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Horse + Bamboo Theatre founded in 1978. The Company based in Rossendale, Lancashire, UK and tours nationally and internationally.
Horse + Bamboo Theatre make visual theatre in which music and story-telling are central; the company uses masks, movement, puppetry, film, lighting in their productions. In 1978 Bob Frith formed Horse + Bamboo Theatre, to create a site-specific performance The Ballad of Ellen Strange in Rossendale. Many of the early company members were ex-students from Manchester, along with members of Matrogoth Theatre from Leiden, Holland.
1979: This company formed the basis of the first Horse + Bamboo touring group. The first tour was Pictures From Breughel, and the distinctive style was already in place.
This tour experimented with horses to transport the production to rural areas. Despite the complexity of organising this and subsequent tours, the idea was an immediate success. The horses attracted audiences who might otherwise be suspicious of different theatre; they helped create a sense of occasion, and the discipline associated with travelling in this way helped bond the performing group.
1980: Horse + Bamboo continued to develop horse-drawn touring shows. It also began to create a number of community-related productions. Fire theatre pieces are undertaken, and these often use raku-fired kilns. In 1981 the first 'Guided Imagery' production was commissioned by a Special School in Salford. The first Whitworth Horse fire theatre piece was created for the travellers fair at Whitworth, near Rochdale.
1982: In addition to The Woodcarver Story tour, the company undertook six major commissions, including a street production. 1985: Tour of Andalucia, Spain with La Dama Azul. From 1986 the touring shows were performed in halls and theatres, rather than in a marquee, and although other commissions were accepted, fire theatre pieces were dropped. 1991: The company decided to develop a second show for motorised touring, thus extending the total amount of time spent touring. The decision had a major impact on the work pattern, and as touring began to move from a three-month to a seven-month activity, the number of other commissions were reduced.
In 1993 the two touring productions (horse-drawn and motorised) were integrated into one long tour. This made it easier for the company to plan to tour abroad, and this year the company undertook a long horse-drawn tour of Hungary. 1994: The first of two large-scale Easter events created for Westminster, including a performance in Westminster Abbey. The company moved to a new base, the Horse + Bamboo Centre (now the Boo). 1996: The second Westminster event, and Abbey performance. Work on the Centre is completed, and the company began a programme of work based at the Centre.
1997: The work of the Company is divided into two 'wings' - Touring, and the Centre programmes. In 1999: Horse + Bamboo collaborated with Professor Sam Ukala, of Edo State University in Nigeria, to create Harvest of Ghosts, the company's first outdoor touring show since 1981.
From 2000 onwards the Centre Programme focused on work in schools with its HoBo work. This continued successfully for three years until the funding for the work ended. In 2007 the Centre formally became the Boo and gradually become a focus for visual theatre, training, and puppetry, and is now a centre of national and regional importance. It offers a year-round programme of work serving the Pennine Lancashire community and beyond.
In 2010 Alison Duddle took on the role of joint Artistic Director alongside Bob Frith, as the work both on touring shows and the Boo expands and develops.
horse + bamboo theatre,
Bacup Road,
Waterfoot,
Lancashire,
BB4 7HB
info@horseandbamboo.org
http://www.horseandbamboo.org/horseandbamboo/index.html
Here are few videos reflect some of their work.