Extremely Pedestrian Chorales presents the commonplace experience and movement language of the pedestrian as an act of beauty, meaning and gentle comedy. Based on the sublime harmonies of JS Bach’s famous Chorales, it pitches them into our present day lives with just a dash of punk-ish irreverence.
Risky Bodies examines the label of ‘vulnerable’ as an individual and collective identity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Through the lens of a mother-daughter collaboration, we explore the complexities and possibilities of shared vulnerability, seeking to understand and represent shifting perceptions of interdependence and care. Risky Bodies was developed during a Summerhall Lab week earlier this year. Please join us for a showing of the short film which was made from the Lab, followed by a Q&A with the artists.
Edinburgh’s favourite independent performing arts venue Summerhall is working with international cultural phenomenon Fair Saturday this St Andrew’s Day to present FAIR PLAY, celebrating some of the artists who’ve been involved with Summerhall’s Artist Development Programme.
La Troupe de Theatre Sans Accents is back in person with a new festive show en Francais, an adaptation of the classic French murder mystery comedy by Robert Thomas. On Christmas eve morning, the patriarch of the family is found dead in his bed…who could have possibly done it? In this huis clos, the 8 women of the family investigate the disappearance as they uncover some dark family secrets…
MANIPULATE Festival presents the very best of Scottish and international puppetry, visual theatre and animated film to adult audiences in Edinburgh and beyond. The Festival aims to engage and challenge our audiences with high-quality visually led work which pushes boundaries, plays with form and challenges perceptions.
It’s Ahmad and Steve, not Adam and Eve! This circus piece explores themes of faith, sexuality, addiction and human connection. Blending Chinese pole with visual and physical theatre, it tells the story of two queer men, their chance meeting through a dating app and the social and personal barriers they desire to overcome in seeking happiness and fulfillment.
Returning to MANIPULATE two years after their visit with the extraordinary Open The Owl, festival favourites Ljubljana Puppet Theatre return with Moč, an intimate puppet-object miniature exploring power, weakness and control.
Connect with other puppeteers, enthusiasts and producers to share and exchange ideas, whilst strolling through Edinburgh’s Meadows. Whilst being a great practical way to connect with other professionals no matter the current pandemic restrictions, walking and talking has also been shown to increase creative thinking, as well as to encourage honest and productive conversations.
Is Gregor Samsa a bug wishing he was a man or a man wishing he was a bug? AFTER METAMORPHOSIS is a high-octane, visceral reworking of Kafka’s classic tale that weaponizes the surrealism of the original text into a wild rumpus; a satire of conformity.
The Yellow Canary is both an epic true story and a leap into the imagination of a young child desperate to escape the horrors of war, exploring love, loss and what it means to flee your home.
Join us for a dinner party with a difference – an anarchic artistic meal hosted by some of your favourite MANIPULATE artists. LARDS PICK ‘N’ MIX, a warm and entertaining dining cabaret with original live music and prime cuts of nonsense. A joyous evening of bite-sized silliness, lightly seasoned with absurdity, and packed full of LARDS. LARDS create the perfect visual cabaret setting for racuous dinner time fun. Drawing on their combined specialisms in clown, bouffon, character work and visual/physical theatre they celebrate liveness, risk and intense joy!
Connect with other artists, enthusiasts and producers to share and exchange ideas, whilst strolling through Edinburgh’s Meadows. Whilst being a great practical way to connect with other professionals no matter the current pandemic restrictions, walking and talking has also been shown to increase creative thinking, as well as to encourage honest and productive conversations.
Inspired by Italo Calvino’s surrealist story, the Distance of the Moon is a Scottish-Argentinian collaboration, a storytelling piece exploring loneliness, nostalgia, connection and human relationships. This intimate piece will be performed simultaneously in Argentina and Scotland.
As Surge bursary awardees we are delighted to present Daniel Livingstone and Petre Dobre’s work in progress piece Sand in its first presentation to the public. “Sand” is a story telling of a very old mythical being – the Sandman, like many myths, have many different tales about them from across the globe. Some see him as a trickster, others a demon. Some see him as a hero and to a few he is a God, the God of Dreams and of Stories.
“A celebration of transformation, a bid to be unforgotten, a dance of rules, constriction, sugar highs and suffocation. Rules To Live By is a rebellious aspiration to a hero’s punk anarchy. EIDOS is a tribute to Suzi’s grandmother, who was a punk in-her-own-right. She is the hero, the stalwart, Suzi’s personal Vivienne Westwood, the treasure hunter and the curio-with-a-cause. This double-bill veers between anarchy, punk music, heroism and how idolatry and loss can shape a life. “
Get a first look at exciting new visual theatre works from five Scottish artists, presented here in the early stages of their development. Featuring puppetry, object theatre, physical theatre and dance, the lineup promises insight into the process of a diverse group of artists working with a wide range of techniques.
A powerful aerial and physical theatre performance using the Japanese art of shibari (rope bondage) exploring mental health, cycles of repetition and the struggle to break out.
Join us for a dinner party with a difference – an anarchic artistic meal hosted by some of your favourite MANIPULATE artists. Tim Licata & Plutôt La Vie invite you to an evening of illusion where everything may not be what it seems… a mesmerising evening of intimate performance including song, spoken word and, of course, magic.
Connect with other animators, enthusiasts and producers to share and exchange ideas, whilst strolling through Edinburgh’s Meadows. Whilst being a great practical way to connect with other professionals no matter the current pandemic restrictions, walking and talking has also been shown to increase creative thinking, as well as to encourage honest and productive conversations.
Celebrating extraordinary and award-winning female and non-binary animators from around the globe, MANIPULATE is delighted to present Animated Womxn for the second year running. The programme features work employing a wide range of techniques, textures and styles and includes some of the most decorated shorts in this year’s festival season.
My Favourite War is an animated documentary telling the personal story of its director, Ilze, about her growing up in the Cold-War USSR. It is an exciting coming-of-age story about finding one’s own identity, truth and loyalty. The film is about choices a girl has to make in a very young age, then getting wiser and finding courage to speak out. This screening is in Latvian with English closed captions.
Within the century-old walls of historic Leith Theatre, something sinister is stirring. A gothic tale of double lives and inner demons, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde takes on its own hybrid identity in this unique retelling. Concerned by his good friend Dr Henry Jekyll’s recent behaviour, Gabriel Utterson is driven to uncover the identity of the mysterious and dangerous Mr. Hyde, to whom Jekyll is enthralled. Whilst on this search for the truth, Utterson finds himself seduced by the society of Edinburgh’s rich and powerful, but beneath the glossy façade lies a grim and brutal reality.
Within the century-old walls of historic Leith Theatre, something sinister is stirring. A gothic tale of double lives and inner demons, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde takes on its own hybrid identity in this unique retelling. Concerned by his good friend Dr Henry Jekyll’s recent behaviour, Gabriel Utterson is driven to uncover the identity of the mysterious and dangerous Mr. Hyde, to whom Jekyll is enthralled. Whilst on this search for the truth, Utterson finds himself seduced by the society of Edinburgh’s rich and powerful, but beneath the glossy façade lies a grim and brutal reality.
Within the century-old walls of historic Leith Theatre, something sinister is stirring. A gothic tale of double lives and inner demons, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde takes on its own hybrid identity in this unique retelling. Concerned by his good friend Dr Henry Jekyll’s recent behaviour, Gabriel Utterson is driven to uncover the identity of the mysterious and dangerous Mr. Hyde, to whom Jekyll is enthralled. Whilst on this search for the truth, Utterson finds himself seduced by the society of Edinburgh’s rich and powerful, but beneath the glossy façade lies a grim and brutal reality.
