Hoipolloi was a British touring

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

company committed to creating new work for theatre that imaginatively engages their audience and makes them laugh. Their work includes

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus * ''En ...

shows such as ''The Doubtful Guest'' and ''My Uncle Arly'', and collaborations with fictional Welsh artist "Hugh Hughes", including the shows '' Floating'' and ''

Story of a Rabbit ''Story of a Rabbit'' is a stage production created and performed by Hugh Hughes, in collaboration with British touring theatre company Hoipolloi. Themes In the production, Hughes discusses his father's death and the impact it had upon him. He ...

''.

History

The company was founded in 1994 by

Shôn Dale-Jones Shôn Dale-Jones is a Welsh writer and performer having created the popular character of 'Hugh Hughes'. He is also the artistic director of Hoipolloi. Education He was educated at the University of East Anglia graduating in 1990. Career Thea ...

(now Artistic Director) and Stefanie Müller (Associate Director). Dale-Jones and Müller met at the International Theatre School

Jacques Lecoq Jacques Lecoq (15 December 1921 – 19 January 1999) was a French stage actor and acting movement coach. He was best known for his teaching methods in physical theatre, movement, and mime which he taught at the school he founded in Paris known as ...

, and initially worked with other performers they had met at the school. The Lecoq approach to theatre was a large influence on the company’s work. Since 1994, Hoipolloi have created and toured 18 new shows. The company was wound down in 2020 after 26 years.

Productions

All Hoipolloi productions were devised by the company's core artistic team, led by Artistic Director Shôn Dale-Jones, including input from the performers, with

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

playing a large role in the creation of each show. Hoipolloi shows are often highly theatrical and humorous. Shôn Dale-Jones’ interest in

nonsense literature Literary nonsense (or nonsense literature) is a broad categorization of literature that balances elements that make sense with some that do not, with the effect of subverting language conventions or logical reasoning. Even though the most well-kn ...

is reflected in Hoipolloi’s last two ensemble shows, ''The Doubtful Guest'', inspired by the book of the same name by

Edward Gorey Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other w ...

, and ''My Uncle Arly'', which was inspired by the work of

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

. Past Hoipolloi productions * ''The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes'' (2010 onwards) * ''Hugh Hughes in... 360'' (2009 onwards) * ''The Doubtful Guest'' (2008 - 2009) * ''

'' (2007 onwards) * ''The Impostor'' (2006) * '' Floating'' (2005 onwards) * ''Ablaze!'' (2004) * ''The Man Next Door'' (2003) * ''My Uncle Arly'' (2002-2005, 2009) * ''Marry Maria'' (2002) * ''Sweet Bobabola'' (2000–2003) * ''Living Like Victor'' (1999–2000) * ''Dead on the Ground'' (1997) * ''Backwash'' (1996) * ''Honestly'' (1995–1999) * ''The Breeze'' (1995) * ''Amok'' (1994) * ''The Naked King of the Morning'' (1994)

Hugh Hughes

Since 2005, Hoipolloi have purported to have collaborated with the fictional Welsh artist Hugh Hughes, whose shows ''Floating'', ''Story of a Rabbit'' and ''Hugh Hughes in... 360'' have brought Hoipolloi success, each winning an award at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

: ''Floating'' won a Total Theatre Award in 2006, ''Story of a Rabbit'' was awarded a Fringe First in 2007 and ''360'' received a Three Weeks Editors' Award in 2009. Hughes’ theatrical style is unusual, often involving flip-charts and power-point presentations, and sometimes resembling a lecture more than a play. In 2010, the Barbican Centre commissioned Hugh and Hoipolloi to turn all three shows into a residency called ''The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes''. In September 2011,

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

broadcast '' Floating'' as an afternoon play.

References

External links

Hoipolloi website

Hugh Hughes page on Facebook

Hugh Hughes on Twitter

Hoipolloi on Twitter
{{authority control Theatre companies in England Companies based in Cambridge Physical theatre