In the Spring of 2007, Nuffield Director (and sole programmer) Matt Fenton proposed not to programme anything for a year. This has resulted in a number of exciting new projects that raise interesting questions about programming, artistic taste and diversity.

Our Autumn '07 season was programmed by 12 invited artists including Tim Etchells, Lone Twin, Kazuko Hohki and Adrian Howells, and was a huge success with many shows selling out. Spring '08 has been programmed by a group of 7 locals: Jill Anderson, Janice Bradshaw, Cressida Graves, Anne Greenwood, Cliff Laine, Carol Ostermeyer and Franklyn Weber. They've done a fantastic job and we're really excited about the programme they have put together - see WHAT"S ON section.

28th July – 1st August presented by Nuffield Theatre Lancaster and taking place at Lanternhouse International, Ulverston.

"How can we pull apart and re-contextualise the tiny ways we make and unmake meaning while going about our daily lives?"

Cupola Bobber are Chicago based duo Stephen Fiehn and Tyler Myers. Currently International Artists’ Fellows at the Nuffield Theatre, Lancaster, the pair will be making their last trip as part of the Fellowship to run a summer school for artists from all disciplines.

Over the last nine years, Cupola Bobber have created work using a slow process of collaboration, research, and rehearsal. They mix basic materials with homespun engineering, bumbling wit, and a desire to make delicate work that surprises viewers with its detail, humour, and care. 


With an emphasis on non-linear collaborative performance, this summer school will explore devising strategies focused on generating dynamic intersections of meaningin the live presentation of text and image. Workshop activities will guide participants through ways to discover inspiration, and how to use that inspiration to define a co-equal performance with varied collaborators. At the beginning of the week, Cupola Bobber will instigate the participant’s generation of material through short devising exercises, group activities, research and performative assignments. The week will culminate with participants making, showing, and discussing their work.

The school is a 'residential' presented by Nuffield Theatre yet taking place at Lanternhouse International in Ulverston, the Lake District. Places are limited to 10, and everyone will be accommodated in double rooms on site (other arrangements can also be made – contact Alice Booth).

Price: £150 flat rate (plus just £30 per person to cover accommodation costs for the whole five days).

CB Summer School Application (0.45 MB)

5 NW based artists/companies - Levantes Dance, Neil Callaghan, Simon Bowes, Simone Kenyon and Christine Entwisle - will create new works in response to a set of rules set by Nuffield curators Matt Fenton and Alice Booth. The rules were given to the artists for the first time on 31st March 2008, and they have a month in which to respond to them in the form of a new piece of work. The results will be shown at the Nuff Said Festival on 26th April 2008.

The rules:

• Spend 24 hours awake in Blackpool

• Find/create a structure for your work that is new to you

• The body must be contained or bound

• Bring the outside in

This project is a collaboration between the Nuffield Theatre, Brighton-based organisation Rules and Regs, and Live Art North West. Please also see www.rulesandregs.org for more information on the scheme, or contact Nuffield Projects and Artist Support Officer, Alice Booth: alice@nuffieldtheatre.com

New Work Network (NWN) is a national, artist-led support organisation bringing together people working in live art, contemporary performance and interdisciplinary practice in England. Please see www.newworknetwork.org.uk for further information.

NWN, in partnership with Nuffield Theatre, has just awarded a 12-month bursary of £4000 to Peter Petralia, an artist based in the North West of England. The bursary will support him to enable/facilitate/connect other artists working in the new work sector.

The aim of the bursary is to create artist-led opportunities and activity that support and nurture artists and the new work arts community. The focus of this programme rests on the importance of creating space and structures for artists to come together to share ideas and work. It also aims to create connections between the artistic community and partnering venue/s and Higher Education institutes.

More information on the activity generated by this project will be posted soon.

The NWN Activator bursary scheme is a partnership project developed with Essex University/Lakeside Theatre, Colchester Arts Centre, Nuffield Theatre, Basement Arts Productions, South East and Chichester University. It is part of NWN’s Activator programme and financially supported by Arts Council England, Nuffield Theatre and Chichester University.

Nuffield New Works is a commissioning programme supporting the research, development and dissemination of new theatre and dance practice. Working with established companies with a national and international reputation, and a range of UK and international co-producers, the scheme enables artists to explore new collaborations or to experiment with new areas of practice. Most shows have toured extensively nationally and internationally, and several have been selected for British Council showcases.

Nuffield New Works include The World in Pictures (Forced Entertainment); Broken Chords (Vincent Dance Theatre); Alice Bell (Lone Twin); OAP (Ursula Martinez); Silence of the soul and 5-2-10 (Walker Dance Park Music); Incarnate (Marie-Gabrielle Rotie); Hotel Methuselah (imitating the dog); A Pastoral (Uninvited Guests); Making the Difference (Small Change); Relative (Niki McCretton and Kathy Hinde); Years, years (Deer Park); The Lastmaker (Goat Island). For more information, contact Matt Fenton on 01524 593431, matt@nuffieldtheatre.com

Practice Reflected provides an opportunity for artists to reflect formally on their practice, often for the first time in an academic/artistic context, and to invite responses from other practitioners, writers, critics and academics. The next Practice Reflected event is 'Goat Island: Lastness, raiding the archive and pedagogical practices' (29 Feb-2 March 2008). See WHAT'S ON section for details.

Events are open to the public, students, artists and academics, and take place alongside new performances supported or commissioned by the Nuffield Theatre. Events include artists’ letters, lecture demonstrations, happenings and performances as well as more traditional critical papers and discussions. Sited within Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts at Lancaster University, the Nuffield Theatre is ideally placed to facilitate these events, and draws on a wealth of research, practice and creative industry specialisms from across the University and nationally. Full details are available at www.cascpp.lancs.ac.uk. Recent events include:

Goat Island: Lastness, raiding the archive, and pedagogical practices in performance. In association with Dance4 (March 08)

I Can't Go on Like This: Approaches on Lone Twin and Related Practices (Feb 07)

Between You and Us: A Symposium with Uninvited Guests (Nov 06). Full papers available now from www.uninvited-guests.net and via downloadable word document

Middle, End, Beginning: Adventures in narrative in contemporary performance (Oct 06)

Cupola Bobber are the experimental theatre duo Tyler Myers and Stephen Fiehn. Based in Chicago, they are currently international artists in residence at the Nuffield Theatre. They have spent a year with us in three blocks, developing a new piece and extending their links with promoters across the UK and Europe. Their current show was a big hit in our Autumn 2007 season, and they showed work in progress material created during their Nuffield residency at the Goat Island event in March. Their last trip to Lancaster is for the Cupola Bobber summer school, from 28th July to 1st August. See above. For more info, contact alice@nuffieldtheatre.com

Making Space is the second in a series of Nuffield Theatre bursary schemes for artists based in the North West. The first, Making Money, led to the development of 5 new performance works.

The Nuffield recently challenged North West based artists to develop a project idea that would really take advantage of the Nuffield's large stage (400m2). Three projects were selected, and works in progress presentations took place in August and September 07: 'The Body Project' (Tara Brandel, Wendy Hesketh and Steve Lewis); 'Farewell' (Simon Bowes) and 'Sonic Nuffield' (Antti Sakari Saario).

Artists working in Live Art took part in a unique series of eclectic and unusual professional development projects during summer 07, instigated by the Live Art Development Agency:-

'UnKnown Terra-tories' - 12 artists interrogated their practice while walking in the Lake District, led by artists Neil Callaghan and Simone Kenyon. 'Live Art Campers!' - Country walks and sitting around the fire interspersed with professional development sessions led by artists FrenchMottershead. See LADA website for full details and information: www.thisisliveart.co.uk/prof_dev/diy/DIY4_allprojects.html

In Winter 2005 the Nuffield made 5 ‘Making Money’ bursaries to individual artists (from 57 applications) for the research and development of new work. We picked artists from Lancaster and the wider region. We picked a diverse range of projects that had clear objectives and inspiring ideas, from emerging and more established artists who wanted to work in new ways. Selected artists: Rachel Riggs (Preston); Sonia Hughes (Manchester); Krissi Musiol (Manchester); Christine Entwistle (Ulverston); Jenny McCabe (Lancaster). All presented the early stages of their work at Nuff Said II on February 18th 2006.

The Nuffield is committed to supporting the development of emergent practice, particularly with a view to bridging the gap between training and the profession. Support takes the form of time and space in the theatre, advice on all aspects of the work as appropriate, small commissioning fees, and a commitment to showcase the work produced. This led to a festival - Nuff Said - which in February 2005 presented a range of emerging work alongside discussions and presentations. This included shows from from Deer Park, Demonstrate, Small Change, Attic People, Wooden Bench and Yoram Mosenzon, as well as sessions from funding bodies, HE institutions and arts venues.

For more information, contact Alice Booth, Projects and Artist Support Officer on 01524 592994, alice@nuffieldtheatre.com

To celebrate their 60th anniversary, Arts Council England asked 9 artists to design bespoke travelcard wallets. The wallets were used to increase involvement in the arts debate - ACE's first-ever public value enquiry. The artists include Tim Etchells, Jeanette Winterson, Bernardine Evaristo, Ty, Michael Clark, Tracey Emin, Adam Sutherland (pictured), Jyll Bradley and Ante Schiffers.

To receive a free wallet, email info@nuffieldtheatre.com or Text 07810 082832 with the name of the artist and your name and address and we'll send you a wallet.

Artists Niki McCretton and Kathy Hinde worked with local grandparents and grandchildren over 9 months in 2005. This led to a site-specific theatre piece on Morecambe seafront. Featuring a Mobility Buggy Ballet, a Ghetto Blaster Symphony and a series of intimate performances, the work culminated in massive film projections on the facade of the Midland Hotel (soon to re-open after restoration by Urban Splash). The show explored the special relationships that skip a generation, uncovering a wealth of experiences, and an openness and honesty that was funny and moving.

Relative formed the research stage of a new professional multimedia show from Niki and Kathy, exploring the themes of working with the participants in Morecambe. The show toured extensivley in 2006, including a series of workshops with grandparents and grandchildren across the UK.