Draft:Spike Theatre
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Spike Theatre (also known informally as Spike) was a British theatre company in operation between 1993 and 2014. The company was based in Liverpool, UK and created original devised theatre works, drawing upon a range of physical theatre, visual theatre and improvisational practices.[1][2] The work was presented initially as street theatre shows and then as small-scale touring indoor shows.
Between 2004 and 2008, Spike developed large-scale outdoor projects with professional and community casts, establishing 'Theatre in the Parks' as part of the Liverpool '08 Capital of Culture build-up and main programme[3].
For ten years, Spike also toured the long-form improvisation show Hoof! (created in collaboration with Rejects Revenge Theatre Co.) The show was originally directed by Todd Stashwick and John Thies of The Hothouse, Los Angeles and ran from 2004-2014.[4][5]
The company received project and national touring funding from Arts Council of England (ACE) from 1997 onwards, and the strength of the company’s work was recognised as it became one of ACE’s ‘Regularly Funded Organisations’ in 2003, initially through the Regional Arts Lottery Programme.[6] It continued to receive this funding up to 2011, when the newly reduced ACE National Portfolio was announced and the company called it a day with a final performance of Hoof! at Unity Theatre.[7]
HISTORY
[edit]Beginnings
[edit]Spike Theatre originally started in 1993 as a street theatre project conceived by recent drama graduates of the Liverpool Institute of Higher Education (L.I.H.E.) now Liverpool Hope University, under the direction of lecturer Claire Binyon. The first iteration of the company included Glenn Noble, Sally Orrock, Oliver Campbell-Smith and Tim McEvoy, who devised the acrobatic and musical street theatre show Megabyte Bites Back! (1993) which was performed in and around Liverpool, Chester, Southport and at the Alford Festival in Lincolnshire.
When Orrock, Campbell-Smith and McEvoy departed Liverpool for post-graduate drama school courses, in 1994, Noble retained the name and Artistic Directorship of Spike Theatre for further street theatre projects including The Legend of Merrymusk: Dragonslayer (1995) which was presented as part of the Brouhaha International Street Theatre Festival in Liverpool.
By 1996, a working association with both Liverpool's Hope Street Ltd and Unity Theatre led to an invitation and funding support to create Spike's first indoor project: Perfume (1996), a 'One Bold Leap' commission presented at Unity Theatre as part of both the LEAP Festival of Mime, Dance and Physical Theatre and ‘Real Action!’, Total Theatre's physical and visual theatre symposium. Later that same year, Spike received a further commission to to help celebrate the ‘Year of Hope’ as L.I.H.E. had become Liverpool Hope University College in the previous year.[8] Working with undergraduates, Noble devised and directed The Ship of Fools (1996).
Formalisation
[edit]The formalisation of Spike Theatre as an independent touring company really began when Noble took up the post of course coordinator for the Actors’ Centre at Hope Street Ltd. This part-time role provided an office and rehearsal space for the company, and so a new project was conceived in 1997: The Bank Job. The core performers and subsequent Spike Theatre company members were Steve Wallis, Julie Walker and Mark Smith.
Noble first met and worked with Steve Wallis during an Anglo-Turkish co-production Iki Dünya Arasinda (Between Two Worlds) for Hope Street Ltd., Merseyside Young People's Theatre and TOBAV (Turkish state Theatre organisation) in 1995. This acquaintance led to a range of community projects and educational workshop collaborations between the pair. Noble had previously worked with and directed Julie Walker during Perfume (1996) and discovered another kindred spirit willing to develop new work for touring. Finally, in 1997, Noble recruited Smith to The Bank Job after he attended an R&D workshop for the project, as part of the Hope Street Ltd.’s Actor’s Centre workshop season. (Noble had also previously taught and directed Smith as a participant on both the Theatre for Young People and Physical Theatre courses at Hope Street Ltd.). Noble led the company as Artistic Director up to 2009, when Smith took over the role until the company's close in 2014.
Main touring and commissioned works
[edit]- 1997-8:The Bank Job – UK tour (Re-tour 1999) * Winner Liverpool Echo Arts Award
- 1998: B.L.T. UK tour (Re-tours in 1999, 2001)
- 2000: The Man Who Cracked – UK tour (Re-tour 2004)
- 2002: Two Pairs of Shorts. (A scratch night event for Unity Theatre, comprising four short pieces each directed by a different member of the company, as a development phase looking for a new piece for touring. We Live As We Dream, Alone (Dir. Noble); Camille & the Gates of Hell (Dir. Walker); Merry Xmas War is Over (Dir. Wallis); The Fairy School (Dir. Smith)
- 2003-4: Backwater – UK tour (Re-tour 2005).
- 2004: Spring Heeled Jack - Commissioned by Halton Arts to mark the launch of The Brindley.
- 2005-14: Hoof! Spontaneous Theatre – Co-production with Rejects Revenge, UK Tours
- 2005: Madam I’m Adam – Supported by Berkshire Venues consortium for Edinburgh Festival '05
- 2005: This Side Up (Collaboration with Ramesh Meyyappan, Dir. Smith)
- 2006: Aladdin & His Enchanted Lamp (Xmas Show Co-production at The Bury Met)
- 2007: Gin & Tonic and Passing Trains (Collaboration with Ramesh Meyyappan, Dir. Smith)
- 2009: The Sandman – in association with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, UK Tour
- 2010: Top of the World - UK Tour (Dir. Smith)
- 2010: The Games - Dir. Smith & Toby Park (Spymonkey). Edinburgh Festival 2011 and retour 2012
- 2013: Sink or Swin - Dir Smith & Toby Park in association with Liverpool Playhouse Studio UK Tour.
Theatre in the Parks, Merseyside
[edit]- 2004: The Three Musketeers – Theatre in the Parks, Knowsley MBC commission
- 2005: Jason & the Argonauts – Capital of Culture '08 & Knowsley MBC
- 2006: The True Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Capital of Culture '08 & Knowsley MBC
- 2007: The Adventures of Robin Hood - (Dir. Smith) Capital of Culture '08 & Knowsley MBC
- 2008: Alice in Wonderland – (Dir. Smith) Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008 main programme
Hoof! Spontaneous Theatre
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Evans, Mark; Murray, Simon (2023-04-03). Mime into Physical Theatre: A UK Cultural History 1970–2000. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-86271-3.
- ^ Tomlin, Liz; Saunders, Graham; Bull, John Stanley, eds. (2020). British theatre companies. London, England: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 978-1-4081-7728-0.
- ^ "Merseyside: Legacies - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- ^ Michael, Alastair (2024-05-21). "On the Hoof: stretching theatre to its limits". Northern Soul. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
- ^ "Todd Stashwick - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- ^ Arts Council England annual review 2005. Arts Council England. October 2005. p. 92. ISBN 0-7287-1145-1.
- ^ Jones, Catherine (2013-05-03). "Merseyside arts organisations receive mixed news from £24m Arts Council England funding". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
- ^ Elford, R. John, ed. (2003). The foundation of Hope: turning dreams into reality. Liverpool: Liverpool Hope University College. ISBN 978-0-85323-519-4. OCLC 52695766.