Pulse Festival Line-Up Confirmed For New Wolsey Theatre, May 29-June 7

The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich is delighted to announce the full programme for the 14th annual Pulse Festival Ipswich from Thursday 29 May to Saturday 7 June 2014. Pulse Festival Ipswich is a part curated, part open application 10-day festival focusing on new and innovative work, offering a bright and inspiring snapshot of contemporary theatre and performance.

The 2014 programme presents a diverse range of work by regional, British and international artists across a variety of genres, with highlights including:

Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model | Thursday 29 May, 7.00pm

In a provocative protest against global attempts to sexualise and commodify childhood for profit, award-winning artist Bryony Kimmings and her niece Taylor, nine, play the global tween machine at its own game by inventing dinosaur-loving, bike riding, tuna pasta-eating, alternative pop star Catherine Bennett. ????? Independent

Suitcase Day | Friday 30 May

A Pulse initiative, launched at last year's Festival, The Suitcase Prize is aimed at encouraging theatre makers to think in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. 10 work-in-progress performances will be presented that must be brand new and able to travel on public transport in luggage carried by those taking part. At the end of the day a panel of industry professionals will award £1000 to one of these bold and adventurous ideas.

Gym Party | Saturday 31 May

Last year, Pulse presented their first co-commission [to the festival], a work in progress of Made In China's Gym Party in collaboration with Battersea Arts Centre, Mayfest, Sprint and Sampled Festivals. This year's Festival presents the final version, which received rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013. ???? The Times

My Son and Heir | Saturday 31 May

A work-in-progress performance of a Pulse Festival Ipswich co-commission with MayFest, Sprint and Cambridge Junction, about parents who have a son born in the same year as the royal 'Baby Cambridge'. Confronting the spectacle of the 'New Royals' and their strategic attempts to appear just like us, My Son & Heir is an anarchic celebration of the everyday heroism of parenthood.

Dance Night | Monday 2 June

New to the 2014 Festival, DanceEast and Pulse Festival Ipswich presents Hetain Patel's American Boy, and a preview of Wendy Houstoun's Words Into The Dark

Raymondo | Thursday 5 June

The World Premiere of a New Wolsey Theatre commission from playwright/performer Annie Siddons (Kneehigh, BAC, Unicorn, Bristol Old Vic). A show about growing up for grown ups, Raymondo weaves a dark, funny lyrical narrative of love and survival over an atmospheric live score.

The festival provides a platform for the development and presentation of new work by regional, British and international artists of vision, and aims to nurture artistic ambition and excellence across a range of art forms. The 2014 Pulse Festival Ipswich will present work across a variety of genres, from comedy to dance and everything in between, in various forms from tour-ready work to rehearsed readings, and works at an advanced stage of development.

Now in its 14th year, Pulse Festival Ipswich has presented new work from a host of local and international artists and companies including Gecko, Talking Birds, Lucy Ellinson, Made in China, Caroline Horton, Victoria Melody, Chris Goode, Mark Thomas, Daniel Bye, Chris Thorpe, Action Hero and Ursula Martinez.

The 2014 Pulse Festival Ipswich welcomes back China Plate as Festival Directors. The established producing team bought last year's festival a fresh, adventurous line-up that included Caroline Horton's Mess, Mark Thomas' Bravo Figaro, a bespoke commission from Lucy Ellinson, and last year's festival co-commission Gym Party which was developed in collaboration with SPRINT, Mayfest,Battersea Arts Centre and Cambridge Junction's Sampled Festival. As part of the Festival and China Plate's commitment to developing work across the country, they will be supporting Search Party's production My Son and Heir as this year's co-commission alongside SPRINT, Mayfest, and Cambridge Junction.

The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich is a regional theatre with a national reputation for the quality, range and reach of its work and for embracing cultural diversity in the widest sense. The theatre is central to the creative life of Suffolk and seeks to expand the horizons of audiences and artists by presenting a programme designed to entertain, enrich and challenge.

FESTIVAL LISTINGS

THURSDAY 29 MAY 2014

Bryony Kimmings presents

CREDIBLE LIKEABLE SUPERSTAR ROLE MODEL

Triple Award Winning show by artist Bryony Kimmings and her 9 year old niece.

Venue: New Wolsey Theatre 7pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Every Day presents

THE LOVE PROJECT

A verbatim play about the subject of love.

Venue: New Wolsey Studio 9pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

SUITCASE PRIZE DAY SESSION ONE 1.00-2.20pm

Venue: New Wolsey Studio (Tickets: day ticket £15.00, add Near Gone for £5)

Lawrence Speck and Joe Wild present

BROTHERS OF JUSTICE

Brothers of Justice are real-life superheroes!

Jack Bennett in association with ARC Stockton presents

TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG

A funny and ambitious clarion call to put education right

Antler

COPY

A show about invisibility and impersonation and vicariousness and narcissism

SUITCASE DAY SESSION TWO 2.50 - 4.10pm

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre (Tickets: day ticket £15.00, add Near Gone for £5)

Catherine Dyson presents

WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

A family falls apart in this darkly vivid rural mystery

Hester Chillingworth presents

AGENT EVERYWHERE

'Visualise or kill' Agent Everywhere is waiting for your text

Sh!t Theatre presents

GUINEA PIGS ON TRIAL

Sh!t Theatre share their ongoing efforts to sell themselves to medical science

SUITCASE PRIZE DAY SESSION THREE 5.30 - 7.30pm

Venue: New Wolsey Studio (Tickets: day ticket £15.00, add Near Gone for £5)

Tessa Waters presents

WOMANz

A high octane physical comedy celebrating what it means to be a woman

Hannah Silva presents

SCHLOCK!

A collision between Fifty Shades of Grey, the radical punk-pirate Kathy Acker and the sounds of Sonic Youth

Tom Marchman presents

A PLACE IN THE SUN

Exploring the pleasures and pains, and highs and lows of all-inclusive holidays

Rachel Lincoln presents

LIE BACK AND THINK OF ENGLAND

A clown teaches sex education in this touching, irreverent, physical comedy

Two Destination Language presents

NEAR GONE

Two performers, four hundred flowers and a heartfelt story of survival - with fantastic gypsy music

Venue: New Wolsey Theatre 9pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

SUITCASE PRIZE AWARDS CEREMONY 10.30pm

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre

Greg Wohead presents

THE BACKSEAT OF MY CAR (and Other Stories)

An interactive true storytelling piece for one audience member at a time that takes place in a parked car.

VENUE: Car in a car park (Free sign ups throughout the day)

John Osborne presents

THE NEW BLUR ALBUM

A life story told through Blur albums

Venue: New Wolsey Studio 10am (Tickets: £15 for all Scratch Sessions, or £5 individually)

SCRATCH SESSION 11am - 11.50am

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre (Tickets: £15 for all Scratch Sessions, or £5 individually)

Little But Fierce presents

TORTOISE: REDUX

Three women, one psychiatric ward, one Christmas. Lots of fun?

Greg McLaren presents

ICON FOR IPSWICH

A new type of socio-industrial experiment - based in Ipswich!

SCRATCH SESSION 12.10pm - 1.00pm

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre (Tickets: £15 for all Scratch Sessions, or £5 individually)

Sophie Woolley and Gemma Fairlie present

HOLIDAY SELFIE

A comically inspirational journey of selfie escape

Eggs Collective present

EGGS COLLECTIVE GET A ROUND

Dark, satirical, heart-warming comedy from Duckie favourites, Eggs Collective

Analogue present

STOWAWAY

The story of a desperate act for a better life

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 2.30pm (Tickets: £15 for all Scratch Sessions, or £5 individually)

Eastern Angles present

CHICKEN

A quirky and darkly funny new play from Molly Davies

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 3.30pm (Tickets: £15 for all Scratch Sessions, or £5 individually)

Search Party presents

MY SON AND HEIR

An anarchic celebration of the everyday heroism of parenthood

VENUE: High Street Exhibition Gallery 5.30pm (Tickets: £15 for all Scratch Sessions, or £5 individually)

Made In China presents

GYM PARTY

A razor sharp and darkly comic exploration of our universal desire to win

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 7.30pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5 - add this show for £5 when you book for all 6 Scratch sessions)

FAMILY DAY

New Wolsey Theatre present

STORYMAKER

If you're 3 to 6 years old and love silly stories and tremendous tales then you've got to come and meet the Storymaker.

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm ,4pm (Tickets: Free)

Highly Sprung and Vortex Creates presents

TRAVELING TREASURY

A magical story telling experience that takes places in a beautifully transformed caravan

VENUE: New Wolsey Terrace 12 - 3pm and 4 - 6pm every 10 mins (Tickets: Free)

Kid Carpet presents

BLAST OFF

An entertaining mix of live music, silliness and lots of laughs

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 1pm (Tickets £8.50/£5)

A Little Commitment and Red Earth Theatre Company in association with Birmingham mac present

PIRATE AND PARROT

World's smallest pirate meets world's biggest parrot = fun and adventure

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 3pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Join A Little Commitment for a fun workshop aimed at parents, carers and children that explores the concept that everyone is different.

MacRobert Arts Centre presents

TITUS

The smash-hit drama about big lies and small truths. Suitable for ages 10+

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 6pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

DANCE NIGHT AT DANCEEAST

Wendy Houstoun presents a work in progress of

WORDS INTO THE DARK

A work in progress using word association and loose improvisation

VENUE: DanceEast 7pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Hetain Patel presents

AMERICAN BOY

A witty personal; take on the influence of movies and how we form our identity

VENUE: DanceEast 9pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Francesca Millican-Slater presents

THE FORENSICS OF A FLAT

A bit of stand up, a bit biography, a bit documentation - a love affair with a flat

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 7pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Babakas presents

OUR FATHERS

A journey through fatherhood, inventive comedy and unforgettable emotion combine

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 9pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

New Wolsey Young Associates present

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A 10 step guide to adult life: by teenagers

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 7pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari present

A CONVERSTION

A darkly comic show guided by a 1920's conversation manual

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 9pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Vital Xposure presents

LET ME STAY

A tender and unique exploration of the impact of Alzheimer's on family relationships

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 7pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Annie Siddons presents the World Premiere of

RAYMONDO

A show about growing up for grown ups

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 9pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Theater Aan Zee, Richard Jordan Production, Big in Belgium and Theatre Royal Plymouth present

FREEZE

An artist balances stones on top of each other

VENUE: High Street Exhibition Gallery 7pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Greyscale present

GODS ARE FALLEN AND ALL SAFETY GONE

A story of a mother and a daughter, performed by two male actors

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 8.30pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Brian Lobel presents

PURGE

Part game show, part love story, part lecture exploring modern friendships

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 9.45pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

METIS presents

WORLD FACTORY: THE SHOP

Immers yourself in the world of the global textile industry

VENUE: Tower Ramparts Shopping Centre 10am - 4pm (Free)

Join METIS at 5.30pm at the New Wolsey Theatre for WORLD FACTORY: THE SHIRT - a presentation of the project so far (Tickets: Free - ticketed)

Selina Thompson present

CHEWING THE FAT

Glitter, chicken, rice-pudding piñatas: a midnight feast like no other

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 2.30pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

Sue MacLaine presents

STILL LIFE

A meditation on the complex relationship between artist and model

VENUE: High Street Exhibition Gallery (Tickets £8.50/£5)

New Art Club present

FEEL ABOUT YOUR BODY

An uplifting and hilarious spectacle about how we feel about our bodies

VENUE: New Wolsey Theatre 7.30pm (Tickets: £8.50/£5)

GabbleBabble present

THE BLOODY BALLAD

Murderously sexy, riotously bloody, dark and debauched with rockin' music

VENUE: New Wolsey Studio 9.30pm (Tickets £8.50/£5)