Words by Ed King / Production pics by Andy Moore – Highly Sprung
On Friday, 20 May, Greenwood Academy will host the launch of The Festival of Flying – an ongoing project with local residents, Active Arts, and Highly Sprung Physical Theatre.
Free to attend, members of the public should get to Greenwood Academy on Farnborough Road for 4pm – to see a special performance of CastAway, Highly Sprung’s renowned outdoor aerial theatre show.
Suitable for people of all ages, the event will finish by 5pm.
A spectacular outdoor production, using a specially designed ‘gyroscopic flying machine’, CastAway explores the impact of today’s throwaway society on our waterway – in an innovative and fresh approach to aerial theatre with parts of the performance happening 26ft above the audience.
CastAway’s all female cast takes you through an underwater world where performers dive, twist, and float, in a narrative inspired by the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – a floating island of everlasting plastic that has now grown to 6½ times the size of the UK.
The free performance of CastAway, to be held at Greenwood Academy at 4pm on Friday, 20 May, will mark the official launch The Festival of Flying,
Organisers hope to ‘inspire the next generation of innovative engineers’ through special workshops and the outdoor ariel theatre show.
For more on CastAway check out the trailer from Highly Sprung Physical Theatre below.
Exploring the industrial, regeneration and green future of Castle Vale, The Festival of Flying will work with Castel Vale residents and the local community to produce a week long fusion of music, aerial, and mass performance this September.
Led by Active Arts, The Festival of Flying will champion ‘the creativity, energy, and passion of communities in Castle Vale,’ with organisers of the programme working with local communities over the coming months to ‘produce a unique event, celebrating local history, heritage, and innovation’.
Presented as part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival, The Festival of Flying is a Creative City Project generously supported by Birmingham City Council.
Artistic Director, Sarah Worth, said: “The Festival of Flying will be working with young people to inspire them to find new ways to express untold stories. We are proud to realise it in Castle Vale and to be part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival.”
CastAway – Highly Spring Performance
For more on Active Arts Castle Vale visit www.activearts.wordpress.com