For the second year running, Marches Makers Festival is delighted to host performances by the
ABOUT FACE THEATRE COMPANY
"WE ARE ALL STORIES"
Sunday 1st May 2022
"WE ARE ALL STORIES"
Sunday 1st May 2022
Five “theatre for one” shows looking at true stories from Hereford
Performed by About Face theatre co who are based in Leominster
Each piece is performed to a small audience and lasts no longer than 15 minutes
Performed by About Face theatre co who are based in Leominster
Each piece is performed to a small audience and lasts no longer than 15 minutes
The Plays
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THE GIANTS TEAR
at Made in the Marches Gallery, 12 Church Street (performed to 1 person) A delightful piece of theatre tells the history of Hereford in micro puppetry. We see a sabre-tooth tiger roaming the world and the first Woolly mammoth performed on the palm of your hand. |
CANARY GIRLS
at the Coach House (Market Hall) (performed to 3 people) Shadow puppet show telling the story of the Canary girls who worked in munition factories making bombs. 4000 women from across the UK were employed at Rotherwas in 1918. The chemicals in the explosives turned their hair and skin yellow and they were known as the Canary Girls. In our story we compare war to a circus. A very moving and beautiful piece of shadow theatre. |
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MARDEN BELL
at Place de Marines (Market Hall) (performed to 3 people) Did you know there is a mermaid that lives in a river in Marden? A story told with water puppetry. |
MOTT THE HOOPLE
at Lion Cafe, Bridge Street, Kington (performed to 1 person) Just what has the Black and White House in the middle of Hereford seen from its windows? Wear the house on your head and hear it’s stories. |
LITTLE MARY
at Border Bean Cafe, 22-24 High Street (performed to 3 people) Ada Chapman, the world’s first Woman circus owner. Come to tea and hear her story. |
FREE TICKETS... but donations will be gladly accepted...
Due to the intimate nature of these very special shows, places are extremely limited. Here is how to make sure you get to see what you want to see.
TICKETS:
Please obtain a free ticket before you attend. The limited number of tickets will be available in advance from the Made in the Marches Gallery, 12 Church Street, Kington during the week before the festival - Tuesday 26th April to Friday 29th April, 11am to 4pm - and on Saturday and Sunday from the Information Hub in the Market Hall.
TICKETS:
Please obtain a free ticket before you attend. The limited number of tickets will be available in advance from the Made in the Marches Gallery, 12 Church Street, Kington during the week before the festival - Tuesday 26th April to Friday 29th April, 11am to 4pm - and on Saturday and Sunday from the Information Hub in the Market Hall.
TIMINGS:
At each venue there will be 12 performances - 4 between 11am and 12pm, (11.00, 11.15, 11.30, 11.45) 4 between 1pm and 2pm (1.00, 1.15, 1.30, 1.45) and 4 between 2.30pm and 3.30pm (2.30, 2.45, 3.00, 3.15)
We ask for your understanding as these times are approximate and may vary slightly depending on audience reactions and so on....
AUDIENCE NUMBERS:
Audience numbers for each performance is very limited - 2 plays are performed to just one person (Giant's Tears* and Mott the Hoople*) and Canary Girls, Marden Bell* and Little Mary are performed to just 3 people.
*These 3 performances lend themselves to a small number of extra viewers - but not direct participation.
MASKS:
We would ask that audience members please wear a face mask when attending these performances due to the intimate/close contact interactions between actors and audience.
At each venue there will be 12 performances - 4 between 11am and 12pm, (11.00, 11.15, 11.30, 11.45) 4 between 1pm and 2pm (1.00, 1.15, 1.30, 1.45) and 4 between 2.30pm and 3.30pm (2.30, 2.45, 3.00, 3.15)
We ask for your understanding as these times are approximate and may vary slightly depending on audience reactions and so on....
AUDIENCE NUMBERS:
Audience numbers for each performance is very limited - 2 plays are performed to just one person (Giant's Tears* and Mott the Hoople*) and Canary Girls, Marden Bell* and Little Mary are performed to just 3 people.
*These 3 performances lend themselves to a small number of extra viewers - but not direct participation.
MASKS:
We would ask that audience members please wear a face mask when attending these performances due to the intimate/close contact interactions between actors and audience.
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The Production
This new collection of five theatre-for-one plays, inspired by historical stories from around Herefordshire, is beautifully presented by the actors and puppets in a magical space created for you, the audience of one. Let About Face take you on a journey from pre-history tropical Herefordshire, taking in a wartime love story and encountering the Mermaid of Marden, a little-known legend from the County. A spinster spins about Ada Chapman who brought her circus from Birmingham during the war, and Hereford’s history passes by the windows of the Black and White House. Along the way you will meet a giant sturgeon, hold a sabre toothed tiger in the palm of your hand, see acrobats and canaries dance on a tightrope, whilst watching out for sheep and pigs and woolly mammoths and giants of Glam Rock… About Face actor, Tim Dowse, who performs one of the pieces commented, ““It’s been fantastic to be in the new play but it was hard work. We had not done a theatre for one play before but I enjoyed taking an idea and turning it into a theatre piece through drama workshops. I really hope the audience finds it interesting”. About Face Artistic Director, Jess McKenzie, said of the new production, “I think We Are All Stories is an amazing piece of theatre. About Face always aims to offer stimulating and original theatre that is both challenging and entertaining. This show is the result of months of work and a personal creative journey for every member of the team and I hope it will help change people’s perception of disabilities through the arts”. |
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The Company
About Face perform mainly in Herefordshire, but they have a growing national reputation and have toured both regionally and nationally. As well as performing plays especially written for the Company, About Face also takes a regular programme of workshops and performances into primary schools across the county. About Face is part of the ECHO charity based in Leominster and is Herefordshire's theatre company for people with learning disabilities. The new production is a collaboration between About Face, local touring theatre company The Fetch and Herefordshire’s Museum Services. ECHO is an independent, Herefordshire-based charity with 230 members and over 90 volunteers. ECHO runs projects in many community based venues and in 2015 proudly celebrated 25 years of making a difference to the lives of disabled people. (Reg. charity no: 1096449 Company no: 4475254) |
Some audience reactions to We Are All Stories:
“Thank you for a wonderful experience I didn't expect to see on my brief visit to Hereford. Your performances bounced me from tears to laughter and you made a memory that will stay with me for quite a while. Well done to you all”.
“Congratulations to the Company and everyone involved in the production - a triumph!”
“Thank you for the opportunity to see something so fantastic…”
“Thank you for a wonderful experience I didn't expect to see on my brief visit to Hereford. Your performances bounced me from tears to laughter and you made a memory that will stay with me for quite a while. Well done to you all”.
“Congratulations to the Company and everyone involved in the production - a triumph!”
“Thank you for the opportunity to see something so fantastic…”
For more information about ECHO and About Face Theatre Company please see
www.echoherefordshire.org.uk/ www.aboutfacetheatre.org.uk/
For further information or to arrange interviews/photo opportunities,
please contact:
Jess McKenzie or Nick Baker on 01568 616301 or 07747 897672
Email admin@aboutfacetheatre.org.uk
www.echoherefordshire.org.uk/ www.aboutfacetheatre.org.uk/
For further information or to arrange interviews/photo opportunities,
please contact:
Jess McKenzie or Nick Baker on 01568 616301 or 07747 897672
Email admin@aboutfacetheatre.org.uk
