Shaun Caton’s rainschemes for insomniacs (Photo: Julius G. Beltrame)
When: 26th – 30th October 2016
Where: Ipswich, Suffolk
£: A festival pass costs £75 and a day pass costs £20-£30. Some events are free
What is it?
At this year’s Spill festival there will be more than 100 events taking place across 22 locations in Ipswich. Spill, which takes place from Wednesday 26th to Sunday 30th October, is an international festival of live art, activism and performance, presenting the work of artists from around the globe.
This year’s festival theme is En Masse, exploring ideas of being together, as a group, all at once. The festival will include work from Mem Morrison, Mike Challis, Shabnam Shabazi, Shaun Caton, and Martin O’Brien working with Sheree Rose.
Throughout the festival, a friendly pop-up place called the Spill Dome will host daily events, from coffee mornings and kids events in the afternoon, to spoken word, live music and DJs; all completely free.
Earlier this year, the festival invited members of the public to dream up their Alternative Ipswich Walking Tours; walks that they would like to take you on during the festival. Chosen from many applications and ideas, five tours will take place across the festival, including an Ipswich Touch Tour of the town, and Sweet Charity taking in ‘the ten best charity shops’, in an exploration of the huge cultural diversity of Ipswich.
Mike Challis’ SoundHide (Photo: Mike Challis)
Highlights of this year’s Spill festival:
Shaun Caton (UK): rainschemes for insomniacs
Ipswich Art School Gallery, 27th – 29th October
In rainschemes for insomniacs, Caton works with organic river fetishes, and items loaned from Ipswich Museum collections. He evokes dark, supernatural, fractured histories through an experimental approach to shadow play.
Martin O’Brien and Sheree Rose (UK/USA): Sanctuary Ring
Ipswich Arts Centre, 30th October
In this durational site specific performance at St Clement’s Church, Martin O’Brien and Sheree Rose create their own sanctuary of sickness. This is a place for freaks, monsters and weirdos. It’s a place of pain, sacrifice and submission in order to survive, and you are invited to join them. Take cover from the chaos of the outside world and claim sanctuary together.
Mike Challis (UK): SoundHide
Christchurch Park (Outdoor Classroom), 27th – 30th October
SoundHide Ipswich is a sited installation in the outdoor classroom in Christchurch Park. It will feature recordings made in the green spaces of Ipswich and aims to connect people with their environment. SoundHide Ipswich provides a den in which people can rest and listen to the wildlife sounds gathered from their local environment. The experience often invokes memories, sensations, and a feeling of calm, security and wellbeing.
Lone Twin’s Beastie
Lone Twin (UK): Beastie
DanceEast, 27th – 29th October
Inspired by the imagination of young people, Beastie is an innovative participatory performance for children aged 6 – 10. The kids share a jaw-dropping secret and take charge as they create their own stories and explore their surroundings, hand-in hand with a very special new friend. The result is a playful, active and engaging experience for small groups of children, and one big surprise for adults.
Justin Hopper and Scanner (US/UK):Public Record
Ipswich Museum, 27th – 29th October
Public Record is a recorded audio tour of Ipswich Museum, guiding the listener through unseen connections and subtle hauntings. New poetry and music, created from the museum’s own archives and collections, takes the listener in tangential directions, resurrecting forgotten lives through texts and objects.
Oblivia (Finland): Entertainment Island
New Wolsey Theatre, 29th October
Using minimal lights and sound, and no set, three exceptional performers have just themselves to rely on. Physical theatre which promises laugh out loud funny, profound and urgent.
David Hoyle and Very Special Guests and House Band Snapped Ankles: Saturday Pump & Grind Spill Party
Pump & Grind, 29th October
The sensational anti-drag queen David Hoyle presents a special performance made for Spill. Expect polemic, pathos, provocative politicking and high comedy. Celebrate Spill festival in full-on party mode.
Created in 2007 by performance maker Robert Pacitti, and produced by Pacitti Company, Spill festival is recognised worldwide as the UK’s premier artist-led festival of radical live work.
More info: spillfestival.com