MANIPULATE updates
Full details of cancellations and changes
MANIPULATE, the international festival of visual theatre, animated film and puppetry, has announced a number of cancellations and venue changes to its programme from 28 January – 5 February 2022, due to the latest situation over Covid-19.
Puppet Animation Scotland, which runs the festival, has taken all screened events to online only and moved performance-based events by Scotland-based artists from Summerhall to the Studio of Festival Theatre. Events for which artists would have had to travel internationally have been cancelled.
After Metamorphosis. Pic: Elly White
The good news is that the two Dinner With… events in the Summerhall Gallery Bar led by LARDS (Sat 28) and Plutot la Vie (Fri 4) will go ahead as planned. As will the interactive exhibitions Acqua Alta – The Crossing of the Mirror and FAUNA at Summerhall and the out-door events on the Meadows – the puppetry networking walks Netwalk and Forest Videolab projections.
Five live performance events are also still going ahead, but all at the The Studio, 22 Potterrow – which can be configured to comply with the latest Covid mitigation regulations. Two events have moved from Summerhall: Sadiq Ali’s circus piece: The Chosen Haram (Fri 28) and Lewis Sherlock’s After Metamorphosis (Sat 29).
Going ahead as originally planned in the Studio are Snap Elastic’s EAT ME (Sun 30 & Mon 31), Thick & Tight’s amuse bouche of new pieces: Short & Sweet (Thurs 3) and Jean Daniel Broussé’s very personal (Le) Pain (Fri 4).
Cancelled shows include Birdie by Agrupación Señor Serrano; Moč / The Power by Ljubljana Puppet Theatre, Ill-Lit by Kasia Zawadzka; EIDOS / Rules To Live By by Suzi Cunningham and Al Seed’s workshop: What Makes a Good Show? Also cancelled are: Between Earth and Moon from Noah Tomson & Rober Segura, Sand from Daniel Livingstone and Petre Dobre; and Tashi Gore’s The Yellow Canary.
enormous challenges
MANIPULATE Artistic Director and CEO, Dawn Taylor, said: “I am so disappointed to be sharing news of cancellations. We are heartbroken on behalf of the incredible artists who have been working hard to prepare artistic projects to share with you at the Festival. We are working closely with all the artists affected to find ways to support the work to return to a stage near you soon.
“The pandemic has presented enormous challenges for the performing arts sector in Scotland, with freelance artists being most significantly affected. At this challenging time we send solidarity to all our peers across the industry and especially the independent artists whose very livelihood depends on being able to share their work live.
“We are pleased however, that some elements of the festival can go ahead in a way which prioritises the safety of all involved, and look forward to welcoming you indoors, outdoors or online at an event during MANIPULATE 2022”
MANIPULATE Festival 2022 Listing
Click here for full programme.
Adrien M & Claire B presents Acqua Alta – The Crossing of the Mirror and FAUNA (interactive installations).
Summerhall. In situ throughout the whole festival: Fri 28 Jan – Sat 5 Feb.
Acqua Alta traces the odyssey of a man and a woman facing the rising waters, among storms, ink seas, breaking waves and jellyfish in an interactive virtual reality installation – Looking through a tablet or a smartphone, the ten double-pages of a paper pop-up book become the stage for a dance performance. Fauna is a series of ten large-format posters with a custom-built Augmented Reality application that can be discovered via your smartphone. Book here.
Friday 28 January 2022
Mettje Hunneman presents: Forest Videolab (Projection)
The Meadows by Summerhall: 5.30-7.30pm.
A series of unique, site-specific, public video projection mapping artworks with original soundscapes. These works highlight and transform public green spaces and question our place in nature using an E-Bike equipped with projection gear, portable power, solar panel and all-terrain tyres. Free: Further Details & music link.
Sadiq Ali presents: The Chosen Haram (Performance)
The Studio, Festival Theatre: 7.30pm.
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 fulfilment. Book here.
Saturday 29 January
MANIPULATE Festival presents: Netwalk (Puppetry)
The Meadows. Meet at Summerhall Box Office @ 11.30am.
Networking walk and chat for puppetry peeps. Further details and booking.
Lewis Sherlock presents: After Metamorphosis (Performance)
The Studio, Festival Theatre: 4pm.
A high-octane, visceral reworking of Kafka’s classic tale that weaponises the surrealism of the original text into a wild rumpus; a satire of conformity. In a world of political and ecological turmoil, where unfathomably large corporations control everything and our food supply chain is in jeopardy, are we just workers for the hive? Are we all Gregor Samsa? Tickets and details.
LARDS present: Dinner with…LARDS
Summerhall Gallery Bar: 6pm
A dinner party with a difference – an anarchic artistic meal hosted by LARDS, the ensemble of Scotland-based theatre artists who draw on their combined specialisms in clown, bouffon, character work and visual/physical theatre to celebrate liveness, risk and intense joy! Your meal, the entertainment and a glass of wine are included in the ticket price. Tickets and details.
Sunday 30 January
MANIPULATE Festival presents: Netwalk (Puppetry)
The Meadows. Meet at Summerhall Box Office @ 11.30am.
Networking walk and chat for puppetry peeps. Further details and booking.
Snap Elastic presents EAT ME (Performance)
The Studio, Festival Theatre: 8pm.
Part of the Manipulate festival. Loud dress, no shoes – Prey slips in the rain, every raindrop a tooth. The Man, watching his neighbours from the shadows of his flat, sees breakups, group sex, a dog die and revive, and her – melancholic, solitary. For Predator nothing will ever be the same again. Book here.
Monday 31 January
Snap Elastic presents EAT ME (Performance)
The Studio, Festival Theatre: 8pm.
See Sun 30.
Thursday 3 February
Green Ginger presents TRASH-HACK Puppetry Workshop (Workshop)
Summerhall: Thurs 3 10am – 5pm and Fri 4 10am – 1pm.
Thick & Tight presents Short & Sweet (Performance)
The Studio, Festival Theatre: 7.30pm.
Created by Eleanor Perry & Daniel Hay-Gordon, this thoroughly modern variety show mixes dance, drag, lip-syncing and satire. Brings a host of famous and infamous characters to life: Sid Vicious, Twiggy, Grace Jones, Rasputin, Edith Sitwell and everyone’s favourite avant-garde duo, John Cage & Elaine Paige. Includes a preview of new work inspired by Japanese Noh theatre, commissioned by the Noh Reimaged Festival. Book here.
Friday 4 February
Dinner with … Plutot La Vie
Summerhall Gallery Bar: 6pm.
Join us for an anarchic artistic meal hosted by Tim Licata & Plutôt La Vie, who 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. Your meal, the entertainment and a glass of wine are included in the ticket price. Tickets and details.
Jean Daniel Broussé presents (Le) Pain (Performance)
The Studio, Festival Theatre: 8pm.
Part of the Manipulate festival. (le) Pain is about breadmaking, physical heroics, growing up queer in a boulangerie in the south of France, endings and new beginnings. It involves circus, dance, storytelling, Béarnaise folklore video, karaoke and laughter. Book here.
Saturday 5 February
MANIPULATE Festival presents: Netwalk (Puppetry)
The Meadows. Meet at Summerhall Box Office @ 10.45am.
Networking walk and chat for puppetry peeps.. Further details and booking.
Mettje Hunneman presents: Forest Videolab (Projection)
The Meadows by Summerhall: 5-7pm.
See Friday 28.
Online Film presentations:
MANIPULATE in partnership with Edinburgh Short Film Festival presents Animated Highlights
Online: 1pm.
Jane Aaron presents Animated Women: Aaronimation
Online: 2.30pm
Animated Womxn: International Shorts
Online: 4pm.
Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen presents My Favourite War (MANS MĪĻĀKAIS KARŠ)
Online: 7.30pm.
ENDS
