2010

Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival

Name change!

In 2010 the Children’s Festival celebrated its 21st birthday, and took the opportunity for a re-brand that explicitly connected Imaginate with the Children’s Festival.

Shona Reppe’s Cinderella, Wee Stories’ The Sun, The Moon and a Boy Called River, Catherine Wheels’ Pondlife McGurk and Martha, Frozen Charlotte’s Sense and Lu Kemp and Abigail Docherty’s One Thousand Paper Cranes all helped to show off Scotland’s thriving sector.

In the video below, Shona Reppe and Andy Cannon (story teller, and former Artistic Director of Wee Stories) share their highlights from many years of involvement with the festival.

Shona Reppe and Andy Cannon share their stories

Did you know…?

In 2010, as in many years over the Festival’s history, newspaper articles focussed on the challenging themes within the programme. Headlines like “Sex, violence, death… it must be a show for youngsters” have been a constant over the last 30 years, but the Children’s Festival continues to assert the importance of discussing real world issues with children and young people, as part of safe and creatively stimulating performances.

Programme front cover Download the 2010 festival programme
Pictured are pupils from Royal Mile Primary School, Edinburgh, Szymon Merwa and Brooke Herriot. BANK OF SCOTLAND IMAGINATE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES ITS 21st BIRTHDAY WITH AN EXCITING MIX OF WORLD-CLASS THEATRE, DANCE AND PUPPETRY FROM SCOTLAND ALONGSIDE ACCLAIMED INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTIONS The 21st Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival, EdinburghÕs international performing arts festival for children and young people, runs from Monday 10 May to Sunday 16 May 2010 at venues in and around Edinburgh, before and then tourings Scotland. The Festival offers over 10,000 children, young people and their friends and families the opportunity to experience some of the most exciting theatre in the world. 2010 marks the FestivalÕs 21st birthday and to celebrate, the programme offers the largest ever selection of Scottish companies presenting productions at the Festival. The Festival has been part of a movement which has helped lift the indigenous theatre scene for children and young people to world-class levels of achievement. While Scottish companies are returning to the Festival to showcase world-class work which has toured nationally and internationally, the Festival is also delighted to be able to present emerging Scottish companies presenting poignant and challenging theatre for children and young people. Festival Director Tony Reekie is proud that the home-grown work on offer shares an equally high profile stage with productions from overseas. This year, performances include interactive funky fun with the return of We Dance, wee groove (still motion in association with Starcatchers), a highly theatrical dance extravaganza for 0-4 year olds; the return of award-winning classics from Shona Reppe Puppets with the beautifully re-imagined Cinderella (age 5+) and Catherine Wheels Theatre Company with the wonderfully humorous Martha (age 4+), all the way to the gripping and poetic Sense for teenagers by new company Frozen Charlotte. ScotlandÕs Wee Stories Theatre bring their unique story-telling theatre style by multi-award winning Andy Cannon and Iain Johnstone to this yearÕs programme with the magical The Sun, the Moon and a boy called River (age 5+); Lu Kemp and Abigail Docherty present One Thousand Paper Cranes based on a true Japanese story about a young girl who sets out to save her own life by making 1000 paper cranes (age 8+) and Catherine Wheels tells the story of Simon McGurk in the Ballad of Pondlife McGurk for older children aged 9 - 13. As part of its 21st birthday, the Bank of Scotland Imaginate FestivalÕs celebration of Scottish work is supported through the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund. The international programme is similarly respected and this year features the return of Studio ORKA, Belgium at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh with a new and unusual production, Mister Porcelain. The Festival welcomes Madcap from the Netherlands presented by De Stilte and Chit chat from France presented by Cie ŽtantdonnŽ; dance productions of style, wit and grace for children over 4 years. These run alongside wonderful productions for pre-schoolers from Germany Rawums: (florschŸtz & dšhnert) and WOODBEAT (Germany). The Festival programme presents 13 productions for all ages from toddlers to teenagers: 7 productions from Scotland and 6 productions from Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. The Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival on Tour for school and public productions will visit Kilmarnock, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Glasgow, St Andrews and Hamilton. Tony Reekie, Festival Director said: "This year's 21st Festival celebrates the ongoing success of theatre for children and young people from around the world. I am proud and excited to be presenting such a strong Scottish programme of acclaimed work at this year's Festival and look forward to seeing the sector grow and flourish in future years. I'm sure audiences in Edinburgh and on tour will enjoy the party!" Susan Rice, Managing Director, Lloyds Banking Group Scotland said: "We're very proud to support the Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival, particularly in this, its 21st year. Increasing access and providing opportunities for young people to engage with the arts is very important to us. We are delighted to see the Imaginate Festival bring another exceptional programme to Edinburgh and around Scotland on tour, giving children and young people across the country the chance to see some fantastic theatre. This is what makes this Festival so special each and every year." Culture Minister, Fiona Hyslop said: "The 21st Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival programme shows we have another packed showcase of outstanding performances to look forward to. I am delighted we are able to support the Festival through our Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund to help produce an exciting celebration of contemporary Scottish childrenÕs theatre for the FestivalÕs 21st birthday. ÊThe Festival champions the breadth and depth of talent in Scotland and provides vital opportunities for children and young people to experience the best in local, national and international theatre today." Notes for Editors: The 21st Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival will run from Monday 10 to Sunday 16 May 2010 at venues in and around Edinburgh and then tours Scotland Tickets for this year's Festival go on sale on Monday 29 March 2010 Tickets from 0131 228 1404 or online from www.traverse.co.uk The Festival attracts world class theatre companies from across Europe to perform, entertain and educate Every year over 10,000 young people, children and families attend the Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival Bank of Scotland have has been supporting the Imaginate Festival since its inception in 1990 The Scottish Government Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund has provided £45, 400 to Imaginate in 2010/11. Corporate sponsorship is crucial to the Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival. When mentioning the Festival, please help us by using the correct title of the Festival: Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival. This makes a real difference as mentions are counted and used as an evaluation of the project.Ê A credit at the foot of an article can make all the difference. Many thanks. For further information on Imaginate please contact: Jo Lennie, Imaginate, jolennie@imaginate.org.uk, 0131 225 8050, 07708 980 918 For further information on Bank of Scotland please contact: Jennifer Mungall, Material, jenny@materialmc.co.uk, 0141 204 7970, 07813 886 448 Picture © Andy Buchanan 2010 26/3/10
Wee Stories - The Sun, The Moon
Lu Kemp and Abigail Docherty - One Thousand Paper Cranes
Shona Reppe - Cinderella
Studio ORKA - Mister Porcelain
Catherine Wheels - Martha
Pictured is dancer Iain Bleakley (24) with Aoife Donald (2 1/2) Groovy Edinburgh kids take a toddle on the funky side! Toddlers celebrate the first day of the Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival by dancing in the Royal Botanic Garden with the team from We Dance, wee groove, the interactive dance event for children. The dancers will be in costume and they will be surrounded by Festival balloons. This year's Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival, EdinburghÕs international performing arts Festival for children and young people, runs in Edinburgh from Monday 10 May - Sunday 16 May. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is one of the Festival venues. There are over a hundred performances for children and young people in Edinburgh during the Festival. We Dance, wee groove is a fun, interactive dance extravaganza for children aged 0-4 and their grown-ups. It is presented by stillmotion/Starcatchers at the Lyceum Studio. The Festival programme is available at www.imaginate.org.uk Festival tickets are on sale from the Traverse Box Office: 0131 228 1404 Picture © Andy Buchanan 2010 10/5/10
Helios Theater and Theatre Jeune - Woodbeat
Frozen Charlotte - Sense
Florschutz and Dohnert - Rawums
Entant-Donne - Chit-Chat
Ensemble Theatre Mummpitz - Brave Joan Woodsword
De Stilte - Madcap
Catherine Wheels - Pondlife McGurk
Stillmotion - We Dance, wee groove
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