City centre to host imaginative performance festival.
In less than two weeks a bridge will appear in Broadgate, Coventry, from 26th-28th September with an additional performance added on the Friday evening. For three days, it will be host to pop-up events and happenings until, on the Friday and Saturday evenings, the bridge will become the setting for an extraordinary outdoor performance.
Bridge is an ambitious new outdoor experience produced by Coventry-based Imagineer Productions and created by artistic director Orit Azaz in collaboration with a creative team that includes choreographer Corey Baker, designer Dan Potra, writer Nick Walker, composer Peter Reynolds and circus director Paul Evans.
Visit the Bridge by day and enjoy a series of free events and experiences Under the Bridge as Coventry’s artistic and community groups respond to the ‘bridge’ theme. In particular look out for:
An Experience in Two Parts: Pop on a pair of headphones and take part in a story about how the bridge came to be like this. Like every good story, there are two sides. The experience lasts for ten minutes, with multiple sessions throughout the day.
Bridge Stories podcast: Sit in front of the bridge, watch the world go by and listen to a ten minute podcast collection of local people’s stories about bridge-building and bridge-burning. Collected in Coventry, Grantham and Worcester, the depth and breadth of these experiences has inspired the creation of Bridge.
Bridge Newsroom: Hear all the latest Bridge news and make a zine or a t-shirt in the Bridge live newsroom.
Da Vinci Bridge Building: Have a go at building one of the self-supporting bridges inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s design. Work alongside the talented members of Ascension Dance.
Wake-up Exercise Class: Daily at 9.30am – Enjoy aerobics, dance and a spot of Body Attack under the Bridge as part of the celebrations of Coventry European City of Sport with CV Life.
Bridging the Gap: Put yourself and your friends into the Bridge picture; all you need is a camera phone and a little imagination. Snap your Bridging the Gap photo, share to social media using the hashtags: #ImagineBridge #BridgingTheGap
The area ‘Under the Bridge’ will become a stage for local groups and organisations including Coventry Library Services, Coventry Cathedral, Crisis Choir and Motionhouse Youth Dance. On Saturday, the whole of Broadgate becomes a festival-in-a-day, with the Bridge of Light choir, performances from Highly Sprung, Open Theatre Company and Fabularium, and activities from the Foleshill Interfaith group.
On Friday and Saturday evening, 27th & 28th September, expect a spectacular evening performance in Broadgate. Gravity-defying circus acrobatics, dance, comedy, theatre and live music, inspired by local people’s stories, create a thrilling and moving montage of the courage, compassion and humour needed to bridge a divide. The performance is inspired by stories of bridge building gathered in Coventry. This is a free outdoor performance, with no need to book.
Alternatively, you can watch the performance live on Saturday 28th September via imaginebridge.co.uk
Orit Azaz, Artistic Director for Bridge said: “Bridge has been imagined by artists; created by designers and engineers and inspired by people’s stories, it really is a project for our time and will, and already has, brought people together in unexpected and joyful ways.
£Bridge is about the gap between two sides – the bit that is broken or unfinished – and the effort, good humour, courage and imagination of people needed to connect across the gap. We can’t wait to premiere this project in Coventry and create a series of unforgettable experiences for everyone who comes along.”
Further information on Imagineer’s Bridge can be found at www.imaginebridge.co.uk