LJMU drama students are putting on three-week festival in aid of local charities.
The inaugural Outta the Box festival encompasses a series of performances and events at the Joe H Makin drama centre and the Camp and Furnace from this week until 27th March.
The final year drama students aim to raise money for the Walton Centre, Whitechapel Liverpool, the For James Memorial Trust and a charity in honour of Yasmin Jones, a former student on the course who passed away. A target of over £500 has been set.
It features four main shows, two of which are exclusive to the festival, as well as an additional fringe event called Flip Festival 2015, which is described as “out of the ordinary pop-up theatre”. It will explore cutting edge, weird and wonderful theatre, bringing it to all corners of the city, including Lime Street and Hope and Anchor.
Guests are invited to explore something new from a performance in a car to a show in a cupboard – you’ll spot out of the ordinary performances in the most surprising places.
Bethany Sproston, Artistic Director of Flip Festival 2015, told JMU Journalism: “Everyone should have the opportunity to express themselves and their work. We’ve worked closely as a team to push forward the FlipFest in becoming a stepping stone for emerging artists.”
Outta the Box is showcasing the work of new actors and theatre makers, with four brand new shows.
Kev, opening on 23rd March at the Camp and Furnace, is a musical comedy set in Liverpool about a window cleaner’s nostalgic journey. Fruit Salad in a Glass Lampshade, at the Joe H on Pilgrim Street on 26th March, is a tragic comedy about a couple coming to terms with one of them developing Alzheimer’s.
The Laura Wade play Posh, which is being performed for the first time in Liverpool and which inspired the film The Riot Club, is the third production at Camp and Furnace on 16th March. Trojan Women is the final of the four main plays, a re-telling of Euripides’ play for a 21st century audience, also at the Camp and Furnace on 18th March.
Kimberley Athawes, a performer in the festival, told JMU Journalism: “It’s such an amazing event that showcases original work and allows the performers and writers creative freedom, but most of all it’s so much fun for us and the people who’ll be coming. Plus it’s the best way to leave uni with a bang!”
As well as theatre pieces, the festival includes fundraising events such as bake sales, comedy nights and football matches.