Leatherhead’s integrated theatre, dance and media company, The Freewheelers, will be part of this year’s prestigious arts event, the Brighton Festival.
On 25th May, at 7.45pm, The Freewheelers Theatre Company will be performing a new version of its successful original work, Your Call Is Important to Us, by Rachel Barnett. Your Call is an interactive theatre and video piece about waiting, and the frustrations of being kept on hold. It fuses poetry, drama, singing and dance, and includes funny and poignant moments.
When it was first performed at Leatherhead Theatre in 2009, Karl Newman, Surrey's Arts Development Officer said: “"I was very impressed! I think the piece marks a step up for the Freewheelers in terms of artistic achievement."
The 2011 version is even more ambitious, and includes additional scenes, created for new members of the cast, including a Frank Sinatra-style number, “We’re Gonna Fly”, written by Thomas Gray and performed by Luke Tye.
Importantly, the audience are asked to leave their mobile phones switched on… and the resulting ring tones and text beeps form part of the action.
Brandon McGuire, artistic director of The Freewheelers, says: “Performing at Brighton is a significant opportunity for the Company. We hope it will be the start of our ability to tour to different venues, bringing our unique blend of live performance and video to a wider audience.”
The opportunity is thanks to the “Up-Stream” initiative, from Da-Da South. In the build up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London 2012, Dada-South is using Up-Stream to spotlight eleven artists and companies producing extraordinary and stunning artworks in the South East. And The Freewheelers was chosen to be one of the eleven.
Da-Da South have collaborated with Brighton Festival to put on a series of special shows, to which they are inviting theatre managers, festival programmers and influential critics.
The Freewheelers will be performing at The Old Market Theatre. And tickets are available for public purchase, at a price of £8. Click here to go to the booking page of the Brighton Festival website.
