Society's outcasts
Punch and Judy
Burgers
and a lot of Dirt.
A legendary, life size Punch and Judy show. With the company stepping up to midscale performance with participation elements - Explore the project and how we made it below.
The Show
Dark comedy meets clowning in Ramshacklicious' dystopian take on situation comedy, Set in a make-shift-burger-van-come-family-home, enter the world of Grime where violence and control prevail.
Grime tells the story of an ordinary dysfunctional family trying to live outside the constraints of normal society. Circumstances beyond their control have forced them to leave behind their cosy trappings, uproot and start a new life; a life on the move, a life on the edge. Intent on survival, they will do whatever it takes to survive.
Featuring original live music, an epic morphing set, meat puppetry, pyrotechnics and the now legendary "sausage dance".
Creative Process
The research for 'Grime' started in 2011 with support from Bristol City Council. Our starting points were society's outcasts, punch and judy, burgers and a lot of dirt.
We slammed these all together to begin to find a family of hugely dysfunctional misfits, a place for them to live and the seeds of a narrative.
In 2012, supported by Without walls & ZEPA, we continued to develop the world of ‘Grime’ with a bigger pool of artists including performers, directors, musicians, designers & pyromaniacs. This phase gave us a detailed recipe of what the show would grow into and how to make it.
In 2013, we attended a week-long residency at Le Fourneau creation centre in Brittany. We continued to explore the concepts of Grime and the company within a European context.
In 2014 Grime went into full production in Bristol. Followed by taking the entire Grime team to Atelier 23, France for a 3 week residency. Here we worked hard to make the show, set, props and puppets
A final week of creation took place back in the UK in Bristol and at 101 Outdoor Arts Creation space - before it went out on the road to thrill and frighten audiences
Participation
In 2014 three fantastic community projects ran alongside the creation process and tour of Grime.
Atelier 231 Workshops
Performance Workshops During our residency at Atelier 231, Holly Stoppit delivered a series of workshops for a group of people with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. These workshops ran parallel to our creation process and allowed the group to experience how we make our shows as well as having the opportunity to contribute to the research for Grime through devising and performing a short performance about living with mental illness.
Video Workshops A second parallel project ran alongside our residency at Atelier 231 in the form of video workshops. Led by Mickaël Leclère, an independent film director who worked with a group of patients suffering from mental illnesses from Lucien Bonnafé day hospital of the Rouvray hospital centre. Together they created a documentary of our residency entitled "Meat is Burger".
T.W.I.T.S at Winchester Hat Fair
As part of Winchester Hat Fair, Holly Stoppit worked with the students from Winchester Uni's Street Arts Degree to create a 'local' response to the burger van. In the form of the T.W.I.Ts: The Winchester Institution for Toffs
Project Credits
Performers/Devisers Jack Stoddart, Garth Williams, Megan Brooks, Holly Cassidy and Jean Goubert
Director - Flick Ferdinando
Musical Director - Jean Goubert
Set design - Will Datson
Assistant set maker - Georgie Shire
Costume Design - Tomasin Cuthbert
Lighting design - Anna Barrett
Puppet Design - Pickled Image & Emma Powell
Sound design/touring technician - Pete Storer
Pyro design - Pete Mountain
Workshop facilitator/Writer in Residence - Holly Stoppit
Fundraiser - Kate Hazel (Alchemy Productions)
Project Management & producer - Jack Stoddart
Research and development also included
Devisers - Gwen Scott, Adam Fuller, Nikki Warwick, Ed Hicks, Billy Paul & Lucy Harrington & Toby Gascoigne,
Research - Facilitator Holly Stoppit
Writer - Adam Fuller
Research Illustration - Tomasin Cuthbert
Visual content creation
Photos - Garth Williams & Nick Warbuton
Video - Garth Williams
Supported by Arts Council England, ZEPA, Without Walls, Atelier 231, Theatre Bristol & Bristol City Council
Project Partners
