Feb 2017 | WITHOUT WALLS COMMISSION ‘WITNESS THIS’

We are super, super proud to announce that we are part of Without Walls ground-breaking programme of new outdoor shows for touring nationwide in 2017.

Without Walls have commissioned 14 of Britain’s most inventive companies to create outdoor shows for this year’s programme, which will see new work being premiered across the UK at leading arts festivals this summer.

Digital technology, circus, family theatre and puppetry are all in the mix, as is of course, dance, with Company Chameleon creating a new outdoor choreography for the programme called Witness This.

A new 30-minute piece, Witness This, will see outdoor arts turn the spotlight on mental health, as choreographer Kevin Edward Turner, draws from his personal experience of Bi-polar in the creation of the piece.

Talking about the commission, Kevin said: “We’re proud and delighted to be part of the Without Walls 2017 programme and to be featured alongside such high-quality artists. It’s an opportunity to build on our current outdoor repertoire with a socially relevant new choreography, which explores mental health. As a company that values the accessibility of our productions, we love creating work for the outdoors without the constraints of the traditional theatre setting. We can’t wait to bring this piece to festival audiences for the first time this summer.”

Evolving from the theatre production, Witness, Chameleon’s new outdoor work is the fifth in its outdoor repertoire and follows on from the highly outdoor successful shows Search & Find, Push, Hands Down and Of Man and Beast.

Socially relevant, powerful and original, Witness This explores how loved ones’ cope when mental health problems take hold of someone close. With athletic lifts, dynamic movements and a rich mix of dance styles, the pieces promises to give festival audiences a new perspective on mental health through dance and movement.

Witness This premieres at Brighton Festival on Sat 13 & Sun 14 May during national Mental Health Awareness Week. The piece then travels to Salisbury Festival for performances over the Bank Holiday Weekend (Sun 28 & Mon 29 May) before touring to Stockton Festival in August.

Without Walls, a consortium of the UK’s leading outdoor arts festivals and organisations, brings the best in new outdoor performance to diverse audiences all over the UK. It provides opportunities for UK artists to develop bold new ideas – from large-scale spectaculars to more intimate pieces – and is inclusive of all art forms and genres.

Since 2007, Without Walls has commissioned and supported the development of over 100 shows, many of which have toured beyond Without Walls to 22 countries across the world. For more information on the work of Without Walls, please visit www.withoutwalls.uk.com.