Ferment flies the flag for the South West with record number of artists at Edinburgh Fringe
This August, Ferment are taking the largest number of productions to Edinburgh in its seven year history, supporting eight shows across the festival. Offering tailored advice, and working closely with artists through the development process, Ferment is able to help showcase work at the Edinburgh Fringe – one of the many ways the department are able to advocate the very best of the South West and continue to develop these vital local voices.
The Ferment supported projects at this years’ Edinburgh Fringe Festival are:
The Castle Builder, Vic Llewellyn & Kid Carpet
Dame Nature: The Magnificent Bearded Lady, Tim Bell and Havoc Theatre
The Hours Before We Wake, Tremolo Theatre
Cuncrete, Rachael Clerke & The Great White Males
Shaedates: Or How I Learned To Love Myself, Shaelee Rooke
Spill: A verbatim show about sex, Propolis Theatre
Eurohouse, Nasi Voutsas & Bertrand Lesca, co-produced by FellSwoop Theatre
We are Brontë, Publick Transport
Ferment is the artist development department of Bristol Old Vic. A year round quest to find, support and nurture local talent, Ferment provides South West artists with an opportunity to explore their theatrical ideas in an ongoing dialogue with audiences. Working with exciting devisers, directors, writers, dancers, musicians, poets, puppeteers and live artists, Ferment invites artists whose work spans genre and form to experiment, play and make the theatre of tomorrow.
Artist Tim Bell, who is presenting Dame Nature at the festival, said: “Ferment supports artists in just the right way; the freedom to think, the space to try things out, and the platform from which to talk about your work to a larger audience. The approach to every artist is different. They’ve asked me difficult questions and then given me the support to answer them. I think that my show is braver, bolder and ultimately better because of it.”
Cuncrete creator Rachael Clerke said: “Ferment have supported Cuncrete from its inception; from a vague idea over a coffee, through rehearsals, work in progress showings, and final production. Working alongside a brilliant team within a renowned venue like Bristol Old Vic makes me feel supported as an artist in Bristol, and further afield. I’m not sure this show would have happened without Emma and Helen’s belief in my desire to make this bizarro thing!”
Emma Bettridge, Ferment Producer added: “Ferment is awfully proud of the rich mix of work found across the South West region, and of the individual voices which inspire us. Our aim is to constantly try to assist theatre-makers, to give them the best possible opportunity to take their work to the next level, presenting a show at the Edinburgh Festival is one step in this direction.”
Other events this year
Ferment artists to present work on Bristol Old Vic Theatre stage for the first time this week.
Ferment takes over the Theatre between 26 – 30 July. Presenting work-in-progress from faces both familiar and unknown, the much lauded festival of new projects will provide local artists the opportunity to present this early-stage work on the Theatre stage for the first time. This exciting moment allows both Ferment and the artists involved a chance to explore how to make work for the Theatre stage, and what that could mean for these new show ideas at an early stage of development.
From Made in Bristol graduates (Stephanie Kempson’s Sharp Teeth Theatre) to Bristol favourites (Kid Carpet, Sam Halmarack) to established theatre companies (Theatre Ad Infinitum – co-artistic director George Mann is Bristol Old Vic’s Associate Director*), July Ferment sees artists to open up their creative process and share ideas with an audience.
Other artists sharing work this week include: Jonny Fluffypunk, FellSwoop Theatre, Postcard Productions, Laȉla Diallo and Jules Maxwell.
The full schedule can be found here: bristololdvic.org.uk/ferment2016
Ferment Elsewhere
This Autumn, the Ferment developed The Terrible Things I’ve Done will play at the Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol. For the past year, Invisible Ink have been collecting the true stories of the terrible things we do in preparation for this public confessional. Revel in the funny, awkward and poignant world of people’s deepest darkest secrets.
