Flamboyant Street Theatre Line-up For Festival

Friday, 10 June 2016 09:20

Bradford Council is set to stage a host of colourful, creative and flamboyant street theatre acts at the Bradford Festival in July.

Award-winning British acts will perform alongside high quality local creations at the free festival which attracted over 150,000 people to Bradford city centre last year.

Award winning British theatre troupe, Ramshacklicious bring a new act featuring trombone, tuba, baritone ukulele and electronic drums with clowning, puppetry, fire and pyrotechnics.

Mr. & Mr. Burn is an explosive, chaotic and offbeat double act where anything can and probably will go wrong!

The combustible theme continues with celebrated British theatre company, Plunge Boom's Smoke, a comical show where the character becomes increasingly engulfed by fumes pouring from various parts of his clothing.

Bicycle Bistro by women's circus theatre company, Circo Rum Ba Ba will serve up laughs and delight as two eccentric moustachioed waiters arrive on their bistro on wheels.

They lay the table, wind up the gramophone and unleash 40 minutes of choreographed cafe mayhem featuring hat juggling, spinning plates, tea dancing, acrobatics, musical saw playing and a surprising table cloth trick.

Visitors to Bradford's premier festival in July will see a gigantic four metre tall inflatable elephant parading triumphantly around City Park.

The elephant's mahout will allow a lucky few to take charge of the animal and people will be invited to take photographs of themselves with the beautiful beast.

However, the Todmorden-based creators, Spacecadets, are warning festival goers to be careful, this gentle giant has an unexpected trick up his trunk.

Hilarious double act, Dan the Hat and DJ Bobble bring Catching and Scratching, a roving street theatre piece blending world-class hat manipulation with classic tunes and sublime scratching.

Audiences will see another clever comedy routine set to music and featuring slack-rope walking, contortionism and bottle balancing.

In George Orange's Man on the Moon, an eccentric clown and dancer from Chicago ‘arrives via the moon, bringing a bit of it with him'.

The tricks increase in size and complexity climaxing in a spectacular finale

where the audience will help him ‘walk across the moon'.

Australian, Andrew Elliot will perform Jaardu, a cheeky, provocative and flirtatious, caricature of an Indian village magician who blends magic, comedy and a very original snake charming routine.

Jaardu was created during Elliot's time in northern India where he spent time with a group of gypsy magicians known as Madari.

Also inspired by the sub-continent, Jay Kumar and Dance Asia will light up City Park with colourful and flamboyant Bollywood dance routines.

A Piece of Friendship by Olivia Calder is a beautifully collaborative dance

duet inspired by the quirky, comical and often-random aspects that make up friendship.

The piece is based on the existing relationship between two dancers, Inari Hulkkonen and Paul Guenot.

The work plays on the recollection of memories and how friendships can take on a life of their own.

Complementary local street theatre acts announced last week include Bradford Playhouse's debut of Escape from the Invisible Zoo, Q20 Theatre's The MirrorMen, Same Difference's Where is Wendy? and Cecil Green Arts' Out of the Ashes.

Coun Alex Ross-Shaw, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Planning and Transport, said: "This year's festival is packed with lots of colourful and entertaining things to see and do.

"The street theatre programme is particularly strong with some incredibly innovative and creative acts offering people plenty of opportunities to interact with the performers.

"Admission is free and everyone is welcome.”

The Bradford Festival runs from 8-10 July in City Park, Bradford.

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