A procession down onto Torre Abbey Sands, led by a brass band and the embellished Torquay Day Cape. Dancers replicate the tango of the seashorses in the bay. With food, activities and talks and an offering to the sea.
Reckless Sleepers will present A String Section against the backdrop of the Pavilion in Princess Gardens. In 2010 Leen Dewilde started destroying things. A String Section started in this way, a simple set of 5 chairs, 5 women and 5 saws.
A dance performance by a newly formed company of regional dance artists, exploring the simple everyday object of the chair, as a response to ‘A String Section’ by Reckless Sleepers – shown as a double-bill with this piece.
Join us on the beach after dark to enjoy the first test of our Dog Ballet idea, with dogs and dog-walkers on Goodrington Sands. After ‘last light’, dogs will be accompanied by a live violinist and a soundscape made from recorded testimony from local people - about the relationships and bonds we share with dogs, with each other and with our natural landscapes.
An on-street neighbourhood exhibition from the Write2Read - an inclusive community words project in Hele, Barton and Watcombe areas, collecting and sharing local thoughts, memories, and images, and writing about them.
A collaborative dance performance about what it means to be ‘home’, bringing together a cast of exceptional Singaporean dancers with a community cast from Torbay An invitation to consider what home means, set within the arresting environment of Berry Head.
Performances at extraordinary sites across Torbay’s unique landscape, with exceptional musicians from Hong Kong – as part of a new artistic exchange between musicians in Hong Kong and Torbay.
Join us for a day that celebrates the best of neighbourhood and kindness on Winner Street. Throughout the day there will be music, dance, play, creative activities and pop up performances as we enjoy a car-free space on Winner Street.
Winner Street Takeover is a collaboration with local traders, community activists and groups, artists, musicians and play leaders.
Join Encounters, Seema Patel, Nina Cooper and the Torbay Yarn Bombing Group - who bring Chrysalis on her maiden voyage. This new mobile space has been made by the hands and imagination of hundreds of people in Torbay and South Devon. Bring a seed to swap. Bring some Yarn to swap. Plant a seed to take home, make a hanging basket and be part of transforming Winner Street into a playful and Edible Garden.
Children can let their imaginations adventure in the pop up outdoor play area on the forecourt of Millgate Motors. If you are feeling energetic head to the dance area for demos and participation, including in the Pop Up Jive 2-6pm.
Outside the Eyeview Shop there will be live music and DJs throughout the day programmed by Ru Davies and Ocean Studios. Sound Communities will be doing a live radio broadcast, incorporating stories of kindness gathered on the day.
Call in at the Eyeview Shop for creative activities and exhibitions including The Wonder of Where I Live with Participate Arts. Leave your story of kindness on a postcard, or set off on a trail in the shops and along Winner Street to collect Acts of Kindness.
Enjoy a spot of shopping with the independent traders along Winner Street and at pop up independent stalls. Relax and enjoy a chat or simply watch the world go by in the Green Zone which will be temporarily tree lined. Going with the green theme - dont miss Ashley Peevor’s Grass Men who will be doing a walkabout performance from 11am!
A great day to explore the area, with the beautiful Kirkham House (English Heritage) also open thanks to volunteers from Paignton Heritage Society. Also look out for the Heritage Society Open Day from 10am - 4pm in the Methodist Church Hall on Palace Avenue.
Suitable for all ages. Plenty of activities for families and car-free.
Free event and activities. Just turn up.
Saturday 8th June,
Winner Street, TQ3 3BH 10:00am - 6:00pm
From 10am to 6pm Winner Street will be a car-free zone (limited marshalled access for deliveries to local traders only).
There is on street car parking in the adjacent roads mostly free of charge and a number of pay and display car parks nearby, as well as metered parking on Palace Avenue.
Refreshments will be available at Hammonds Cafe, and The Bakery.
There are toilet facilities in Hammonds cafe & Oldenburg pub for customers. The Eyeview Shop at 85-87 Winner Street (opposite Olderburg) has one toilet (access is via a small set of stairs).
An invitation to join a multitude of machine and hand-sewing makers to create a map of what home means to us, working alongside artist Amy Pitt to create a miniature handmade landscape of Torbay and beyond, if the journey takes us there!
We are all storytellers, making sense of our lives and our place in the world through the stories that we shape and share with each other. Storyteller Sara Hurley and Still Point Dance Theatre co-present an evening of performance to celebrate stories that are both local and universal, and drawing out the storyteller in each of us with invitations to spin a yarn or two yourself.
FOR YOUR AGE | Still Point Dance Theatre
“Imaginatively and beautifully interweaved… very moving”
Elizabeth is a dancer. She has white hair and sometimes she wobbles. She hates the words ‘for your age..’. Drawing on life stories gathered with local Torbay residents, Still Point Dance Theatre present ‘For Your Age’ - a short piece of dance theatre exploring ageing and memory, the things we treasure, and the stuff we sometimes have to let go of.
THE GOOSE GIRL | A wonder tale, told by storyteller Sara Hurley
This old story nods to the ever changing course in the chapters of our lives. The queen gives the princess a handkerchief and a horse to protect her on her long journey ahead. A tale of twists and turns, of hope and loss, love and betrayal and a gregarious gaggle of geese.
Sara Hurley is a warm, vibrant storyteller with a wonderful ability to engage audiences of all ages. She performs in theatres, at festivals, libraries and conferences nationally and internationally, bringing stories to life.
Suitable for age 10+
This project is made possible through Still Point Dance Theatre with thanks to Arts Council England Project Grants support.
FREE but places are limited so please book in advance.
Friday 7th June,
Palace Theatre, Arena Space, Paignton TQ3 3HF 7:00 - 8:15pm
Stepped access is provided into the Arena Space with access to all facilities.
An free outdoor Street Music concert performance, with visiting Hong Kong artists and UK based musicians from the South West. A celebration of music from near and far curated by Trio of Men with Kung Chi Shing. Line up to be announced in May.
Friday 7th June - Sunday 16th June
Paignton Picture House, Torbay Road, Paignton TQ4 6AA.
Friday 7th June, 5pm - 8pm
Saturday 8th - Saturday 15th June, 12 noon - 8pm
Sunday 16th June, 12noon - 6pm.
Performances on the hour.
Paignton Picture House has ramped access into the main auditorium (stalls).
This building is currently in a pre-restoration condition and audiences should expect a modest level of dust particles that may be inappropriate for those with severe allergies.
An historic cinema brought to life by sound designer Chris Timpson who re-imagines the cinema’s original 21-piece orchestra in an installation combining historical references with immersive sound technology. Paignton Picture House opened in 1914, is believed to be the oldest surviving purpose-built cinema in Europe. In its early days it featured a 21-piece orchestra, with each member paid a guinea to perform.
Drawing on archive materials of Paignton Picture House Trust and local memories, Chris Timpson, working with Carmen Talbot and collaborators have created a new site-specific work, inspired by the original accompanying orchestra, transporting audiences into an Electric Sound Palace. Through this, Chris has been exploring the tension and excitement of a period when silent film worked with live orchestral music.
The work features the Torbay Symphony Orchestra performing music from Beethoven and Shostakovich, who have kindly welcomed Chris into their performance rehearsals to capture their live orchestral sound.
Where the 21 piece orchestra once was, we find 21 loudspeakers. But Chris, working with technologist Tim Dollimore (The Media Workshop) re-introduces the live element, giving the audience the chance to ‘play’ and collaborate with each other to influence a section of score, with music by accomplished composer KK (Kevin Kerrigan).
“One of the things we are interested in is giving the audience some control over parts of the creative experience. For them to recreate some of that tension that might have existed at the time this orchestra was here. We’ve done this by actually giving the audience some control of the orchestra. What will the audience do? Will they collaborate or will they make a cacophany?”
Chris Timpson is a sound designer with a specialism in 3D spatial audio for both multi-speaker and headphone listening. His experience in this area is unique, having worked with immersive sound projects for several years, he is one of the leading specialists in ambisonic and 3D audio mixing. You can find out more about his work here.
Suitable for all ages.
Audiences can book as an ‘orchestra’ member to join the playable part of the performance, or as an ‘audience’ if you prefer to sit back and listen.
Performances are free, but we encourage donations to Paignton Picture House Trust on the door to support the future restoration of this important building.
Friday 7th June, 5pm - 8pm
Saturday 8th - Saturday 15th June, 12 noon - 8pm
Sunday 16th June, 12noon - 6pm.
Performances on the hour.
An immersive animation-based installation charting our journey from mythological to scientific universes and back again. Exploring the ways in which we've attempted to come to terms with vast natural forces, focusing on a ghostly subterranean megafauna and the 'Cave Hunters' who pursued these big beasts between dark worlds.
An exhibition and workshops with residents of Winner Street and surrounding neighbourhood – as part of a programme of sharing ideas, hands-on making and co-creating, encouraging Neighbourhood Kindness Actions.
Part-sculpture part-performance, these carefully crafted living costumes made from grass, flower and other flora. The work and performance explores the connection we have with nature and the lingering green spaces in our urban environments. Through an embrace of the absurd and a hint of mysticism the audience becomes a part of the spectacle.
