On Saturday 2nd May, the First Bite Festival returned to mac. The First Bite Festival is a festival produced by theatre company China Plate, commissioned by mac Birmingham and Warwick Arts Centre and supported by greenhouse and In Good Company.
The First Bite Festival is a showcase of ten of the most exciting new companies from across the Midlands and they show works in progress, finished pieces or scratches of work they are creating. Two of those companies that have performed in First Bite get the chance to perform in Bite Size which is being commissioned at Warwick Arts Centre. Bite Size is like First Bite but it is a national showcase/ festival which anyone can enter.
China Plate is an independent theatre studio that works with artists, venues, festivals and funders to make original, exciting theatre that plays with form and has narrative at its heart. The reason they started First Bite was for a chance to see the new work being created but also to try and create a network across the Midlands to encourage collaboration between venues and companies.
In Good Company is the professional development programme for artists making work in the East Midlands, led by Creative Producer Ruby Glaskin. Funded by Arts Council England, it launched in July 2014 and is delivered by Derby Theatre, Create Theatre in Mansfield and Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester.
The companies that performed at First Bite are:
-Cloud Cuckoo Land
-Rachael Young
-Humanish
-Barrel Organ
-Almost Human
-Lucy J Skilbeck
-Stephanie Ridings
-Spiltmilk Dance
-Tina Hoffman
– Also during the day there were three performances of a work by Michael Pinchbeck.
Each company had a slot of around 20 minutes to show what they had been working on. There was a mixture of children’s theatre, solo performance art, spoken word, physical theatre/ puppetry and dance. All of the pieces, whether they were scratches or almost finished were interesting and exciting pieces of theatre and showed that the Midlands is a truly gifted place full of truly gifted theatre makers.
Bite Size will be happening in the near future at Warwick Arts Centre, dates are yet to tbc so keep a look out!!
#workplacement
Bsaatmac 