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2007
The Finnish Prisoner
In July 2007, The Paddock presented the world premiere of The Finnish Prisoner, a new opera by Orlando Gough and Stephen Plaice, written specifically for the community of the Lewes District, and concerning an episode in local history in which Finnish prisoners of war were kept in Lewes during the Crimean War and formed strong bonds with the people of the town. Seven performances took place in a disused warehouse in an industrial estate in Lewes and involved a cast of 80 singers (5 British principals, 8 Finnish principals, 28 adult community chorus, and 39 children), as well as four instrumentalists. Apart from the Finnish singers, all of the professional artists, the creative team, and amateurs were drawn from the Lewes District. Each performance was sold to absolute capacity, with queues for returns at every show, and it attracted a widespread, highly enthusiastic audience base, with coverage in national newspapers, and was attended by visiting dignitaries from Finland, as well as representatives from many of our funding bodies. The opera was produced in partnership with Finnish National Opera and Finnish Chamber Opera, with additional aid from the Finnish Embassy in London and the Sibelius Academy. The Paddock also received funding towards this project from the RVW Trust, the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, The PRS Foundation, East Sussex County Council and Lewes Town Council. Plans are now afoot for further performances in Finland, both in Helsinki and Hameenlinna, in 2009.
2006
Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep
Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep was written by Eleanor Farjeon, the first winner in 1956 of the Hans Anderson International Medal, who lived and worked in East Sussex. It tells the tale of a champion skipper called Elsie Piddock, who, through her skills, manages to save a bit of the Sussex Downs from the clutches of an evil Lord bent on development. The East Sussex Arts Partnership and Farnham Maltings commissioned this family theatre piece to be toured to outdoor rural spaces, such as village greens, village festivals and school playing fields. It toured in the summer of 2006 to over 2,600 people in 21 different venues. Some skipping audience participation involved!
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2006
Something to Dance About
On April 29th, 2006, a day of dancing took place in the town of Lewes, East Sussex, consisting of eight new site-specific dances created by local professional choreographers, designers, and composers, in collaboration with the 180 amateur dancers who performed the pieces. The day ran from ten in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon, with 32 discrete performances and attracted a crowd of nearly 3000 people. The dances were all placed in sites in which the general public would simply come across them - including a main shopping pedestrian precinct, a skate park, and the thoroughfare which passes through Lewes castle - though people could then follow a dance map they were given, in order to see all the dances. The themes of the dances touched upon issues relevant to people in this region, including four student/young people's dances which looked at various aspects of their local heritage, including the history of the castle, the experiences of flood victims in Lewes, and the importance of conservation. This project was generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Foundation and the Arts Council England, South East, as well as other trusts and foundations. For more information on Something to Dance About 2006 go to www.danceabout.org
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2005
Red All Over
Red All Over is a site-specific play about the judgments we make about people based on race and the context in which we find them. It takes place in six rooms of a hotel and the audience is moved from room to room as the play progresses. Written and directed by the Paddock’s Artistic Director Susannah Waters and designed by Num Stibbe, it was premiered over five nights as part of the 2005 Lewes Live Literature Festival at Pelham House, and starred the actors Andrea Hall, Steve North, Sian Webber, and Leo Wringer.
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2005
The Young Visitors
In 1890,nine year old Daisy Ashford was living in Lewes and working on her fourth novel. In 2004, Paddock Productions presented the first-ever live-literature production of her masterpiece, The Young Visiters,
in which the book was presented word-for-word, with every delicious bit of the young prodigy’s amusing narrative voice intact. Directed by actor Jonathan Cullen and designed by Num Stibbe, this hilarious, fast-moving show involved four actors, one folding screen, a pianist, and many, many hats! After its initial performances in Lewes, we toured the UK with this show, and continue to be invited for performances, both private and public, around the country.
Back to the top
2004
Physical Music
Exploring A Staging of 3 Cantatas by G.F.Handel
Sonnerie, Yolande Snaith and Susannah Waters
We began developing ideas on staging Handel cantatas for solo voice, exploring the ways in which artists of different disciplines could be exposed to and influenced by each other's approaches to performance during the rehearsal period and also particularly looking at involving musicians more directly in the physical staging of music by directly involving them in the rehearsal process from which they are usually excluded, and by placing them centre-stage in a production rather than to one side. The multi-disciplinary staging of three G. F. Handel cantatas by the team involved in this research and development is a project we are planning to develop further in the future.
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2003
The Regina Monologues
UK Tour
First commissioned by the Covent Garden Festival in 2001, this music theatre piece about Elizabeth I in the last years of her life, was co-created by the Paddock's Artistic Director Susannah Waters and the viol consort Concordia (www.violconsort.com), under the musical direction of Mark Levy, and was toured to music and literary festivals around the UK, including the Brighton Festival, Lichfield Festival, King’s Lynn Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Queen’s Festival in Belfast, and the Hall for Cornwall in Truro. In a series
of nine monologues, partnered with haunting music of the period, the ageing Elizabeth ruminates upon the mixed blessings of power and the impossibilities of love for a woman in her position. Eccentric, coquettish, restless with intellectual vitality, this indefatigable version of the queen has been played by the actresses Penelope Keith, Susannah York, Felicity Palmer, and most recently, Janet Suzman. Designed by Shakespeare's Globe Associate Designer Jenny Tiramani, it has also featured the counter-tenors Robin Blaze and William Purefoy.
The Finnish Prisoner
In July 2007, The Paddock presented the world premiere of The Finnish Prisoner, a new opera by Orlando Gough and Stephen Plaice, written specifically for the community of the Lewes District, and concerning an episode in local history in which Finnish prisoners of war were kept in Lewes during the Crimean War and formed strong bonds with the people of the town. Seven performances took place in a disused warehouse in an industrial estate in Lewes and involved a cast of 80 singers (5 British principals, 8 Finnish principals, 28 adult community chorus, and 39 children), as well as four instrumentalists. Apart from the Finnish singers, all of the professional artists, the creative team, and amateurs were drawn from the Lewes District. Each performance was sold to absolute capacity, with queues for returns at every show, and it attracted a widespread, highly enthusiastic audience base, with coverage in national newspapers, and was attended by visiting dignitaries from Finland, as well as representatives from many of our funding bodies. The opera was produced in partnership with Finnish National Opera and Finnish Chamber Opera, with additional aid from the Finnish Embassy in London and the Sibelius Academy. The Paddock also received funding towards this project from the RVW Trust, the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, The PRS Foundation, East Sussex County Council and Lewes Town Council. Plans are now afoot for further performances in Finland, both in Helsinki and Hameenlinna, in 2009.
2006
Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep
Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep was written by Eleanor Farjeon, the first winner in 1956 of the Hans Anderson International Medal, who lived and worked in East Sussex. It tells the tale of a champion skipper called Elsie Piddock, who, through her skills, manages to save a bit of the Sussex Downs from the clutches of an evil Lord bent on development. The East Sussex Arts Partnership and Farnham Maltings commissioned this family theatre piece to be toured to outdoor rural spaces, such as village greens, village festivals and school playing fields. It toured in the summer of 2006 to over 2,600 people in 21 different venues. Some skipping audience participation involved!
Back to the top
2006
Something to Dance About
On April 29th, 2006, a day of dancing took place in the town of Lewes, East Sussex, consisting of eight new site-specific dances created by local professional choreographers, designers, and composers, in collaboration with the 180 amateur dancers who performed the pieces. The day ran from ten in the morning to 5:30 in the afternoon, with 32 discrete performances and attracted a crowd of nearly 3000 people. The dances were all placed in sites in which the general public would simply come across them - including a main shopping pedestrian precinct, a skate park, and the thoroughfare which passes through Lewes castle - though people could then follow a dance map they were given, in order to see all the dances. The themes of the dances touched upon issues relevant to people in this region, including four student/young people's dances which looked at various aspects of their local heritage, including the history of the castle, the experiences of flood victims in Lewes, and the importance of conservation. This project was generously supported by the Heritage Lottery Foundation and the Arts Council England, South East, as well as other trusts and foundations. For more information on Something to Dance About 2006 go to www.danceabout.org
Back to the top
2005
Red All Over
Red All Over is a site-specific play about the judgments we make about people based on race and the context in which we find them. It takes place in six rooms of a hotel and the audience is moved from room to room as the play progresses. Written and directed by the Paddock’s Artistic Director Susannah Waters and designed by Num Stibbe, it was premiered over five nights as part of the 2005 Lewes Live Literature Festival at Pelham House, and starred the actors Andrea Hall, Steve North, Sian Webber, and Leo Wringer.
Back to the top
2005
The Young Visitors
In 1890,nine year old Daisy Ashford was living in Lewes and working on her fourth novel. In 2004, Paddock Productions presented the first-ever live-literature production of her masterpiece, The Young Visiters,
in which the book was presented word-for-word, with every delicious bit of the young prodigy’s amusing narrative voice intact. Directed by actor Jonathan Cullen and designed by Num Stibbe, this hilarious, fast-moving show involved four actors, one folding screen, a pianist, and many, many hats! After its initial performances in Lewes, we toured the UK with this show, and continue to be invited for performances, both private and public, around the country.
Back to the top
2004
Physical Music
Exploring A Staging of 3 Cantatas by G.F.Handel
Sonnerie, Yolande Snaith and Susannah Waters
We began developing ideas on staging Handel cantatas for solo voice, exploring the ways in which artists of different disciplines could be exposed to and influenced by each other's approaches to performance during the rehearsal period and also particularly looking at involving musicians more directly in the physical staging of music by directly involving them in the rehearsal process from which they are usually excluded, and by placing them centre-stage in a production rather than to one side. The multi-disciplinary staging of three G. F. Handel cantatas by the team involved in this research and development is a project we are planning to develop further in the future.
Back to the top
2003
The Regina Monologues
UK Tour
First commissioned by the Covent Garden Festival in 2001, this music theatre piece about Elizabeth I in the last years of her life, was co-created by the Paddock's Artistic Director Susannah Waters and the viol consort Concordia (www.violconsort.com), under the musical direction of Mark Levy, and was toured to music and literary festivals around the UK, including the Brighton Festival, Lichfield Festival, King’s Lynn Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Queen’s Festival in Belfast, and the Hall for Cornwall in Truro. In a series
of nine monologues, partnered with haunting music of the period, the ageing Elizabeth ruminates upon the mixed blessings of power and the impossibilities of love for a woman in her position. Eccentric, coquettish, restless with intellectual vitality, this indefatigable version of the queen has been played by the actresses Penelope Keith, Susannah York, Felicity Palmer, and most recently, Janet Suzman. Designed by Shakespeare's Globe Associate Designer Jenny Tiramani, it has also featured the counter-tenors Robin Blaze and William Purefoy.
This piece is currently pencilled to be performed again in 2008, at the Middle Temple Hall in London, as part of the 2008 Temple Festival.
Back to the top
2007
The Finnish Prisoner
2006
Elsie Piddock Skips
in Her Sleep
2006
Something to Dance About
2005
Red All Over
2005
The Young Visiters
2004
Physical Music
2003
The Regina Monologues
The Finnish Prisoner
2006
Elsie Piddock Skips
in Her Sleep
2006
Something to Dance About
2005
Red All Over
2005
The Young Visiters
2004
Physical Music
2003
The Regina Monologues