Spill Festival
Encyclopedia
SPILL Festival of Performance is the UK's premiere artist-led biennale of experimental theatre and live art which began in 2007 and takes place in a variety of venues in London. The festival is produced by Pacitti Company and the Artistic Director is Robert Pacitti.
Robert Pacitti, Artistic Director of Spill says on SPILL 2009:
"This year the festival has been curated around ideas of ‘agency’. What I mean by this is the ability of each of us to make choices. Every work in the programme, in some way or other, may be viewed through this prism. Some raise questions around how we make choices (or indeed value judgements), others reflect thoughts on how our choices may be imposed on the world. With this in mind we may be provoked to consider issues around responsibility – either individually, or as part of a group – which brings into focus notions of free will, permission to act, and human rights. Of course it is not essential to engage with these ideas to enjoy SPILL. But for those who wish to, the festival will be highlighting some shared threads between aspects of the programme, for you turn over and mull at your leisure, as well as spaces for you to share your thoughts with others."
Spill Festival 2009
, performance
and experimental theatre
to show their work publicly and receive feedback from a group of artists and experts.
Background
Launched in 2007 the SPILL Festival has rapidly established itself worldwide as one of the UK’s most important festivals of new and experimental theatre and performance work.Robert Pacitti, Artistic Director of Spill says on SPILL 2009:
"This year the festival has been curated around ideas of ‘agency’. What I mean by this is the ability of each of us to make choices. Every work in the programme, in some way or other, may be viewed through this prism. Some raise questions around how we make choices (or indeed value judgements), others reflect thoughts on how our choices may be imposed on the world. With this in mind we may be provoked to consider issues around responsibility – either individually, or as part of a group – which brings into focus notions of free will, permission to act, and human rights. Of course it is not essential to engage with these ideas to enjoy SPILL. But for those who wish to, the festival will be highlighting some shared threads between aspects of the programme, for you turn over and mull at your leisure, as well as spaces for you to share your thoughts with others."
Venues
Spill Festival takes place in a range of venues and unusual spaces across London including:- The BarbicanBarbican CentreThe Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
- Southbank Centre
- The National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
Studio - Soho TheatreSoho TheatreSoho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
- Shunt Vaults
- Shoreditch Town Hall
- Greenwich Dance Agency
- Laban
- Soho SquareSoho SquareSoho Square is a square in Soho, London, England, with a park and garden area at its centre that dates back to 1681. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, whose statue stands in the square. At the centre of the garden, there is a distinctive half-timbered gardener's hut...
- Toynbee Studios
Artists Involved
Spill Festival shows more than 100 live performances by artists from Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the USA and from across the UK.Spill Festival 2009
- Paradiso by Romeo Castellucci, Italy
- Inferno by Romeo Castellucci, Italy
- Dinner With America, Rajni Shah, UK
- That Night follows Day, VictoriaVictoria (theatre company)Victoria is a Belgian theatre company based in the Flemish city of Ghent....
& Tim EtchellsTim EtchellsTim Etchells is a Sheffield based artist who is the artistic director of , a theatre company founded in 1984. With Forced Entertainment he has directed, written, and occasionally performed in, dozens of critically acclaimed performance works that have been shown at major festivals and theatres...
(Forced Entertainment), Belgium/UK - A Forest, Pacitti Company, UK
- Purgatorio, By Romeo Castellucci, Italy
- Saving the World, Gob SquadGob SquadGob Squad is a British-German collective based in Nottingham and Berlin. They have worked collaboratively since 1994 in the fields of performance, video installation and theatre.- History :...
, Germany/UK - Visions of Excess, Ron AtheyRon AtheyRon Athey is an American performance artist associated with body art and with extreme performance art. He has performed in the U.S. and internationally . Athey's work explores challenging subjects like the relationships between desire, sexuality, and traumatic experience...
& Lee AdamsLee AdamsLee Richard Adams is an American lyricist best known for his musical theatre collaboration with Charles Strouse.Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Adams received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University and a Master's from Columbia University.Adams won Tony Awards in 1961 for Bye Bye Birdie...
, USA/UK - A True Story About Two People, Julie Tolentino, USA
- Listen, My Secret Fetish, Richard HaynesRichard HaynesRichard "Racehorse" Haynes is a Texas criminal defense attorney. TIME magazine once referred to him as one of the top six criminal lawyers in America. A native of Houston, Texas, he graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in 1956. He has been involved in landmark cases such as The...
, Australia - Aftermaths: A Tear in the Meat of Vision, Julia Bardsley, UK
- The Modes of Al-Ikseer, Harminder Singh Judge, UK
- Tears of Eros, Carla Esperanza Tommasini, Italy/UK
- The Porcelain Project, Grace Ellen Barkey and NeedcompanyNeedcompanyNeedcompany is an international, multilingual and multidisciplinary performance group which debuted in 1986. Jan Lauwers is the company’s founder and artistic director. Jan Lauwers and Needcompany have also produced a number of video projects and a full-length film...
, Belgium - 'Look mummy, I’m dancing, VanessaVanessaVanessa can refer to:* A member service officer at SOMB.* Vanessa , a female given name coined by Jonathan Swift, originally as a nickname for Esther Vanhomrigh* Vanessa , a genus of butterflies...
, Belgium - Kim Noble Will Die, Kim NobleKim NobleKim Noble is an award-winning artist and comedian. He is best known as one half of the BAFTA-nominated comedy duo Noble and Silver, who won the 2000 Perrier Award for Best Newcomer...
, UK - Orgy of Tolerance, Jan FabreJan FabreJan Fabre is a Belgian multidisciplinary artist, playwright, stage director, choreographer and designer.He studied at the Municipal Institute of Decorative Arts and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp...
, Belgium - Prototypes, Robin DeaconRobin DeaconRobin Deacon is an artist, writer and filmmaker currently based in the USA. Working since the early 1990’s, much of his work encompasses live performance with a series of performed lectures that have explored journalistic and documentary approaches to arts practice...
, UK - Void Story, Forced Entertainment, UK
- Intermission, Pacitti Company, UK
- I Feel Love!, George Chakravarthi, UK
SPILL Overspill
SPILL:Overspill was a tailor-made critical writing programme, designed by Open Dialogues and produced in association with Pacitti Company. The programme was located at the heart of the SPILL Festival and explored the event of criticism in relation to performance.SPILL National Platform
The Spill National Platform provides a space for emerging artists working in the fields of live artLive Art
Live Art is the fifth album released by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and their first non-studio album. It was recorded live at various concerts between 1992 and 1996 and features ten guest musicians....
, performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
and experimental theatre
Experimental theatre
Experimental theatre is a general term for various movements in Western theatre that began in the late 19th century as a retraction against the dominant vent governing the writing and production of dramatical menstrophy, and age in particular. The term has shifted over time as the mainstream...
to show their work publicly and receive feedback from a group of artists and experts.