Bloomberg Philanthropies Support 'Extravaganza Macabre' Launch at Battersea Arts Centre

June 23, 2016 /3BL Media/ - On Tuesday 26 July. Battersea Arts Centre's brand new theatre and activity space - the open-air Courtyard- will launch with Little Bulb Theatre's Extravaganza Macabre (26 July - 26 August), a tale of villainy and valour set in Victorian London

Described by the  Daily Telegraph as "one of the brightest and liveliest young companies around", Little Bulb Theatre's latest creation is the tale of  two passionate lovers separated by a freak storm which leaves their fate in the clutches of a scheming villain set on keeping them apart forever. With only a clairvoyant  maid and a loyal urchin to come to their rescue, a whirlwind of  plot twists,  music hall numbers and audience  interaction ensues.

Little Bulb Theatre's Extravaganza Macabre will fill the summer air with original compositions as colourful wafts of opera, close-harmony acapella, chimes and euphonium drift out of the Courtyard and down Lavender Hill. A festive atmosphere will surround the show with Victorian-style Penny Pies on offer, washed down by lashings of traditional ginger beer and a selection of London gins. The fun continues with a series of musical knees-ups in Battersea Arts Centre's Scratch Bar after the show on Friday and Saturday nights

The new 75m  Courtyard is a central feature of the phased capital project - designed by Stirling Prize winning architects Haworth Tompkins - that began in 2007. As  part of the works, the original Courtyard footprint, which had been encroached upon by extensions over the intervening years, has been reinstated.  Four new facades combining existing red brick with white glazed brick infills and a  number of new multi-level openings from surrounding  corridors also form part of Haworth Tompkins' design

Within these walls, Battersea Arts Centre is installing the UK's most intimate open-air theatre infrastructure, inspired by the inherently interactive Teatro Oficina in Sao Paulo. Brazil Returning to the roots of theatre as an all­ encompassing experience, come rain or shine. audiences will sit or stand up-close to the action across a demountable gallery and floor deck. This radical performance environment, complete with trap doors, will be exploited to the fullby Extravaganza Macabre, giving the previously underused Courtyard a new lease of life this summer as an alternative destination for staycation lovers.

Extravaganza Macabre is the latest in a series of Playground Projects at Battersea Arts Centre supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which over the last ten years has supported projects with lasting legacies that touch every part of the organisation.  These projects centre around Playgrounding - a unique iterative design process inspired by Battersea Arts Centre's Scratch methodology and developed with architects  Haworth Tompkins  in which creative ideas are tested and shared to find the most robust and innovative approach.

The first Playground Project supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies was Masque of the Red Death (2007). a co­-production between Battersea Arts Centre and Punchdrunk. This forged a new approach to building design and development. opening up more than thirty rooms now used for performance throughout the building  Since then. Bloomberg Philanthropies has supported more than ten iconic Playground Projects. including the One-on-One Festivals (2010, 2011) and The Good Neighbour (2012)  These projects have not only catalysed the transformation of Battersea Arts Centre's building, they have also been instrumental in the refocusing of its mission and the development of innovative programmes that have prompted sector-wide change.

Little Bulb Theatre is the first company to be let loose in the Courtyard having previously inhabited rooms at Battersea Arts Centre ranging from a former ground floor studio for Fringe First and Total Theatre Award-winning Crocosmia (2008), to the magnificent Grand Hall for the critically acclaimed production Orpheus (2013) . Orpheus went on to tour nationally and sell-out dates at the world- renowned Salzburg Festival where director Alexander Scott was nominated for a Young Director 's Award

Press Contact Olivia Ivens: oliviai@bac.org.uk 020 7326 8259
 

Cast and Creative:

Performed and Devised by Clare Beresford. Dominic Conway and Alexander Scott Designed by Verity Sadler
Company Stage Manager: Laura Hammond Production Manager: Daniel Palmer Technical Manager: Matt O'Leary
Senior Technician  Mitch Hargreaves Battersea Arts Centre Producer: Liz Moreton Farnham Mattings Producer: Sarah Wilson

Listings Information:

Title: Extravaganza Macabre Artist/Company:  Little Bulb Theatre
Venue: Battersea Arts Centre. Lavender Hill. SW11 5TN Date: 26 July - 26 August
Time: 7:30pm. Saturday Matinees 2:30pm
Price: Seated tickets from £17.50. Standing tickets from £12.50 Booking Link: www.bac.org.uk/extravaganzamacabre
Box Office: 020 7223 2223

Notes to Editors:

Little Bulb Theatre is an award-winning national touring company based in the South East of England They are committed to developing devised and physical theatre performances which explore and illuminate minute human details that, in a world so big, are easily swallowed up. Combining innovative character work, beautiful imagery and home-made music, they aspire to create performances that with humour and sadness will touch, startle and entertain. Little Bulb Theatre is produced by Farnham Maltings.

Awards include:  Herald Angel (2010, Operation Greenfield). Scotsman Fringe First Award  (2008. Crocosmia). Total Theatre Award for Best Graduate Theatre Company (2008, Crocosmia) and The Arches Brick Award (2008, Crocosmia). www.littlebulbtheatre.com

Battersea Arts Centre is a public space where people come together to be creative, see a show, explore the local heritage, play or relax. The organisation's mission is to inspire people, to take creative risks. to shape the future. Battersea Arts Centre encourages people to test and develop new ideas with members of the public - a process called Scratch. Scratch is used by artists to make theatre, by young people to develop entrepreneurial ideas and as a helpful process for anyone who wants to get creative.

The area of South West London and the old town hall in which Battersea Arts Centre is based, are rich in heritage. The organisation is also custodian of the Wandsworth Collection of historical artefacts, using creativity to explore the past and imagine the future.

Scratch has been adopted as far afield as Sydney and New York and shows and projects developed by people at Battersea Arts Centre travel across the UK and the world. The organisation has successfully sparked new approaches to creativity across the globe.

Each year Battersea Arts Centre:

• Welcomes over 160,000 people to its building
• Inspires the local community to get creative, including 3,000 young people
• Works with over 400 artists to put on over 800 performances and tour at least 10 shows and projects

www bac.org.uk | @battersea_arts

Farnham Maltings is a creative organisation that works across South East England with artists, communities and curators to sustain a vibrant, contemporary and distinct culture for our region.

They make contemporary theatre for the audiences of South East England. They produce the work of Catherine Ireton. Little Bulb Theatre and Victoria Melody. They also commission work. often with partners, for particular audiences including work for early years and community halls.

They tour our own work and that of our associate companies nationally and internationally, support a network of rural venues across Surrey, and lead house, as a network of 130 venues who share an ambition to improve the range, quality and scale of theatre being presented across south east and east England: www.housetheatre.org.uk

They run caravan, in partnership with Brighton Festival to introduce the best new contemporary theatre makers to an international audience, tour programmes of work to other national festivals, and regularly collaborate with partners in Canada. France. Iran and Australia.
www.farnhammaltings.com

Haworth Tompkins is a  British architectural studio, voted UK Architect of the Year and RIBA London Architect of the Year in 2014.  Founded in 1991 by Graham Haworth and Steve Tompkins, the studio has an international reputation for theatre design, the Liverpool Everyman Theatre winning the 2014 RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year  by a UK architect. Haworth Tompkins was part of the Gold Award UK winning team at the Prague Quadrennial and was chosen to exhibit theatre work at the 2012 Venice  Biennale.  Acclaimed performance  projects  include the Royal Court the Almeida temporary theatres at Kings Cross and Gainsborough Studios. Snape Mattings, and the Young Vic Theatre (shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prrze in 2007). www.haworthtompkins.com

Bloomberg   Philanthropies
Through innovative partnerships and bold approaches, the Bloomberg Philanthropies arts programme works to increase access to culture and strengthen arts organisations. Through a wide range of dynamic partnerships with visual, performing and literary arts organisations. Bloomberg Philanthropies is committed to supporting the arts. The philanthropy works in 120 countries and focuses on creating lasting change in 5 key areas: the Arts, Public Health. Environment, Education and Government Innovation. In 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed over half a billion dollars.  For more information, please visit www.bloomberg.org or follow Bloomberg on Facebook, lnstagram, Snapchat and Twitter @BloombergDotOrg.