SPILL Festival of Performance is an artist-led biennale of experimental theatre and live art in the UK which began in 2007 and takes place in a variety of venues in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, England. The festival is produced by Pacitti Company and the Artistic Director is Robert Pacitti. Launched in 2007, the SPILL Festival presents new and experimental theatre and performance work from new and established work from UK and international artists. In addition to the biennale Festival SPILL National Platform and Showcase takes place every two years in Ipswich and presents artists in the early stages of their career working in the fields of

live art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

and

experimental theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Richard Wagner, Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu Roi, Ubu plays as a rejection of bot ...

, selected through an open submission process. The festival has been held in various venues and spaces in London and Ipswich, including, The Barbican,

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

, The National Theatre Studio,

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

, Shunt Vaults,

Shoreditch Town Hall Shoreditch Town Hall is a municipal building in Shoreditch, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History In the mid-20th century, the vestry board decided to procure a vestry hall for the Parish of St. Leonard's; the site they selected ha ...

Greenwich Dance Greenwich Dance is a dance organisation based within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London. History Founded in 1993, Greenwich Dance operated from the Borough Hall until 2018 when it moved to offices within Charlton House. Activities Each ye ...

Laban Laban is a French surname. It may refer to: Places * Laban-e Olya, a village in Iran * Laban-e Sofla, a village in Iran * Laban, Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * 8539 Laban, main-belt asteroid People Surname *Ahm ...

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, and a much weathered s ...

, and Toynbee Studios.

Artists

Spill Festival 2007

Productions have included: * ''Covet Me, Care for Me'', Sheila Ghelani * ''Trans: Acts'', Julia Bardsley * ''Collected Works'', Eve Dent * ''Ringside'',

Mem Morrison Mem Morrison, born as Mehmet Muhaurem Ramadan, is a British performance artist. His work draws upon personal complexities by acknowledging cultural differences. Biography Morrison was born in south-east London to Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypri ...

* ''Sacred, The Rite of Spring'',

Raimund Hoghe Raimund Hoghe (12 May 1949 – 14 May 2021) was a German choreographer, dancer, film maker, journalist, and author. Because he was born with scoliosis, his early efforts were focused on journalism. His writings explored the human condition; a do ...

* ''Three Duets'', Pacitti Company At SPILL Festival 2009 there were approximately 100 live performances by artists from Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the U.S. and from across the UK. Spill Festival 2009 *''Paradiso'' by

Romeo Castellucci Romeo Castellucci (born August 4, 1960) is an Italian theatre director, playwright, artist and designer. Since the 1980s he has been one part of the European theatrical avant-garde. Biography Romeo Castellucci graduated with a degree in paintin ...

, Italy *''Inferno'' by

, Italy *''Dinner With America'',

Rajni Shah Rajni Shah is a British performance artist, writer and producer. Their work ranges from interactive works that involve the public to large-scale performances. They have performed in the UK, Europe and USA, including the National Review of Live A ...

, UK *''That Night follows Day'', Victoria &

Tim Etchells Tim Etchells (born 1962) is an English artist and writer based in Sheffield and London. Etchells is the artistic director of Forced Entertainment, an experimental performance company founded in 1984. He has published several works of fiction, ...

(

Forced Entertainment Forced Entertainment is an experimental theatre company based in Sheffield, England, founded by Tim Etchells in 1984. Details and history Forced Entertainment originally focused on making and touring theatre performances before expanding to lon ...

), Belgium/UK *''A Forest'', Pacitti Company, UK *''Purgatorio'', By

, Italy *''Saving the World'',

Gob Squad Gob 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 Gob Squad was founded in 1994. At the time, its members wer ...

, Germany/UK *''Visions of Excess'',

Ron Athey Ron Athey (born December 16, 1961) is an American performance artist associated with body art and with extreme performance art. He has performed in the U.S. and internationally (especially in the UK and Europe). Athey's work explores challenging ...

Lee Adams Lee Richard Adams (born August 14, 1924) is an American lyricist best known for his musical theatre collaboration with Charles Strouse. Biography Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Adams is the son of Dr. Leopold Adams, originally of Stamford, Connecticu ...

, USA/UK *''A True Story About Two People'',

Julie Tolentino Julie Tolentino is a visual and performance artist, dancer, and choreographer. Her work is influenced from an array of visual, archival, and movement strategies. Life Tolentino was born in San Francisco to a Filipino/Salvadoran family. She began ...

, USA *''Listen, My Secret Fetish'',

Richard Haynes Richard Haynes may refer to: * Richard Haynes (cricketer) (1913–1976), English cricketer * Richard Haynes (lawyer) (1927–2017), American defense attorney * Richard Haynes (musician) (born 1983), Australian clarinettist * Richard Septimus Haynes ...

, 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

Needcompany Needcompany is an international performance group formed in 1986. The two artists at the heart of Needcompany are Jan Lauwers and Grace Ellen Barkey. Lauwers is the company's founder and artistic director. Their associated performing artists ar ...

, Belgium *'Look mummy'', I’m dancing, Vanessa, Belgium *''Kim Noble Will Die'',

Kim Noble Kim Noble is a comedian and artist, and was one half of the BAFTA-nominated comedy duo Noble and Silver, who won the 2000 Perrier Award for Best Newcomer. Kim has featured in shows such as ''The Mighty Boosh'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'' ...

, UK *''Orgy of Tolerance'',

Jan Fabre Jan Fabre (born 14 December 1958) is a Belgian multidisciplinary artist, playwright, stage director, choreographer and designer. Conviction for sexual assault and harassment In September 2018, twenty former members of Fabre's performing ar ...

, Belgium *''Prototypes'', Robin Deacon, UK *''Void Story'',

, UK *''Intermission'', Pacitti Company, UK *''I Feel Love!'',

George Chakravarthi George Chakravarthi is a multi-disciplinary artist working with photography, video, painting and performance. His work addresses the politics of identity including race, sexuality and gender, and also religious iconography among other subjects. ...

, UK

Spill Festival 2011

* ''Glorious'',

* ''Do What Thou Wilt'', Harminder Judge * ''I Guess If The Stage Exploded'', Sylvia Rimat * ''In Eldersfield Chapter 1'', Kings of England * ''Body House Version 1'', Shabnam Shabazi (UK) * ''Unto Us A Child is Born'', Rachel Mars * ''Foley'', Jo Bannon * ''A Sense of the World'', Darren White

SPILL Salons

Spill Salons are a public space which bring groups of people together along with a ‘Thinker-in-Residence’ to look at some of the over-riding themes within the Festival. The public salons are where experts from a range of different territories discuss relevant issues affecting performance.

References

{{Reflist

External links

SPILL Festival 2007SPILL Festival 2009SPILL OverspillGuardian - Article by Lyn Gardner on SPILL 2009
Arts festivals in England Arts in London