Posted 11/04/08

As we may have mentioned before, MBD has three major projects happening in the first half of this year. Here’s how they’re going:

Night Scene: A nightclub ‘experience’ that will tour around the Black and North seas. The concept is pretty much nailed down. Expect a casual nightclub experience that will meditate on what happens when people step outside their comfort zones. Cool lounge tunes, flickering projections of fire eaters and burlesque performers, stories and clues hidden in cocktail menus and beer mats … oh and we’ll be filming a movie, editing it and showing it … all live on the night! We’ve just finished our pre-tour rehearsals with Ranvir Singh (camera and editing help) and Tom Adams (male performer) and the mood is good!

Winter: Outdoor installation – part of the 4 seasons. Well, the script and music are nearly there (there won’t be a dry eye in the house) and the set is being made as we speak! It's all happening at once.

Communication Breakdown: A Festival treasure hunt-like experience, is just about to start. We leave for Holland in 3 weeks. Bring it on!

Other news: Paul’s on holiday, Dave’s an uncle and Esther is on a mission to China (courtesy of the arts council) to develop artistic links.

 

Posted 21/01/08

Happy New Year!

Or at least it should be....... We have three major projects all due to premiere in June / July of this year so a busy year too. We are currently still making WINTER (the 3rd of our 4 seasons projects), but are shortly starting to look at our international North SEAS and Black SEAS touring show. The SEAS project will be a nightclub with a twist but that's about all we know at the moment so we will let you know as it unravels. And as if that were not enough, we are still hoping to re-work Communication Breakdown (done as a work in progress for Stockton festival in 07) for Festival aan de Werf (that's Holland) in late May. So we will be locked away being busy and we'll let you know when there is another opportunity to see the work.

 

Posted 26/11 07

The tenth birthday celebrations didn't last too long (a day to be precise) before we had to get back to work. Our anniversary exhibition is now removed from the Phoenix walls and we are tucked away in the office crafting future material. The Leicester Cultural Quarter Audio Tour is tantalisingly close to completion so we will let you know when that goes live on the internet for you to download.

 

Meanwhile, WINTER, (the next big outdoor project) has a plot, a set and the first hint of some soundtrack material and so far we reckon it's shaping up pretty well. Oh.... and we are planning a trip to colder climes to get some WINTER inspiration and some video footage so if we don't freeze we'll be back to transfer our arctic experience into a british summer festival piece. Easy. Winchester Hat Fair will be the first opportunity to see the finished article so book early! (actually it's a free event but do make sure you are there).

 

Posted 02/10/07

METRO-BOULOT-DODO has finally reached the grand old age of ten. We've learned to walk, talk and make the odd piece of mutimedia art.  To celebrate this fine achievement we are hosting a celebratory night at Phoenix Arts on October 4th at 6pm. The public get the chance to see DVDs of our oldest shows, laugh at our hair cuts and maybe listen to some amusing anecdotes.  To accompany this night an exhibition of the company's work and achievements throughout the period 1997 - 2007 will be presented in the upstairs cafe as part of the The City Gallery's off site program. The exhibition will run until Monday 19th November

 

The rest of October will see METRO-BOULOT-DODO starting the creative process of creating WINTER. This, of course, involves lots of coffee, long heated chats, the odd spider chart and a few creative breaks over a pint.

 

Posted 17/09/07

September has seen Paul & Esther popping over to Utrecht (Holland) for a couple of days to put the wheels in motion for the international commission of Communication Breakdown in 2009. Meanwhile Dave has  spent a couple of weeks working with Babbling Vagabonds and Gerry Flanagan learning clowning skills and devising techniques. Much fun had by all.

 

September is also a big month for Watch This Space as we knuckle dow n to the research stage in our Leicester Cultural Quarter Audio tour. Hidden Tracks is also continuing to happen with all new event day activity on the 22nd September.

Make sure you visit www.watch-this-space.org.uk for more information on either of these Watch This Space projects.

 

 

Posted 29/08/07

Well … we are back from the Stockton festival and just about recovered. Communication Breakdown was a success. Audiences really embraced the idea of a treasure hunt (that tells a story) around the city centre and happily donned their CB stickers, studied their maps and took to the streets. Highlights were the video stall in HMV, a talking book in a library and performances from two animated shop mannequins and the “blunt edge uber artist” Jeremy Squires. The piece was also warmly received by festival bookers and programmers and will be developed further next year in Holland. If you are interested in Communication Breakdown, a display stand from the piece can be seen at the following locations and dates:

 

LCB Depot (Leicester): 27th to 30th of August

Broadway (Nottingham): 1st to 6th of September

Derby Dance (Derby): 7th to 13th August

 

 

Click for some not so current news....

 

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