Proud and Loud Arts is set to present a very modern take on Ovid’s classic tale of Pyramus and Thisbe at Manchester’s Contact Theatre. The company, founded in 2000, are experimenting with the latest digital projection technology, to allow projected and real actors to perform live in the same space. Taking advantage of the super-speed internet connections at Contact, they will tell a love story where one character is present on the stage and the other performs from a different location.
The challenge for the performance team is in developing techniques that enable the audience to experience the intimacy of lovers when only one exists in real space. This work aims to address the practical, and very real, challenge identified by the company in their previous North West tour of “Beyond the 4th Wall”, that being: ‘How can Proud and Loud Arts tour their work nationally and internationally, if integral members of the performance team are unable to travel long distances?’
The company’s performers live with disabilities and for some members, travelling would present a risk to health, whilst also generating costs that would make a physical tour financially prohibitive for the company. With Contact, Proud and Loud Arts aim to experiment with creative solutions, using a combination of live theatre and digital technologies, along with the expertise of Jason Crouch.
This unique and exciting project, collaboratively written by the company with award-winning writer, Cathy Crabb is informed, performed, and produced from an awareness and respect for lives that are perceived and categorised as “different”, using technology as both a tool to overcome barriers, and as a platform to provide and enable equality of access for audiences to experience the work.
Proud and Loud Arts presents Pyramus and Thisbe at Manchester’s Contact Theatre on 26 November (7.30pm) and 27 November (2.30pm and 7.30pm). Tickets £10 (£6 concessions)
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