Fragile at The Forum

It was a short walk from The Undercroft at Norwich Marketplace to Millennium Plain outside The Forum on Sunday 19th May 2013 to see Tilted Productions perform Fragile at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. This performance featured Tightwire artists, dancers, a trampoline duo and a dancing clown searching for the beautiful in the fragile and the fragile in the seemingly beautiful.

Maresa von Stockert's latest work combined contemporary circus, dance and physical theatre. Fragile's architectural set created the illusion of the performance being on a rooftop. Imagine a flat concrete roof where someone has put up a garden with a few plants in pots and some grass.

One layer of the piece exposed the microcosm of human activity taking place in this garden. It looked at the lives of those who visited the roof terrace and explored what the garden meant to them. For the creator of the garden it may be an oasis or even an obsession. Others made it their hide-away; a place where they escaped reality.

Some saw it as a playground, others as a forbidden space. For one person it may have resembled paradise, for another a foreign world of green discomfort, bewilderment and fear. While intricate relationships tenderly and brutally entwine, a strange transformation happened to the garden itself enhancing the sense of a warped reality and other worldliness outside The Forum.

This Sixty minute performance at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival was incredible and created an amazing spectacle in Millennium Plain. The trampolining and tightwire walking thrilled the large crowd outside The Forum who were spellbound by the movement and the unique story of Fragile. I very much enjoyed this outside event at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival which proved to be a big hit in Norwich City Centre.

The Iron Man saves the world!

The Iron Man making friends outside
The Forum, Norwich

Once upon a time, the unexpected arrival of the Iron Man cast a shadow of fear across our community... But when an enormous dragon from outer space threatened to annihilate our planet, it was the Iron Man who valiantly came to our rescue.

These dramatic events from Ted Hughes' modern-day fairytale were acted out at Millennium Plain, Norwich by the Graeae Theatre Company which is an organisation composed of artists and managers with physical and sensory disabilities. This production was adapted by Paul Sirett.

On Friday evening we were all enchanted by this magical show as the Iron Man travelled to Australia to challenge the Dragon from outer space to a test of strength to save the world. Another magical event at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.

The Iron Man towered above Millennium Plain and became a superhero in the process. The deaf and disabled ensemble put on a brilliant show which stirred all the emotions of both young and old. The dragon from outer space is now singing songs of peace across the Universe.

The Wolves put on a spectacular show

The Wolves making their way down Gentleman's
Walk thrilling us with a spectacular show 

After the concert at St. Andrew's Hall on Saturday I made the short walk up to Millennium Plain to experience the excitement of Deabru Beltzak's The Wolves. Street Theatre at it's best on the streets of The Fine City for the Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2011.

This is a reworking of the Pied Piper of Hamelin featuring huge mechanical puppets with amazing special effects. This time it's a pianist who with their music rids a town of wolves. When the town forgets it's obligations the pianist takes revenge on the town by returning the wolves spreading chaos and ruin.

This was a spectacular show that thrilled the large crowd that followed the wolves from The Forum down Gentleman's Walk and back again. I must admit it was scary but very enjoyable. There was an adrenaline rush as we chased after the pianist and the wolves. A night that Norwich city centre will never forget.

Saxophone Massive Festival Launch!

Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2011 launched by
Andy Sheppard's Saxophone Massive

The Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2011 is finally here with the Festival launch from Andy Sheppard's Saxophone Massive. Millennium Plain outside The Forum was packed with hundreds of people to witness this extraordinary event.

More then two hundred saxophonists from across Norfolk led by Andy Sheppard gave an amazing performance that thrilled us all in the packed crowd. It was very loud as Norwich city centre danced to the sounds of Jazz.

There was a a great atmosphere and a party vibe in the air. What a brilliant sight, with the saxophonists playing in the shadow of the St. Peter Mancroft Church. A fantastic start to the Festival with another two weeks of amazing events to look forward to. The Norfolk and Norwich Festival is up and running in great style.