The first Not Television Festival takes place August 29-31 2014 at Chelsea Theatre, featuring Red Bastard, Tomás Ford, Miss Behave and more.
One of the joys of doing a blog is that you get to celebrate the things you like just cos you like them. Since Not Television launched at the end of 2013, I’ve had the chance to do a bit of that in real life too, programming some of the acts I admire at Come With Me If You Want To Live, the occasional cabaret night I produce and present at Chelsea Theatre.
Now I’m insanely excited to be able to expand that to a whole weekend of fun: the very first Not Television Festival, to take place at the Chelsea on the weekend of August 29-31. That’s less than a week after the Edinburgh Fringe ends, and some new discoveries from the Fringe will be central to the line-up.
Rather than a cabaret presenting short turns by multiple acts, the Not Television Festival will be a showcase for a raft of standalone shows, seasoned with a few added extras. I’ve selected work from across the worlds of cabaret, comedy and theatre – much of it first encountered at the Edinburgh Fringe, some of it so fresh I haven’t even seen it yet. We’ll also have live music, pop-up art and a surprise or two.
It’s a defiantly eclectic mix but there’s one thing uniting the whole weekend: the outcome of each event is utterly dependent on what the audience say and do. Call it participation, call it immersion, call it whatever you like.
The Not Television Festival is all about shows that are different every time. Shows that look you in the eye, reach out a hand and invite you to converse, collaborate and conspire. Unrehearsable, unpredictable and unrepeatable shows that gets you buzzing in places the telly just can’t reach.
So, what’s actually on? The acts on the bill include:
Red Bastard
Confrontational clown, inspirational arse-kicker, tomato-rooster hybrid and more, Red Bastard is a faceful of laughs who’ll have you itching in your seat and questioning your priorities. He’s take audiences by storm across the globe and might just change your life. He inspired this festival, for a start.
Tomás Ford’s Electric Midnight Cabaret
Using a hefty mixing console, video wizardry, killer tunes, snake hips and a shedload of chutzpah, this euphoric show suggests what might happen if Sweeney Todd threw an electro-punk party in the sex dungeon of the TARDIS en route to nirvana. Key terms: ‘Nothing bad is happening. Forgive this show. You are not alone.’
Miss Behave’s Gameshow
A lo-fi cardboard aesthetic is the perfect backdrop for this new venture from the mistress of the sideshow spectacle. Oodles of charm and innovative oomph go into cleverly designed games that exploit the fact we all have a mobile phone. Fun-a-go-go with a satirical sting in the tail.
The Sunday Assembly
A godless congregation celebrating the wonder of life and joys of community. Join the celebrants of the Sunday Assembly for a new kind of happy hang-out, bringing together shamelessly joyous pop singalongs, a smarter kind of inspirational speaking and, most importantly, a sense of being in it together.
White Rabbit, Red Rabbit
Unopened script. Unprepared actor. Unknowing audience. Iran’s Nassim Soleimanpour can’t leave his home, but his writing can. His fable of censorship, coercion and the choice of freedom is remarkable. Watch an unorthodox performer bring it to life without setting eyes on it ever before – and perhaps hand the reins over to you…
The Creative Martyrs: Cabapocalypsaret
Welcome to the Armageddon floorshow. What kind of world shall we make next? The Creative Martyrs – think Vladimir and Estragon with a cello and ukulele – invite you to help invent a new form of society in the ruins of a music hall. No pressure.
Plus on the Saturday and Sunday afternoons, Drawabout will be on hand doing brilliant live drawings depicting and inspired by the life stories of anyone and everyone present, alongside live music, great food and drink, and a chance to contribute to the Anxiety Box – a cathartic repository of all the ills of our neurotic society wrapped up in a couple of square feet of cardboard.
And, perhaps most enticing of all, two of the prime slots will go to shows from this year’s Edinburgh Fringe that I haven’t seen yet because I won’t arrive until Friday.
You can get tickets for individual shows, or for a day’s events, or for the whole weekend. Check out the Chelsea Theatre website here for more info and booking details. Hope to see you there!
