Performance hub & community gathering spot

in Exeter

In February, we called out to artists living in Exeter who wanted to make a piece of work to celebrate the city. In the weeks that have followed, six artistic entities whose practice is rooted in live performance have developed work-in-progress performances around the theme of Animating Exeter. Between 30th-31st March, you'll be able to see early work-in-progress showings in a mini celebration of work at Maketank.

Tickets to each event are FREE but some performances have a limited number of seats, so may be a good idea to sign up in advance.

Click here for tickets

Saturday March 30

Sharing Times

11:00 Circle Tales

12:30 Aiming For Everything

14:00 They Say She Sang

15:30 Aiming For Everything

17:00 Upskirt

18:00 Ouroboros//LIVE

Sunday March 31

Sharing Times

12:00 Circle Tales

17:30 Upskirt

19:00 They Say She Sang

All Day In the Foyer - Ouroboros screening.

Aiming For Everything: The Impossible Parenting Dream

Aiming for Everything: The Impossible Parenting Dream is the first performance piece that theatre makers Estelle Buckridge and Charlie Whitworth have ever made together. It's also the first thing they've made since becoming parents of their son, Joseph two years ago. It’s also the first time either have performed on stage for a very long time… and then the first when their toddler was in the room.
 
Aiming for Everything is a work-in-progress exploring what it is to be a parent, a partner and a maker today. Based on their own experiences and on research from other parents in the city and the rest of the world, Aiming for Everything aims to debunk stereotypes, revel in sleep deprived delusions and get angry at the patriarchy. All whilst their son probably sabotages the performances.
 
Humans of all ages welcome. This is a relaxed performance. Come sit in as we try and achieve everything as we aim to be both parents and theatre makers. Running time approx. 30mins

CircleTales Tale

CircleTales® is a new collaborative tabletop storytelling game being developed here in Exeter by artist and designer duo Annie Murdock and Herman Castaneda, with lots of constructive criticism from their 13 year-old daughter Lilly. Annie and Herman have employed CircleTales as a creative tool, inviting local participants to play the game to generate a collective story. During performances shared as part of Maketank's Living Spaces program on Saturday and Sunday March 30th and 31st, CircleTales will stage this story twice with different cast and different outcomes.

More about the game: CircleTales®
is a collaborative tabletop storytelling game with
artistic flair that celebrates the imagination of each individual player, while encouraging social interaction, creative thinking, and deep
listening. Insightful questions and surprising word prompts help players weave a shared tale. Think campfire story with a dash of magic, the
result of which is a wild and entertaining storytelling adventure.

Running time approx. 45 min

They Say She Sang

Rhys Slade Jones is this year's recipient of the Pleasance Theatre's Common Bursary and weaves cabaret style performance with sustainable costume making. For Living Spaces, Rhys will make costume from clothing found in Exeter's charity shops, the conduit between those who have lived in the city for an extended period of time and himself. Going back further than this, Rhys uses his performance to speak to the stone monuments of the city to get a sense of where we are now.

"At a time where Britain may be seeking to remove its ties to Europe, Exeter’s existence within a wall built by early Europeans feels poignant. At a time when the future of Britain’s global trading is being scrutinised, the history of Exeter’s port once being the gateway to the world feels important to explore.

I want to interrogate the relationships between what is grounded in the fabric of the city during these times of change. I want to speak to the stone monuments of the city and try to add a sense of perspective to where we are now. These monuments will become my interviewees in the live presentation of the work." Rhys Slade Jones

Running time approx. 45 min

Upskirt

" In 1885 Sarah Ann Henley jumped off Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, in attempt to end her life. However, Sarah’s hooped crinoline skirt had other ideas and an updraft of wind is said to have inflated her dress and parachuted her to safety. Sarah is said to have been pushed over the edge (not literally), by her fiancé who broke off their engagement. Sarah was the first person to survive the fall, and has been something of a Bristol legend since. UPSKIRT is my feminist retelling of Sarah’s story.

I’ve pieced together this (mostly) true story from the slightly wonky male-dominated narratives and news reporting to tease out what happened. I tell this story using a hand-made pop-up book, which serves as my playing space for paper puppets. The piece is largely visual with verbatim audio playing alongside; it plays with scale and fragility, as well as puppet manipulation whilst observing performer physicality. " - Emma Baskeyfield, Theatre maker.

Ouroboros

Ouroboros combines visual and sound collage and montage to create a moving-image experience celebrating the modern construction condition that is the city of Exeter. Hyperreal evolving imagery and musique concrete will provide the setting for a lyrical journey, exploring the modern city condition with reference to Exeter’s occupants before and after the Romans.

Ouroboros is made by Stuart Crewes and Performed Live with Emma Welton (music) and Chris White (narration) on Saturday March 30 at 18:00