Complimentary Colours
A walkabout and musical performance from Blue Apple’s Special Assignments Company
on Friday 30 June 2023
at Winchester Hat Fair
Directed by Rebecca Godden
Bold. Bright. Friendly. Charming.
Carnival parade
The aims of this work matched with the Complimentary Colours objectives to develop audience engagement skills, create original work focussed on providing opportunities for audience participation and pop-up performance in a range of settings.
Workshops
Blue Apple Theatre participants were invited by Play to the Crowd to attend three music workshops on 25 April, 9 May and 16 May facilitated by a musician and artist called Radhika.
In these workshops performers worked to co-create music and junk instruments for Hat Fair towards the 2023 Carnival theme ‘SHOUT ABOUT IT!’
In the carnival parade
The Special Assignments Company took part in the parade with Associate director Rebecca Godden supported by volunteers Sophie Green and Chris Pearce.
At Cathedral Green for the closing of the parade
Radhika attended the Hat Fair Carnival Parade to support Blue Apple Theatre’s performance.
The co-composition comprised three accessible call and response grooves in response to the 2023 Carnival theme ‘SHOUT ABOUT IT!’ Participants invited people to be creative and add their own lyrics to the music they had composed.
Walkabout performance of Complimentary Colours
Blue Apple’s Special Assignments Company took a creative journey of technicoloured connection at Hat Fair. Bold, bright, friendly and charming; our colourful performers came to life as they sought to connect with people and the planet, handing our compliments and a greeting card. Each actor dressed in a different bright block colour and found someone wearing that colour to give them a compliment relating to the colour along with a coloured greeting card that held a heart embedded with wildflower seeds.
About Blue Apple’s Special Assignments Company (SAC)
SAC produces devised work for outdoor and site-specific settings. The performers have a flair for the improvised, the surreal, and enjoy responding in the moment in changeable public settings. This group of live art performers focus on storytelling through physical expression and striking visuals. SAC performances can be a wonderful blend of absurd and thoughtful, of pure silliness and thought provoking moments. Distinctly out-of-the-ordinary and visually striking, SAC are a regular feature of the Winchester Hat Fair and other high profile public events.
Photos show performers dressed in brightly coloured clothes of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red with matching bowler hats and umbrellas in a carnival parade, walking around the ancient city of Winchester, playing music on home-made instruments in public gardens, posing in front of Winchester Cathedral and interacting with the public.
Photos taken by Pip Armitage
If you attended the festival and saw our performers we’d love to hear what you thought of it. You can email feedback to us at communications@blueappletheatre.com