High flying acrobats, fiddling foxes, explosive comedy and traditional dancing are all part of the fourth Out There Festival of Street Arts and Circus which takes place in Great Yarmouth this weekend (17 & 18 September 2011).

The festival, now the largest of its kind in the eastern region, will once again showcase some of the finest international circus and street arts acts. Artists from eleven nations descend on Great Yarmouth to perform to crowds expected to be in excess of 60,000.

 

The festival has blossomed thanks in part to an international project called ZEPA, which partners organisers SeaChange Arts with eight major street arts festivals and producers in France and the UK. ZEPA is supported by the European cross border cooperation programme Interreg IVA France (Channel) England and is a partnership enabling the festivals to exchange artists, ideas and knowledge.

This Anglo-French partnership will come to the fore on Saturday evening as two of the festival’s major shows close the first night.

The early evening will celebrate this French relationship with a participatory street performance called Fest Noz – Breton for Night Festival.

 

Lead by dance group, Eostiged ar Stangala, from Brittany, Fest Noz will be a mass street party with singing, dancing and live music including Breton bagpipes. The energetic dances are a rich tradition in France, some of which trace their origins to the middle ages. Seven local schools will be involved and everyone will be able to come along, join in and try out a few other French traditions including crêpes, or pancakes.

The evening’s finale will take place at the Sealife Centre Gardens where an imposing structure has been built over the last week by Welsh company NoFit State Circus.

NoFit State are one of two ‘Associate Companies’ of the ZEPA partnership (the other being Générik Vapeur who performed at last year’s festival) who will work alongside the partners to develop and showcase new work over the course of the project.

 Out There 2011 will play host to their new show, Barricade – a dazzling large-scale production featuring theatrical circus, trapeze artists, tightrope walkers and fire jugglers. The evening will then come to a close with a firework spectacular.

Both performance companies have also been hard at work in the local communities around Yarmouth. “We were able to bring Eostiged to the UK for the first time thanks to funding from the ZEPA partnership,” said SeaChange Arts’ Creative Producer Laurie Miller-Zutshi. “They’ve been working with school pupils from Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth, teaching dances which will be performed during Fest Noz. It’s been a rewarding experience for all involved and will prove an amazing spectacle!”

Twenty-seven young people from Norwich and Yarmouth have been working alongside NoFit State’s Paul Evans in a series of workshops to develop their trapeze skills ready for a brand new performance, called Bread and Circuses, to be showcased at Out There on Sunday.

 

This new show inspired by the circus heritage of Great Yarmouth will see the young people perform alongside professional circus and theatre artists. “It’s been really great to be part of two projects for the festival,” said Paul. “Bringing something the scale of Barricade to the public, and also working closely with so many local people to share the enjoyment of performing live circus”.

The influence of the ZEPA partnership will be evident throughout this year’s programme. “We’re really excited to welcome back France’s Three Points of Suspension and their brand new show Mr. Baryton,” explained Chief Executive of SeaChange, Joe Mackintosh. “It’s a mysterious, fantastical tall tale. They were the outstanding hit of the 2009 festival and we fully expect their new show will once again thrill the people of Great Yarmouth”.

 

Other companies and performers coming to Out There as a result of the ZEPA partnership include American, Mario Queen of the Circus – veteran of the multi award winning circus show, La Clique; madcap UK street act Strangelings, who are now a big hit on the continent thanks to the partnership; and Norwich based Hocus Pocus Theatre Company.

 

ZEPA partners, and some of the continent’s major street arts figures will also be in town over the weekend to take in the festival and some of the acts. Daniel Andrieu is Director of the street arts festival Viva Cité in Sottteville-les-Rouen, France – one of Europe’s largest festivals. “I will be going to Out There for the third time, and this rather new festival has become a must-see street arts event in Europe. The quality of the programme, the risks taken by its Artistic Director Joe Mackintosh, makes it a powerful artistic experience, mixing work with the community and openness. I will be delighted to enjoy the festival and Great Yarmouth again this weekend.”

The Out There International Festival of Street Arts and Circus is free and takes place on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September in St George’s Park, Great Yarmouth marketplace and along Great Yarmouth Seafront. Performances start at 11am on Saturday and 12 noon on Sunday. For further information visit www.outtherefestival.com

SeaChange Arts are the Arts Development organisation for the borough of Great Yarmouth, tasked with providing high quality cultural experiences to local people of all ages and backgrounds. 

Since 2008, SeaChange Arts have received funding from the Interreg IV A Funding UK/FR Cross-border Alliance to develop the Out There International Festival of Street Arts and Circus, and are working in partnership with festivals in France and the South of England.