Performances times 11am & 1pm (two shows, 1hr each)

Some acorns DO fall far from the tree...

Gather under the branches for the biggest day in the woodland calendar, Drop Day! Arnold the acorn is about to drop from his tree and begin his amazing adventure in search of somewhere to put down his roots. Join Arnold as his story flies in the wind, wiggles across the land and splashes into the sea... Who will he meet along the way and will he ever find the perfect spot to call home?

Taking place in a special bell tent, Arnold's Big Adventure features beautiful shadow puppetry, wonderful original music to sing along to and plenty of thrilling surprises along the way...

Following the success of her one-woman show, The Tap Dancing Mermaid, Tessa Bide returns with an intimate, interactive production perfect for a child’s first theatrical experience, with plenty for parents to enjoy too! “Tessa Bide understands children in a way that can’t be taught” (Children’s Theatre Reviews).

Suitable for children aged 3 - 10 years and their grown-ups.

Limited tickets available so do please purchase in advance.

“just brilliant, so creative and engaging with the children (and the adults)...it was pitched just right”
★★★★★ Whatsgoodtodo.com

Here you will be taken across the world and through the ages - from the world of shapes, sums and mathematical abstraction to the lab with experiments and simulations of quasicrystals - to feast your eyes, ears and mind on beautiful ideas using ballet, breakdancing and the pretty fractal patterns of Hofstadter's butterfly.  Think Misty Copeland meets Beat Street, Penrose, graphene and gorgeous ancient middle eastern tiling.

There will also be a workshop before the performance (5:45-6:45) for those who would like to try a ballet and breakdancing approach to maths and physics for themselves – all ages and levels of expertise welcome. Attendance of the performance and participation in the workshop is free but sign up is recommended.

This event is funded by the UKRI/EPSRC

This participatory workshop will include the distinctive mbira rhythms, songs, percussive accompaniment with traditional ‘hosho’ shakers, ululating and dance. Mbira music lifts the spirits and feeds the soul.

This is a rare opportunity to experience the traditional mbira music of Zimbabwe first hand.

Come journey with us through historical moments from brilliant inventors to visionary artists and experience live music and imaginative storytelling.

Jumping from the past into the boundless possibilities of Afrofuturism.

Let hidden history inspire our future.

This is a free workshop open to children of all ages, walk ups encouraged.

Adventures in Black History is led by Emile Clark in collaboration with Tidal Tales Collective.

Access as Art

Sue MacLaine & Nadia Nadarajah are performers in 'Can I Start Again Please'; the award winning show that explores the capacity of language to represent traumatic experience. The piece is performed in English and British Sign Language

Sue is a qualified & registered interpreter specialising in performance interpreting and Nadia is a native sign language user with a specialism in Visual Vernacular.

The workshop will explore approaches to translation, visual vernacular, creating a BSL script for auto-cue, use of auto-cue. It will be a mixture of practice and theory.

The workshop is aimed at people who are working as professional British Sign Language/English interpreters.

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Mayfest is Bristol’s unique annual festival of contemporary theatre. We are dedicated to presenting a broad range of unusual, playful and ambitious work from leading theatre makers from Bristol, the UK and beyond.

Mayfest is produced by MAYK in collaboration with Bristol Old Vic and works in partnership with other key arts venues across Bristol to present work in both established theatre spaces and non-theatre spaces all over the city.

Mayfest’s Artistic Directors are Matthew Austin and Kate Yedigaroff.

A mix of work  so tasty it makes you want to up sticks and move to Bristol permanently

The Guardian

A pulse-racing programme of work ranging that offers fledgling local companies cheek by jowl with artists of international reputation

The Guardian

abher behn - The City (Transition): Film/Sound Improvisation & Performance, followed by discussion with artist

‘Life can express itself and realise its freedom only through forms yet forms must necessarily suffocate life and obstruct freedom’ Georg Simmel

Forms/Movement: sky maps, road signs, street zodiacs, framed cartographies, spatial signifiers- travel routes ruled and governed by collusive eras and monetary systems that collapse and repress; each is as ineffectual as the last. We recreate the monolithic and archaic, streets of repetitive movement, plan upon plan, layer upon layer of ash and bone ad infinitum, built upon the foundations of another immovable transitory flight of being, a swirling mass of margins where there is no guidance and we bear witness to transparent city walls that breathe, contract, grip and expel.

The City (Transition) is a solo performance that uses sound and video improvisation, performance, composition and collage.

Bio: abher behn‘s creative output spans over two decades of music and sound composition, writing and visual work alongside art/feminist activism and DIY/community organising. Her belief in the necessity of a politicised feminist community and autonomous space for self identified women, queers and people of colour alongside the creation and sustenance of a non-corporate DIY cultural ethic without compromise, has remained the backbone of her life and work.

Part of  Emergenc(i)es  Exhibition, 6th - 17th June: Control and Calculation : Inheriting Liberation : Improvised Publics

Ages 3+

Did you know that Astronauts get taller in space? That our solar system is around 4.6 billion years old? Or that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all of the beaches on Earth?

Amira knows all of these things. She is completely obsessed with space and every night dreams of becoming an Astronaut. But one night, the bangs, whooshes and fizzes of her imagination explode right out of her dreams, becoming a deafening reality. In the darkness, Amira’s Mother tells her that they must leave their hometown to go on an adventure together, to find a new home: a safe space. Hearing the words ‘space’ and ‘adventure’ among the chaos, Amira quickly packs her bag for the intergalactic trip she’s been waiting for…

A completely original one woman show without words, A Strange New Space will meld physical theatre with stunning puppetry and original music. You will be taken on an imagined voyage into space, which is paralleled with Amira’s real-life journey as a refugee across continents, forming an unforgettable introduction to theatre for audience of three years and older.

This production is undergoing a ‘research and development’ phase in partnership with Integrate Bristol, Circomedia, The Trinity Centre and May Park Primary School this Autumn, funded by Arts Council England. The project will be further developed over the Spring of 2017. A National tour will commence in Easter 2017, before continuing internationally in 2018.

Part of Ignite Arts at Trinity

A Spark and a Beating Heart

Devised by Firebird Theatre

Produced by MAYK

Presented in association with Bristol Old Vic

History. Myth. Remembering. What stories can we tell each other of our past?

Created and written by the company, A Spark and a Beating Heart is about us. Who we are, how we came here and why we do what we do. It’s a celebration and a love-letter, a party and an elegy. Mixing the many myths of the firebird with a collective reflection on lives lived. We are here to tell you our story.

Yes, a spark and a beating heart full of fire, just before the story starts or the lights come up, us small players become the main act.

Firebird Theatre are a unique group of disabled theatre-makers, spanning generations. They have been making theatre together for 25 years. Their experiences tell stories of shifting attitudes towards difference and disability; of understanding and ignorance.

Dates and times:

Thu 11th May (2pm & 7pm), Fri 12th May (7pm), Sat 13th May (7pm)

Show length 90 mins.

Bar and Box office will be open 40mins before performance start time.

Photo credit Paul Blakemore

A fantastic evening of entertainment with BAFTA award-winning actress Miriam Margolyes OBE. A unique chance to see one of the UK's most prolific performers in the beautiful and intimate setting of Trinity's Fyfe Hall.

Miriam is an impressively versatile performer and storyteller, with a love of all things Dickens. Known for her roles in the Harry Potter movies, Blackadder and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, the marvellous Miriam Margolyes also performs widely across the UK and Australia, in her one-woman such as Dickens' Women - in which she plays 23 different roles (men and women) from Dickens' books - and The Importance Of Being Miriam.

Recently returning from filming in Jaipur, India, Miriam will be performing in Bristol for one-night only, in support of Trinity Community Arts, bringing her unique style of entertainment to the city and helping to raise funds toward our youth training programme.

Read a review of Miriam's recent show: The Importance of Being Miriam (April 2015, by Diana Simmonds)

Mince pies and mulled wine available.

Doors: 7pm - Tickets: £18 adv (£16 concessions) - Seated performance.

Fundraiser in aid of Trinity Community Arts - funds raised will go toward supporting Trinity's youth training programme.

Photo: Kyte Photography

This season of in house Theatre and Dance programme - IGNiTE we are talking about and celebrating change- changes in people's rights and changes in people's opinions and identities.

Our IGNiTE programming decisions are made in collaboration with our Programming Forum, who share their thoughts on potential shows. For this season, it was clear from the start that we had a great selection of strong female led companies interested in bringing their work to Trinity. All three shows are well crafted performances that tackle intimate themes, telling personal stories that have a universal reach. Having just celebrated International Women's day we are really quite proud to have Man on the Moon, by Keisha Thompson (March 23) , Ladylike by Ella Mesma (March 24) and The Headwrap diaries by Uchenna Dance (April 13) on the horizon.

Ella Mesma Company's show Ladylike challenges the representation of women, particualy the notion of what it is like to be 'ladylike'. We asked Ella ahead of her March 24 show at Trinity, to tell us a little more about her show and why she created it:

What drove you to make Ladylike?

We all need real life superheros who reflect and inspire us. Seeing someone who you can fit the shoes of just speaks in a different way. I had a dream to make Ladylike, a piece that reflected real women, latin women, black women, mixed women, break-women, superhero women. In the media: the women I was seeing were beautiful, but they were not heroes, they were ‘sidechicks’ without much script, and they weren’t doing the saving but being rescued… I wanted to make a piece where the women were dealing with the real life day to day… but fighting back like warriors!

Who is Ladylike for?

I think Ladylike is for everyone: all women! real women, latin women, black women, mixed women, break-women, superhero women… but also for men too… Last night I dreamt that one of the roles was played by a male friend of mine… and he smashed it! I think the story could equally be applied to men: It is about smashing the patriarchy (which all men should be on board with!)

What are the benefits of making a dance theatre piece?

I think dance theatre is about healing, speaking up, having a voice,… and so I think it is also a cleansing experience… a ritual, both for the performers and those watching

Catch Ladylike by Ella Mesma Company March 23. 7.30pm at The Trinity Centre. For tickets and more, head to IGNiTE's what's on.

Help us secure Trinity's past, present and future

Over 12 weeks children and families from local school Hannah More primary took part Trinity’s ‘Art Club’ project, in partnership with Take A Part. During one session we headed down to Hannah More to chat with the children and families to ask them what they thought of 'Art Club', press play above to hear what they had to say!

"When I was their age, we didn't get the possibility to draw - we couldn't afford it" Baktiar and Asenat's Mum

In total 25 children and families came along to ‘Art Club’. During the sessions they explored different art-forms, such as clay making, model making using with different types of art materials.

The group also went on ‘go see’ visits to arts organisations and museums in the city. This included a trip to see the Grayson Perry exhibition in the Bristol Museum and a visit to the newly established arts organisations 'St Anne’s House' where they met resident artist Rachel Clarke.

‘Art Club’ is a Trinity commission, delivered by Take a Part in partnership with Hannah More Primary and made possible through funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund

Viki Browne during her residency at the University of Gloucester

I tend to work from what feels like the most difficult or sticky area of my thinking and whenever I’m like: ‘No, I’m not going there’, I’m like: ‘Oh, here we go! Viki Browne

Viki Browne is a performance artist who creates work about topics that are uncomfortable, risky or taboo.

As part of her 2018 IGNiTE artist residency, Viki focused on developing a new project Hyper Fem which considers whether the performance of femininity through drag can be as powerful, political or subversive when performed on a female identifying body.

The new piece was strongly inspired by some of her recent previous projects which involved wigs, Drag and performing as a "make up girl in a tiny dress".

Hyper Fem challenges restrictive gender norms dictated and commodified by the patriarchy.

How Viki describes her work:
“I thought: ‘I like that, I want that, I don’t know why it feels really naughty and forbidden. This is really difficult and feels very against my personal feminism. So I started making work about that. That’s what I’m bringing to IGNiTE – furthering my thinking about the performance of femininity and wether that can be a political and subversive performance, particularly if femininity is positioned on a female body”

IGNiTE resident Ania Varez describes her practice as 'community-engaging'

I want to give people in England a point of contact with a crisis that is largely undocumented in the UK. Ania Varez

Ania Varez is a Venezuelan artist who trained in classical dance and moved to Bristol in 2015 having graduated from the London Contemporary Dance School, before moved away from performing dance towards more participatory projects that explore issues of migration and loss.

We supported Ania during our 2018 IGNiTE Artists residency programme to develop her project Guayabo (Venezuelan slang for heartbreak). This was a participatory work that invited people to gather around their pain and the pain of others, challenging our ways of acting and caring for one another through geographical distance or cultural differences, as a medium of survival, transformation and belonging.

We really liked Ania's reasons for applying for an IGNiTE residency:

"The experience of leaving my home in the midst of a severe humanitarian crisis and facing the challenges of being an immigrant in the UK, as well as witnessing the current migration crisis worldwide, has strengthened my urgency to develop a practice for these issues to be addressed collectively and creatively, here in England."

Peter McMaster, and co-performer Nick Anderson, reflect on their experience of approaching and moving through the infamous age of 27. Through the process of unashamedly unpacking their autobiographies they establish a strikingly visceral poetic that explores this milestone and juncture between youth and maturity, movement and change.

Trying to understand how life is never fixed, these two performers push their bodies towards exhaustive extremes, inhabiting moments of pain, grief and elation, transforming the threat of untimely death into an explosive celebration of being.

‘Honest, inventive and beautifully choreographed’ The Guardian

Peter McMaster is an IBT Wild Card Award Winner.

27 was first presented at IBT15 and was presented at The Place, London, as part of Forest Fringe microfestival. It is currently being produced by IBT and was developed with support from The Arches, Glasgow.

“A look at the insidious nature of male violence, an anarchic, nihilistic energy throughout, and moments of real  tenderness.”
–Lorna Irvine, Exeunt

Peter McMaster is an experimental performance practitioner based in Glasgow, Scotland. He creates work for live art and performance contexts, and only works in traditional contexts if setting out to challenge tradition itself. ‘“Each time their bodies slam into one another, it’s all I can do not to gasp with the bruising beauty of it’’

Historically, his work has been personally and politically engaged in trying to understand his responsibility as an artist living in a time of ecological and social crisis.

–Catherine Love, Exeunt
“As the ash settles we are left with the feeling that we have witnessed something unique’ ”

Age: 14 + (show contains nudity)