“A Strange New Space” by Tessa Bide at Cairns Lecture Theatre, Summerhall. 10:45am (45 mins)
Shows = 4th – 27th Aug (except Mondays)Relaxed autism-friendly performances on Tuesdays
Tickets: £8 (£6 concs/£20 fam)
In person at Summerhall, Online at www.summerhall.co.uk or by phone 0131 226 0000
www.tessabide.com / @tessabide / #AStrangeNewSpace/ Facebook: tessabideproductions
Children’s theatre specialist Tessa Bide returns to Summerhall this Edinburgh Fringe Festival with her brand new and highly topical piece, ‘A Strange New Space’, following her critically acclaimed run of ‘The Tap Dancing Mermaid’ in August 2015.
A Strange New Space is the story of Amira, a young refugee girl struggling to find a new place to call home. This production melds physical theatre with stunning puppetry and original music to explore universal themes of home, belonging and safety. The piece uses a child’s imagination to unpack these themes in an accessible way, imagining the journey as a space adventure.
An original piece, devised by the company and directed by Joseph Wallace, this production is wordless in nature, and thus accessible to those of all nationalities; using physical theatre and movement as an international language to tell Amira’s story. After the success of The Tap Dancing Mermaid in 2015 , this is a highly anticipated return to The Fringe for Tessa Bide.
In January 2017, Bide travelled to Greece to volunteer with the refugee community and research the production. She worked with several charities, camps and squats including the including The Schoolbox Project at Elliniko Camp, Project Eleas at Eleonas Camp, and The Orange House – run by the Za’atar charity. The aim for A Strange New Space was to serve as a catalyst for conversations around the continuing crisis, and to start to question what it means to be a refugee, especially for a young audience.
Developed in collaboration with Bristol based venues Circomedia and The Trinity Centre, along with charity ‘Integrate UK’ and large, diverse primary school May Park throughout Spring 2017, A Strange New Space was funded throughout the process by Arts Council England. The show is mid-way through a National tour before continuing internationally in Autumn 2017 – Spring 2019. It is going to the Story of Space Festival in Goa, India, in November (shortlisted from 270 companies to a final programme of 50 companies from around the world), and also has a run at The Wardrobe Theatre (Bristol) and dates at The Bristol Festival of Puppetry, Oxford’s Northwall and Farnham Maltings in Autumn this year.
