Birmingham BE Festival
12 July 2011: Just returned from Birmingham BE Festival with Natasha Davis’ show Suspended. The organisers Mike, Isla, Miguel & Felix took over Stans Café’s AE Harris building and organised a brilliant week of international theatre: daily breakfasts followed by workshops, lunch, feedback sessions, two 30 min shows, dinner, two shows min shows, and a band.
The communal spirit created an atmosphere of real collaboration – companies exchanging opinions, audience members eating at tables with performers, programmers from around the world mixing with makers – really unique.
Sleepwalk Collective’s show ‘As the Flames Rose We Danced to the Sirens, the Sirens’ won the top prize – deservedly so: it’s coming to Edinburgh 2011, watch out for it. Suspended was very well received too – over 200 people in a beautiful industrial space, and Natasha was terrific. Next year with Black River Falls…