16 Jul 08

Inside Out presents special event in September

Inside Out is to present a special one-off event to celebrate the launch of the Cultural Olympiad in Dorset in September.  The performance follows on from the dramatic success of Inside Out 2007 and its programme of extraordinary events in extraordinary places, which recorded audiences of over 30,000 last September.

Veles e Vents (Wind and Sails) charts the story of a dangerous sea journey, told through a spectacular piece of outdoor performance involving drama, sound and explosive pyrotechnics.  As with previous Inside Out events, it is completely FREE of charge to attend (although voluntary donations will be collected to help make future events possible).

Veles e Vents takes place on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 September at 7.30pm on Bowleaze Coveway, which overlooks the London 2012 Games sailing course in Weymouth Bay.  The performance is inspired by both the beauty and the force of the sea and will be an outdoor spectacle of large-scale proportions.  It has been created by acclaimed Spanish artists Xarxa Teatre, who have been performing stunning open-air theatre for 25 years and in over 30 countries worldwide.

Local young people from Poole, Bournemouth and Weymouth are going to be closely involved as well, working with storytellers, animators and musicians to create their own ‘Stories of the Sea’.  The B-Side arts festival and a Dance South West event are also part of the launch celebrations in Weymouth and Portland.

Guy Lavender, South West England Director for the 2012 Games commented: “The Cultural Olympiad will run throughout the four-year build to the London 2012 Games and will be a UK-wide celebration of our diverse heritage, landscape, food, fashion, creative and sporting excellence. Exciting high profile events such as Inside Out that bring culture to everyone are a core part of our vision.”

Inside Out is an initiative of the Dorset Theatre Promoters’ Consortium and project-managed by Activate, Dorset’s theatre and dance development agency.  They and co-Programme Directors, Simon Chatterton and Bill Gee, are delighted to have the opportunity to present a one-off signature event outside of the next multi-event programme, which it is currently planned will take place in 2010.

Chatterton and Gee commented: “Veles e Vents will be a spectacular performance on an enormous scale and very much in keeping with our aim of presenting extraordinary events in extraordinary Dorset locations.  We think it will be an unmissable event for audiences throughout the county and beyond.”

There’s no need to book tickets for either of the main event performances.  However, there will be no car parking at the site itself and audiences are advised to travel by public transport, walk, cycle or car share if possible, Park and walk and limited park and ride arrangements will be made from Lodmoor Country Park and other car parks approximately 25 minutes walk away – arrive early and enjoy the walk and panoramic views as dusk falls.  Drop off and park and ride facilities will operate for people with disabilities.

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16 Jun 08

Vote for us to win a National Lottery Award!

We are delighted that Inside Out '07 has been nominated for a National Lottery Award and your vote could help us win!

The Awards are an annual search to fid the UK's favourite Lottery-funded projects and aim to celebrate and recognise the difference that those projects have made to people, places and communities all across the UK.

We are competing against nine other projects in the Best Arts Project category for the chance to win an award and a £2,000 prize and we really need your votes.  Click here to cast your vote - it only takes a few seconds.  Alternatively, you can click on the National Lottery Awards button on our home page (coming soon!), or call 0845 386 1855 to register a phone vote.  Every vote counts and we really appreciate your support, but voting closes on 4 July, so please vote now!

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07 Mar 08

Inside Out independent research findings published

Independent marketing research organisation, MRG, which is based at Bournemouth University, carried out audience research at Inside Out 2007.  Key headline findings concluded that of the overall audience:

• 93% are either likely or very likely to recommend Inside Out.

• 93% rated the performance quality as good or very good.

• 21% defined themselves as regular arts attenders (indicating that Inside Out was extremely successful in reaching new audiences for the arts)

• 95% supported the use of public funding for this type of event. 

• 95% rated the environment/venue as good or very good.

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07 Mar 08

Key facts and figures about Inside Out 2007

Over eleven days, over 30,000 people attended Inside Out, witnessing stunning international performance in some of the most dramatic locations Dorset has to offer.  They were mesmerised by beautiful gardens aglow with thousands of flickering flames, captivated by contemporary circus, theatre and dance in and around a working fishing village, drawn on a dramatic after dark journey through winding alleyways and ancient buildings, and up an ancient, neolithic hill fort.

While attending the events, visitors and local residents also took the opportunity to sample some of the other delights that make Dorset special - from an extraordinary rrange of local organic roduce, to the arts, crafts and activities that offer something distinctive for all ages and tastes.

Overall, Inside Out:

• Brought some of the most imaginative artists from around the world to a variety of audiences, many of whom had never before witnessed this kind of performance.  Over 80 artists from six countries performed - Spain, Japan, Switzerland, France, UK and Poland.

• Involved over 600 adults and children in participatory workshops and education activities

• Built precedented partnerships between arts, education, heritage, regeneration, tourism and environment sectors - 32 partners, stakeholders and funders joined together to make the events possible.

• Secured £340,000 in cash investment and an additional £100,000 of in-kind support from local, regional, national and international sources.

• Employed 75 local people directly (part-time) over a twelve month period.

• Catalysed a contribution to the local economy (both direct and indirect) in excess of £900,000.

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05 Dec 07

Website updated with video clips and stills gallery

The Inside Out website has now been updated with short video clips and stills of the 2007 programme, along with some of the excellent feedback received from those of you who attended events.  Watch the clips and view the stills in the What's On section under each event here.

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05 Dec 07

Inside Out hailed as a huge success - 30,000+ attend

Inside Out drew to a close on Sunday 23 September, having attracted over 30,000 attendances to what was the largest programme of free outdoor performance ever to take place in the South West.

Over eleven days between 13 and 23 September, crowds jammed the streets and open spaces of some of the most magical locations in Dorset to enjoy theatre, dance, acrobatics and pyrotechnics on a spectacular scale.

Feedback from audiences and artists alike has been extremely positive, from the gentleman in Bournemouth who said that Inside Out was the best event he’d “ever seen in 80 years” and the mother who thanked the organisers for bringing “magic into the lives of my family and friends”.

Inside Out was an initiative of the Dorset Theatre Promoters’ Consortium and project-managed by Activate, Dorset’s theatre and dance development agency.  They and co-programme Directors, Simon Chatterton and Bill Gee, have been delighted with the response so far.

Chatterton and Gee said: “After two years of planning, it has been wonderful to see these extraordinary events in extraordinary Dorset locations come to fruition so successfully; and to have so many people join in with our eleven day cross-county adventure.  We are now working with our major partners to ensure Inside Out becomes a firm fixture in the South West’s cultural calendar and continues to deliver the high profile the region deserves for such work both during and beyond the Cultural Olympiad.”

The programme opened with two stunning performances in Wimborne Minster of Arquiem, a dark folk tale presented by Brighton-based theatre company Periplum.  An audience of nearly 1,500 followed the tale of a doomed young man who murders his lover and pays the ultimate price.  

On Saturday 16 September, the festival rolled or rather pedaled into Poole for Peixos.  Weird and wonderful undersea creatures were paraded along Poole Quay through the bicycle-powered wizardry of Spanish street artists, Sarruga.  A crowd of 5,000 watched spellbound as the quayside was brought to life by the event.

The following day, some 2,500 people flocked to West Bay for Counter Currents, for an afternoon of performance by the sea.  Dancers interacted with street furniture, parked cars and the audience; performance hairdressers from Spain teased, twirled and coloured tresses for the ultimate hair make over; and acrobats and aerial theatre artists held audiences spellbound. Local event partners West Dorset Youth Service and Bridport Arts Centre presented seven top local bands and a sassy bungee street dance created by young people over the summer.

Inside Out’s largest event, Fire Gardens, a spectacular fire installation by French artists Carabosse, took place at the Lower Gardens in Bournemouth over three nights between Wednesday 19 and Friday 21 September.  Around 20,000 enjoyed this mesmerising experience, reclaiming these Victorian pleasure gardens as a place of contemplation and beauty.

The Nothe Fort in Weymouth, was a fitting backdrop to the electrifying performance of Carmen Funebre an internationally-acclaimed theatre piece by Teatr Biuro Podrozy, which explores the timeless themes of war and conflict.  Audiences, which numbered over 900 in total, were helplessly drawn into the powerful and moving narrative.

Inside Out’s final event, Enclosure, by environmental art group Red Earth, took place on the ancient settlement site of Hambledon Hill in North Dorset.  700 people braved rain and wind to make the ascent up the hill and be part of this atmospheric journey involving dance, music and fire that many described afterwards as a once in a lifetime experience.

Detailed planning is underway to ensure Inside Out becomes a regular fixture in the South West’s cultural calendar.  With such a positive response from artists, audiences, partners and other supporters, there is a real will to make this a reality – an exciting prospect as the Cultural Olympiad draws closer.

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14 Sep 07

Be first in the chair for extreme hair!

We're running a competition with our media partners, the Bridport & Lyme Regis News for you to be first in the chair on Sunday afternoon at West Bay to have your hair "recreated" by performance hairdressers Osadia.

The competition will open at 10am on Thursday 13 September and close at 12 noon on Saturday 15 September, the winner being notified by telephone by 6pm on Saturday.

All elements of this experience are temporary so although the finished look may be extravagant it can easily be returned to your usual style if you prefer.

Please ensure you will be available to attend the event at West Bay from 1pm on Sunday for this unique experience, should you be lucky enough to be picked from the correct answers to a simple question.

Make sure you get your entry in to be in with a chance of winning this excitingly different competition.  Click here to enter!

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14 Sep 07

Volunteers wanted for prop-making!

Would you like to learn about pyrotechnic rigging?  Or help us make torches and hurdles?  We're looking for a group of volunteers to assist environmental artists Red Earth prepare for the Enclosure event on Sunday 23 September.

No experience is necessary (although some basic DIY skills could be useful).  You must also be available to attend a free workshop in Shroton, North Dorset, between Monday 17 and Friday 23 September, where you'll get the chance to learn a host of new skills in making the props for this site-specific performance on the eve of the autumn equinox.  Here are some of the tasks you might be involved in:

• Torch and faggot-making
• Working with wool – pulling fleeces out to create large squares
• Moving cut ash into positions ready for the making of wooden structures
• Assisting in the making of hurdles, wattle walls and ladder structures using simple carpentry and lashing techniques
• Gong and tripod assembly using simple DIY skills
• Rigging fire bowls, fire cans and windshields

There will also be the some opportunities to work with the performers in the run up to the event, learning about techniques such as small-scale pyrotechnic rigging.

Places are limited so booking is essential. For more information, please contact Artsreach on 01305 269512.

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19 Jul 07

Website now live !

The Inside Out website is now live. Register with us if you'd like up-to-date info on the festival emailed to you as it happens.

Check back to the website regularly as we'll be updating the site often.

Many thanks
The Inside Out Team

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