What is happening in the tent? A note for local businesses 29 May 2012 Jubilee Weekend Theatre Show from 1 to 4 June 2012 “God Save the Dream” featuring The Invisible Circus Bristol City Council is pleased to introduce a Jubilee celebration as the first cultural event for the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone. This will take place at the Creative Common (formerly known as Plot 3 Temple Quay) with four evenings of theatre and live music from The Invisible Circus. “God Save The Dream” has been created specifically for the Jubilee weekend as a themed cabaret style circus theatre show. The scene is set in Medieval England with a Spanish King and his entourage coming to visit an English Queen with the aim of wooing her into returning Gibraltar to Spanish rule. The story has been woven together by a circus collective of 12 artists who are visiting from Valencia. This production is also part of a funded European exchange project. Doors will open at 8pm, the show will begin at 8.30pm and will be followed by a live music act finishing by 11pm. From then until close at 1am there will be a DJ and cabaret. How will the event be managed? The event will be run according to the license agreement including keeping within the decibel level agreed with environmental health. As with all Invisible Circus events, the required SIA security staff for a capacity of 450 people will be on site, as well as stewards to direct traffic to nearby car parks and to help with crowd control during the show and for the site in general. Clean up and litter picking will be in place at the end of each night to ensure the site is tidy and presentable for the next morning. Measures are in place to prevent litter from spilling over into neighbouring areas. Who is running the event? The Invisible Circus has been working in site specific performance for 20 years, beginning as a street theatre company and moving into larger scale productions since 2002. For the past six years they have taken on a variety of unusual sites and buildings in Bristol in order to produce new and unique work. They have a strong track record of delivering safe, high impact events that have attracted huge support along with an outstanding national and international reputation. See below for more information about them. Why have you put up a tent? Bristol City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) are working in partnership to develop “meanwhile” uses in the Bristol Enterprise Zone. We have come together with Creative Common, a partnership of creative and social enterprises, to transform a potential development site into an exciting public space for the next two years. This is a temporary project which will enable us to animate the space with art, enterprise, cultural programmes, community activities, food, retail and workspace. The aim of the project is to create a unique and attractive destination which will dramatically raise the profile of the Bristol Enterprise Zone. We want to energise an underused space by encouraging entrepreneurs to explore ideas, generate new opportunities and make new connections. We will attract creative minded businesses and help to form an exciting hub that will foster innovation and generate investment. For more about Bristol’s Enterprise Zone see http://www.bristoltemplequarter.com/ There will be a range of activities across the site including: 1. An event space - the tent (for the summer months only) and its surrounding area will have a programme of arts and cultural activities including circus, theatre, music and performances. The project will engage with local businesses, communities, arts organisations and schools to develop a programme as the project becomes established. 2. A pop up restaurant - a high quality local restaurateur has been identified who fits with the high value businesses in the area and will attract customers seeking a unique food experience. 3. The space will also be used for markets and daytime events, and will be available for corporate hire. The unusual qualities of the tent have attracted many enquiries for hire including trade shows, national youth choirs, classical musical performances, end of year shows, and festivals including Bristol Harbour Festival, Community Dance, Bristol Cycling Festival and the Encounters Film Festival. 4. If there is a good first season, Creative Common plans to add another floor to the restaurant area, retail units and small workspaces. In the winter, the tent will come down making way for an ice rink, Christmas markets and other ideas that emerge from the local community. The possibilities are endless and new ideas will be explored as the project develops. What is Creative Common? Creative Common is a collaboration between Co-exist and The Invisible Circus as key entrepreneurial partners. Circomedia, as a long established Bristol company core funded by Bristol City Council and Arts Council England are providing management support to this initiative and are working closely with the Creative Common partnership. Circomedia Circomedia is a leading centre for contemporary circus and physical theatre, is based in Kingswood and for over eighteen years has attracted students from more than 26 countries. Circomedia runs a Foundation Degree in partnership with Bath Spa University, a BTEC with City of Bristol College and is known world wide for the quality of its professional training. Circomedia has an extensive community training programme, working with children and young people from across Bristol. It also runs an award winning venue in the Grade 1 listed St Paul’s Church, Portland Square, in partnership with Churches Conservation Trust. Circomedia has established a strong reputation for a high quality artistic offer, programming national and international circus and dance and is a key contributor to the Bristol cultural landscape. http://www.circomedia.com/ Coexist Coexist, a Community Interest Company, was formed in 2008 in partnership with social landlords Connolly and Callaghan Ltd. The intention was to create a new development model for a major property on Bristol’s Stokes Croft that would serve the needs of the local community within a viable social enterprise business model. Coexist’s core purpose is to create physical, cultural, social and political space that best provides for the community. Coexist is a community business, not purely a creative arts organisation. Today Hamilton House has been transformed from a derelict office block into a vibrant community hub, home to over a hundred artists, makers, musicians, community projects, social enterprises and small businesses. The project has gained international recognition as a leading example of an organisation like Coexist is able to support local economic and cultural development. http://www.hamiltonhouse.org/ The Invisible Circus The Invisible Circus has over the last 12 years emerged as one of the most ground breaking circus companies in the country. They specialise in large urban circus projects and festivals in the most unusual venues, for example they are well known locally for their Carnyville nights at Bristol’s Old Fire Station. They have a long history working with commercial developers and landowners such as Urban Splash, Verve Properties and Homes and Communities Agency taking on, improving, managing and animating large vacant properties. Drawing on the rich creative community of Bristol to produce truly original work is a key part of The Invisible Circus's approach. They have a great many supporters including Elizabeth White, Director of BBC Frozen Planet, who has made costumes for their Victorian theatre productions. http://invisiblecircus.co.uk/ Tickets for God Save the Dream are available from www.bristolticketshop.co.uk and cost £15, £10 concessions, with a Kings and Queens dress code. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/435373153140120/ If you have any further questions about this note, please contact 0117 922 3546 or email [email protected]