Theatre Royal Bath to hold new Elevate Festival in March

Theatre Royal Bath’s Elevate Festival bursts onto the scene from Friday 3 - Sunday 19 March with a packed programme of events presented by the local creative community.

A joyful celebration of live performance, created by a hotbed of talent from across the region, Elevate Festival will be staged in a 40-seater, purpose-built, pop-up venue created inside the Theatre Royal’s 1805 Rooms, featuring 140 participants from 27 companies performing across 15 days, with as many as 3 different performances daily.

Welcoming artists from across the region, the two-week programme of diverse events showcases new writing, dance, theatre for families, rehearsed readings, drag entertainment and scratch nights - all proudly presented by a range of locally-based amateur, emerging, graduate or professional performers from Bath, Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.

Dan Lewis-Jones, Theatre Royal Bath’s Elevate Festival Producer, said:

“Elevate is about connecting with local artists and providing a platform for them to connect with audiences and with each other. Last September, we put a call out to the theatrical community and creative producers from across the region, all at different stages in their development, inviting them to get involved. Six months later we are thrilled to have so many wonderful shows confirmed for the festival. We can’t wait to welcome the many performers, creative teams and audience members who are embracing the opportunity to experience Elevate Festival at the Theatre Royal Bath’s pop-up venue.” 

Elevate Festival continues the Theatre Royal’s ongoing work in the community, building on the success of Engage, its dedicated programme of participatory opportunities for creatively curious adults, and its numerous initiatives at The Egg for young people and families. All events staged during the Elevate Festival are presented for the people of Bath and the surrounding area by the local community, with theatre companies taking part receiving 100% of their box office takings.

Elevate Festival opens on Friday 3 March at 8pm with Royal-Tea, a fabulous drag show featuring hostess Cilly Black, presented by Bristol-based Pest Production. On Saturday 4 March, the entertainment starts at 5pm when Bath’s Royal High School presents a verbatim piece, Voices, featuring stories written and performed by current students at the school. At 7pm, Wild and Precious brings a mischievous mix of dark and witty fiction, written and performed by Clare Reddaway from Bath-based A Word In Your Ear. Followed at 9pm by Manic, written and performed by Raina Greifer from Bristol, combining spoken word, puppetry and theatre in a solo show about consent.

On Monday 6 March, Radstock-based Black Hound Productions performs Seeds of Memories, a wistful and uplifting show about nature and shared memories featuring poetry and puppetry, at 5pm. At 7pm, The Silver Fish, a dance theatre piece exploring the artistry of Lucia Joyce, will be performed by American Cassidy Grady and directed by co-creator C.C. Kellogg from Invulnerable Nothings, who originate from Maine and are currently international students at Bath Spa University. At 9pm, The Blank Slate Ensemble from Yate present a new writing, comedy piece, Sardines.

On Tuesday 7 March at 7pm, Bath-based Charlotte Palmer from CMP Productions performs her new work, The Invisible Woman, a funny and moving one-woman show exploring life as an actress over the age of 50. The evening’s programme is completed by a return performance of The Silver Fish presented by Invulnerable Nothings at 9pm.

On Wednesday 8 March at 7pm, Swindon-based company The Scullions Neoterics present Cycles, a new play about identity, relationships and self-acceptance; followed at 9pm by Unfinished Man, a live-reading of a production in development, by locally-based Bailey Harris-Kelly from Drink The Ink Ltd.

On Thursday 9 March at 7pm, Emerge Takeover showcases Bath’s up-and-coming professional producers’ freshest work-in-progress and rehearsed readings. Audiences can expect comedy, dance and powerful storytelling from new locally-based creative companies including Calf 2 Cow, Fresh Life Theatre, Dumbfound, Eryn McDonald and WhimsiCo. 

Friday 10 March welcomes a 5pm performance of Speedy presented by Debdo Adventures from Bath, a new performance for family audiences about the world of snail racing featuring storytelling, puppets and songs. At 7pm, Agapanthus Productions from Pill in Somerset present Tipping Point, a new play about family, love, loss and resilience. Frome-based Really Truly Productions presents Lockdown Blues at 9pm, a fresh and punchy drama which takes a wry look at the frustrations and triumphs of six very different women during the 2020 lockdown. 

On Saturday 11 March at 5pm, Gareth Rodd and Libby Corden from Bath perform Already Torn, a new play set in an elevator, about finding love in the most unlikely of places and escaping a toxic relationship. At 7pm, Corsham-based Theatre Nisha’s Apradhini: Women Without Men sees two actors present five true stories about women serving life-sentences for crimes including murder and armed robbery, collected by author ‘Shivani’ Gaura Pant when she visits a prison in northern India. At 9pm, Royal-Tea returns to the festival for a second performance featuring good music, amazing games and show-stopping drag.

On Sunday 12 March at 12pm, Wiltshire-based Yves Morris presents Will You Pass Me By?, a beautiful original piece of musical storytelling for family audiences, telling of a man’s magical past as he sits at a street piano waiting for his train to arrive. At 4pm, Nosthree from Lydney in Gloucestershire perform Friendly Ever After, a touching story for family audiences about two young people who discover the value of kindness, tolerance and empathy whilst trying to find true friendship. 

Singarevva and The Palace, a tale set in a village in rural south India, will be staged by Wiltshire’s Theatre Nisha on Tuesday 14 March at 9pm. On Wednesday 15 March at 5pm, Bath-based Where’s Me? theatre company performs Chasing Whisky, an immersive theatre experience set in 1955 at a film award ceremony faced with an unexpected death. At 7pm, WhimsiCo from Bath bring Escape to Wonderland, a selection of music, poems and prose from their upcoming play which sees Alice take one last trip to Wonderland.

On Friday 17 March at 7pm, Bath-based Gabrielle Finnegan presents a rehearsed reading of My Father’s Daughter, a poetry-play based on Mary J. Oliver’s haunting story Jim Neat, receiving its first public performance prior to a tour of Cornwall. On Saturday 18 March at 1pm and 7pm, ProducerWorks from Bath bring Evolve, a rehearsed reading event introducing audiences to an eclectic range of unpublished new scripts for theatre, film and radio in collaboration with Bath Spa University and Tabb. At 9pm, Bristol-based Fresh Life Theatre from Totterdown brings Rock Bottom, a new one-man show which sees one of Shakespeare’s favourite characters Bottom alone in the real word. 

On Sunday 19 March, the two-hour, intergenerational Rough Magic Writing Workshop starts at 10am, welcoming everyone over the age of 8; followed by Bath-based Fun Science’s Do Try This At Home at 2.30pm, a high energy family show which brings the festival to a close. Perfect for budding scientists young and old, audiences can expect a range of experiments and lots of audience participation.

For further details about each of the shows, age guidance and ticket prices for every performance during the festival, visit theatreroyal.org.uk. 

Tickets for Elevate Festival at the Theatre Royal Bath can be purchased from the Box Office on +44 (0)1225 448844 and online at theatreroyal.org.uk.