Kneehigh Theatre

Kneehigh Theatre is an international touring theatre company founded by Mike Shepherd and based in Cornwall, England. The company are based in barns on the southern Cornish coast.

Overview

Kneehigh was started in 1980 by Mike Shepherd. Early productions were performed in village halls, marquees, cliff-tops and quarries. Their productions are often based around mythological tales such as the Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tale The Red Shoes, The Bacchae and the Cornish legend Tristan and Yseult. Their artistic director Emma Rice won Best Director 2002, Barclays Theatre Awards.[1]

Their productions have been performed outside in locations such as Restormel Castle, the Minack Theatre and the Eden Project as well as their award winning[2] Asylum Season. They use a variety of theatrical elements including puppetry, live music (often played with folk instruments such as ukuleles and dulcimers) and an emphasis on visual imagery.

Between 1989 and 2006, Sue Hill and Bill Mitchell were working as part of Kneehigh on work that was happening outdoors and on site, influenced heavily by such groups as Footsbarn Theatre and Welfare State International. However, feeling that Kneehigh was pulling in 2 different directions, one based in studios and theatres, and the other based in the landscape, Hill and Mitchell formed their own company Wildworks. The first Wildworks productions were initially co-productions with Kneehigh until 2006 when they made Souterrain, their first independent production.[3]

In the autumn of 2007, Kneehigh toured village halls in Cornwall with Blast! A Cornish Expose Performed by 3 Complete Idiots! and presented Noël Coward's Brief Encounter in Birmingham and at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. After finishing a run of Brief Encounter at the Cinema Haymarket in the West End, the show toured the UK before going overseas to Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

Since then, Kneehigh have taken their work across the world, with performances in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, China and Syria among others whilst continuing to tour work in the UK. They are an associate company of Bristol Old Vic and Shakespeare's Globe in London.

Kneehigh Asylum

Whilst primarily being a touring theatre company, Kneehigh have their own home performance space called The Asylum. The Asylum is a purpose-built tent that can be configured in 5 ways and pitched in 1 day on any surface.[4] The company have performed at the Asylum since 2010, using it a venue for their own work as well as housing associate artists in what they describe as being '[a] place of fun, playfulness and sanctuary'.[5]

Kneehigh Rambles

In 2010, Kneehigh launched its Rambles programme. The Kneehigh Rambles allow the company to work with communities by providing greater access to their work in Cornwall and further afield. They engage with those who otherwise would be unable to access their work due to financial or social barriers. Working with a variety of community, voluntary and social organisations, Kneehigh has reached out to people from all walks of life by providing free tickets, running workshops, and offering opportunities to work with artists.[6]

Productions

The Company

Although the company does vary between productions, there are a number of associate artists who are repeatedly involved with Kneehigh including:

References

External links

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