Toot! It’s the International Festival of Town Pipers!

2 - 4 June
All over Colchester!
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For three days in June, waits musicians (British town pipers) from around the world will visit Colchester for a unique event. Re-creating the colourful civic bands that played about town in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, members of the International Guild of Town Pipers will give free performances throughout the town on instruments designed for the job, loud and vibrant shawm, double reeds and brass.

The Colchester Waits, The York Waits, The Charlotte Waites (USA), The Leeds Waits, De Stadspijpers van s’-Hertogenbosch (NL), The Doncaster Waits, The King’s Lynn Waites, Ely Pipers Noyze & The City of Lincoln Waites, de Mowbray’s Musick, The Baggshotte Waits, and finally The Waites of Gloucester are all descending onto our town for the festival.

There will be dance and music workshops members of the public can get involved in. The festival is free and throughout the town held at Lower Castle Park, Firstsite, Castle Park Bandstand, Hollytrees Lawn, Outside the Castle, the CO1 cafe, Lion Walk and Culver Square.

Get on the site for full details. There’s a huge list that we just couldn’t squeeze on here so keep your ears peeled over the June weekend for the historic celebration.

Snublic Drawings @ 15 Queen Street

“Redundant scenes of colchester and cartoon parodies rendered in ink”

Snublic know as Colin McAllister is a Cartoonist and Illustrator living in Colchester, working in black and white, pen and ink. There is a new exibition of his work at the Digby Gallery tucked away in the Mercury Theatre. It’s on until the 28 May.

Snublic’s current drawing interests include local urban scenes, portraits and cartooning. His cartoons are microcosms of issues of interest, and, unlike most cartoons, require time to be studied in order to take in all the detail and action.

Sometimes my subject matter is serious, sometimes sentimental and silly but whatever I’m working on at the time has his full attention and I’m always attempting to out-do my previous efforts without repeating myself.

For his exhibition this year, he has aimed to have completed a series of drawings which are updates of old masters paintings, reworked into my own style. He finds it interesting to begin with a well known composition but to give it his own modern twist. So please do go visit the Mercury Theatre and have a ganders at the new show.

SPILL National Platform: Call for entries 2012 

This is a call out to performance artists and actors to get involved in the SPILL National Platform!

The SPILL National Platform is for emerging artists, and part of SPILL Festival, it showcases innovative, daring and exciting work, created today by artists of the future.

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Artworker needed for The Incomers

Matthew Liney has approached us to source a creative who could produce an image for Murray Lachlan Young’s The Incomers. 

They are looking for an an image depicting..

Three pairs of muddy wellie boots in a row (two mens, one womans) next to a pair of high heeled platform shoes with a feather boa draped round.  Rolled up £20 note on the floor.  Possible handcuffs and a smashed wine glass.  Could be photo - could be drawn - could be combo of both

Budget
There is a budget. They would like you to quote for a test shot. ACE money will be coming through at the beginning of June to fund the project. If Murray likes the image you’ll get recompense for either re-staging or re-making the image or for it to be used in all tour publicity. Please contact Matthew for more details.

Format
Stage 1 the work is for print (brochures).
Stage 2 would be for print, online, posters etc.

Target Audience
The play will appeal to audiences aged 12 plus.  However specific groups would include:-

• new drama audiences / previous theatre audiences
• spoken word audiences
• BBC Radio 4 and 6 Music audiences
• audiences with an interest in the urban / rural interest groups
• other arts attenders

Timescale

Phase A - ASAP for a test shot
Phase B - (post funding decision) end of June for finished art work

More information on the project:

The project was formally called A Burlesque (by Murray Lachlan Young). It has recently been recently renamed The Incomers by Murray Lachlan Young.  Essentially the image is to entice people to see the show and let them have a flavour of what they were letting themselves in for!

The Incomers

It’s Gordon and Celia’s wedding anniversary.  They’ve asked their oldest and dearest friends Zach and Jane down from London.  The only problem is that Zach and Jane aren’t Zach and Jane anymore.  Jane has gone and Julia - the twenty five year old, French burlesque dancer, has taken her place.
 
What starts as a simple celebration quickly unravels with one revelation after another until we become aware that no one has been telling the truth to anyone about anything for a very long time.
 
Written entirely in his characteristic verse by BBC 6 Music poet in residence Murray Lachlan Young The Incomers will have you gasping and roaring with laughter in equal measures!

If you are able to produce something for Matthew, he’s like it as soon as possible. We would suggest by Monday 28th, then please email or call 01473 218202 for more details.
 

Sumi Ink Club @ This One Wall

We host Sumi Ink Club once a month, on the last Friday from 7 - 9pm. You simply grab a brush, pour some ink and get involved with a collaborative ‘doodle’ workshop. Held by our flexible member and illustrator Rob Lock, the group get together to produce large drawings in an informal and fun evening.

The bright colourful wall to the side of the building, now know as This One Wall, said goodbye to our resident illustrator Matt Keeling‘s locally inspired prints. It has now welcomed a Sumi Ink Club exhibition curated by Rob Lock.

The work displayed is the result of our evening collaborative illustration workshop. The pieces are a response to This One Wall’s current theme ‘memories’, which you can read more about here.

This One Wall had a quick chat with Rob to find out a bit more about the exhibition, and the club. Enjoy.

We’d also like to thank Colchester Institute School of Art and Design who supply the paper each month!