Left Alone at Bristol Harbourside Festival 2015
On Sunday 19th July, the sun shone brightly on the Cirque Bijous stage of Bristol's Harbourside Festival. Families gathered in intrigue, as our company of ten young people from Travelling Light's Youth Theatre and Circomedia's Youth Circus set their props for the first spectacle of the day.
Left Alone was an original co-production, devised by the young people themselves and aimed at audiences with young children. The piece told the story of two children left home alone by their parents; told to stay put and eat their sandwiches the children rebel and begin to explore the house - alone! The show involved a colourful tapestry of circus skills such as juggling, stilt walking, silks, trapeze, puppetry all adjoined by physical theatre to tell the story.
The audience were engaged throughout, as the company moved through the story. We were really thrilled with this project; for some of our young people it was their first experience of outdoor theatre, and they performed incredibly well, setting the bar high for the remainder of a sunny day at the festival!
Following the success of this project, Travelling Light Youth Theatre and Circomedia Youth Circus have joined forces on a summer school, taking place at Circomedia over 24th-27th August, and open only to both youth groups' members, aged 11 – 17 years. The residency will involve a range of master classes including script writing, devising a character, prop making and design, physical theatre, movement and circus skills.