FoolishPeople Present CIRXUS

FoolishPeople Present CIRXUS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FoolishPeople present
Cirxus
Written and Directed by John Harrigan

25 May - 13 June 2009 Arcola Theatre

Press Night Thursday 28 May 8.30pm

LONDON 14/04/09 - FoolishPeople present Cirxus an immersive, promenade performance in Arcola's new industrial space, Unit K for three weeks only.

1957- Seascale, the North of England. Cirxus is an old English circus lost in the shadows of the smoke stacks of Calder Hall, the world's first commercial nuclear power station.

Athalia the ballerina waits in the ring for Loudon the Clown to return with directions to the Black Pool, the mythic site of the Home Sweet Home, the final show of the season.

Join Athalia in 1957 as she begins a bizarre and wondrous search for Loudon through the irradiated secrets of Cirxus, where she must face the macabre atomic menagerie, haunted by circus animals and navigate her way through the maze of strange, hallucinogenic sideshows on the other side of time.

Immerse yourself in the world of Cirxus, where theatric arcana and Atomic fallout irradiate the sawdust arenas of our inner worlds.

FoolishPeople will use mythology, shamanism, music and dance to bring the darkness of an atomic circus to life. The performance will allow audience members to step into the world of an old English circus lost in the 1950s, explore its sideshows and meet extraordinary characters from the past and future.

Cirxus will be FoolishPeople's first London performance run since their critically acclaimed 'Dead Language' which was performed at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 2007. 'Dead Language' was part of the London Lates season of cultural events and selected for the Times top five events.

FoolishPeople's core creative team for Cirxus consists of John Harrigan, Lucy Allin, Victoria Karlsson, P. Emerson Williams, Claire Tregellas & Tereza Kamenicka.

Listings Information:
'Cirxus' 24 May- 13 June 2009
8.30pm & 9.15pm entrance times
£14/£10 concessions
Pay what you can Tuesday (tickets from 7pm, subject to availability)
Free tickets are available for under 26s on Monday-Thursday evenings for the first 2 weeks
Book online: arcolatheatre.com
Box office: 020 7503 1646
Arcola Theatre Unit K, 27 Arcola Street, E8 2DJ

Notes to editors:

• The German Bremen University confirmed that radioactive contamination by Americium-241 found in some soil samples taken by Greenpeace 11.5 km south of Sellafield, were 400 times higher than those taken 11 km from Chernobyl. 51 years on, the villagers of Seascale still live with the ramifications of the accident at Pile 1 of the Windscale Works Atomic Energy Factory.
• FoolishPeople are currently in pre-production with Mythos Media and DPRGRM for a feature film entitled 'Y', which is being shot in Los Angeles CA in July 2009. 'Y' was written by John Harrigan and James Curcio and to be directed by Joseph Matheny.
• FoolishPeople create art, theatre, film, books & collaborative events to raise a numinous experience within the witness for positive change.
• Arcola's Unit K will officially launch in July 2009 with Create Festival 2009.
• 'Cirxus' is sponsored by The Movieum of London, Chisenhale Dance Space and The Courtyard.
• For further information, please contact: Lucy Allin, FoolishPeople lucena@foolishpeople.org 07790440269 or visit: foolishpeople.org