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SPACE 50 Soundtrack Album |
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for more pictures of the show http://projects.pmlx.co.uk/s50/photos
Devised and performed by Niki McCretton and Jamie Wood
Directed by Guy Dartnell
Text by Andrew Smith (author of Moondust)
Animations by Susan Sloane & Adam Vanner
Film by Kathy Hinde, Music by Paul Riordan
WORLD PREMIERE: SPACE 50 The premiere performance of SPACE 50 takes place on Saturday 10 February, 7.30pm at ICIA Arts Theatre, University of Bath, prior to its national UK tour this winter/spring and autumn. SPACE 50 marks the anniversary of fifty years of space travel with a brand new theatrical piece that unpicks man’s astonishing journey to the heavens, devised and performed by Niki McCretton and Jamie Wood, with text written by Andrew Smith, author of the popular book Moondust. SPACE 50 is commissioned by ICIA (Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts) based at the University of Bath. As a child, performer Niki McCretton wanted to be an astronaut. Now in the 21st century space tourism is here. Driven by her lifelong passion, Niki takes us on an epic expedition of extraordinary moments from history, fuelled by her imagination. Spanning fifty years of the space race, SPACE 50 revisits a time when ambition exceeded logic, and men were sent to the moon to touchdown in little more than a tinfoil spacecraft. SPACE 50 tells some of the personal stories of those people who experienced this astronomic goal, who saw earth from outer space, and the aftermath. SPACE 50 is physical in style with a strong narrative. It features two live performers and is produced by an outstanding creative team featuring animation, film and an original score. The text has been written by Andrew Smith, whose best-seller Moondust recounts how he tracks down nine of the astronauts who walked on the moon. The original concept and research for the piece included working with leading popular science author Piers Bizony, who specialises in space. This is Niki’s second project with award-winning director, Guy Dartnell, and film-maker Kathy Hinde. In preparation for SPACE 50, Niki’s research took her to Star City, where she visited the YuriGagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre just outside Moscow and saw the Soyuz simulators, the centrifuge room and the neutral buoyancy lab - an underwater facility which simulates the conditions of a zero-g space walk outside of the space shuttle. Niki explains: “I traveled to Russia with my father who is 66 and had some fascinating memories of the space age. I’m interested in the memories and opinions that people have, going right back to 1957. So much has changed since satellites came along and I want to reflect those planetary rites of passage.” She also met Captain Alan Bean of the Apollo 12 mission, fourth man to walk on the moon (first man to eat spaghetti there!). He is now a visual artist. SPACE 50 received a personal endorsement by leading science fiction author Sir Arthur C. Clarke. SPACE 50 is part of Niki’s ongoing fascination with space travel. She devised the critically acclaimed show MUTTNIK, The First Dog in Space, which also tours alongside SPACE 50. A family show, it tells of the journey of the world’s first living creature in space, a stray dog called Laika, sent into orbit by the Soviets in November 1957, shortly followed by two more dogs and the Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin. Following the premiere in Bath, Niki tours SPACE 50 across the UK in the winter and spring and autumn. Niki is asking venues to encourage audiences to send in memories of significant moments from man’s journey into space; what they felt when Sputnik 1 sent back its eerie signal, when Yuri Gagarin went into orbit or where they were when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. The responses will be collated and made available at the performances. SPACE 50 is commissioned by ICIA at the University of Bath as part of its ongoing policy to commission new arts projects regionally and nationally. With support from: Activate (Dorset), Arts Council England, Bournemouth University, Dance South West, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Halton Borough Council (Brindley Arts Centre), Merlin Theatre (Frome), Take Art (Somerset), The Lighthouse (Poole), Sponsored by PBC&T and Bellingham International. Tickets £9, Concs £7, ICIA Box Office 01225 386777 PRESS NIGHT: Saturday 10 February, 7.30pm Ends ENDORSEMENT FROM SIR ARTHUR C. CLARKE: “Our human achievements in space over the past half-decade should be marked by a celebration that reflects such innovation and exhilaration. SPACE 50 will, I’m sure, present audiences across the globe with an lasting experience that draws them into the joy of exploration and enables them, as space travel does, to reflect on their own humanity and the beauty of our unique planet”
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