborative suggestion. This is what has made the whole experience so immersive and rewarding for the volunteers involved in the project.

By seven o'clock the audience are beginning to arrive. I am charged with checking tickets and general meet-and-greet. Hot food and a bar is available, and the pulled pork baps look delicious. Off-road buggies have been arranged for those who have requested mobility assistance, so my main role is to make sure that the audience is briefed, and ready for the off at 7.45pm. Main tips for anyone coming for the show - wear sensible shoes, dress appropriately for the weather, and remember to use the toilets before you are led through the gates for the start of the performance. Once the audience were past the main house I was taken to change into a crow's costume, and allowed to join the performance for a one-night-only chance to be a part of 'Wolf's Child'.

The performance follows a path between a number of individual locations. After passing the main house the route enters the woods. By this time the sun is setting and the light is fading, as the audience are led deeper and deeper into the woods. At each location they are chaparoned and guided by the crows into a circle to watch the action. Some of the performers are already in place by the time the audience arrive. Others suddenly appear from within the surrounding woodland, accompanied by much flapping and kerfuffling by the crows. The dialogue and song sets each scene as the action unfurls, with haunting sound effects appearing to come from deep within the woods, and atmospheric lighting allowing the audience to become mesmerised and immersed in the story.

By the time it is completely dark we are following the torches of the crows as we pick our way through the woods. Lanterns pick out some of the route, but otherwise it is a case of looking where you are going, and avoiding the inevitable tree roots, twigs and puddles. As we arrive at each successive set the effect becomes more and more magical, and the audience is totally transfixed. There is no distracting chatter and everyone keeps their mobile phones and cameras in their pockets.

Only at the dramatically lit finale, when the entire have taken their bows to raptuous applause, do we start to pick up on the audience reaction. 'The best show I have ever seen' was just one comment that I heard personally.

As I got on the coach for the journey back to Norwich I felt extremely honoured to have been just a very small part of this production. I also felt slightly jealous of all the volunteers who are involved with Wolf's Child, either as maids or as crows. They are having a unique chance to work directly with an amazing theatre company, and to see the project right through from early rehearsals to final performance.

If you are sent out to Felbrigg as a volunteer steward, make the most of the experience. If you are involved with the production as a crow or maid, enjoy the rest of your performances. And, if you are attending a performance as part of the audience, you are certainly in for an unforgettable evening (and hopefully a warm summer evening and a glorious sunset).

Performances run until May 23rd, although some performances may already be sold out. Contact the Festival Box Office - 01603 766400, or book online at www.nnfestival.org.uk or www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk

Pick up a brochure, or go online, for details of the whole of this year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival programme.

Press Launches, High Winds and Planking - The Start of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival

I am still feeling a bit sheepish this morning.

Yesterday was the press launch for the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, a chance to get some additional publicity, and another chance for our illustrious Artistic Director, William Galinsky, to be photographed getting into the festival spirit. Last year's launch event, held at Norwich Railway Station via principal travel partner Abellio Greater Anglia, had Mr Galinsky blowing into a trumpet as part of a taster show by performance artist Holly Bodmer.

This year, commuters arriving at Norwich Station were met by the sight of Esther Steinkogler, a member of the Willi Dorner Company, hanging upside down by the main entrance, supported only by a plank of wood. This was a pre-taste of what to expect this Friday, Saturday and Sunday around the city centre as the company perform 'Fitting', an outdoor performance that views urban landscapes through fresh eyes.

'Fitting' outside Norwich Railway Station (photo - www.edp24)

Like I said, I am feeling a little sheepish, having been a bit of a plank myself. I was supposed to be one of four NNF volunteers helping out with the press launch but, due to a mix up over the way in which BT Yahoo are sorting my e-mails at the moment, I didn't read the message. The shift was offered on a strictly first-come first served basis before the Bank Holiday weekend, and I assumed I had been too late to register my interest. I had even intended to go along to the railway station anyway, just to see what was going on and take a few pictures. I therefore owe Lizzie, our Volunteer Co-ordinator, the other three volunteers, and anyone else who would have liked to have been there in my place, a huge apology. And after everything I said about volunteers needing to be reliable and keeping the organisers informed.

The pictures of Esther duly appeared in the evening's newpapers and on local television channels, although there was no sign of Mr Galinsky hanging upside down on the opposite side of the doorway. Shame on you, sir! However, he and Abellio's Jonathan Denby were there to be interviewed, and herald the start of this year's festival.

Another problem was caused yesterday by the high winds throughout the region. Last night's performance of 'Wolf's Child' had to be cancelled as the safety of cast and audience could not be guaranteed in the strong blustery conditions. This amazing adult fairytale drama is being staged in the woods of Felbrigg Hall, and is produced by WildWorks with a cast that includes a chorus of maids and flock of crows drawn from the local community. Unfortunately, it would have been simply too dangerous to have gone ahead with last night's preview performance. Hopefully the winds will have subsided sufficiently by this evening for tonight's show to go ahead. I certainly hope so, as I am due to be on the coach travelling out there to act as a steward, and it may be my only chance to see any of this amazing show.

And I promise faithfully that I will be there on time for the start of my shift.

Buy tickets for Wolf's Child, or any other events for this year's Norfolk & Norwich Festival at
www.nnfestival.org.uk/