Any tips on performing in rural England?

[Mark Cairns]

Hi,

Have just moved to rural England - southern Oxfordshire - from New Zealand. There seem to be a big number of town fairs and farmers markets going here, as San Tropez Pete notes in an earlier post.

I have been doing close-up and stand-up magic for a couple of years now, but am keen to have a go at doing street work, and have been working on a routine.

Any tips for someone new to both street work and to the UK as to how I might go about performing at some of these events? What are the rules about getting permission - if there are any, how do I find out what they are? Any thoughts on finding a pitch in this sort of environment?

Any thoughts or advice would be gratefully received!

Thanks
Mark

[Rex Boyd]

Don't worry too much about getting permision unless it is a spot that is regularly worked by other performers. In that situation you would want to not step on any toes as you might end up working there regularly.

As for pitches, there are dozens of towns in England that have pedestrian streets and lots of shoppers on a Saturday. They won't stay still for long so keep the show short. You might also try working the beer gardens of any nice old pubs that back on to a river especially on a sunny summer day.

You might try Cheltenham, Oxford, Swindon, Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol, Gloucester, Abingdon, Witney, etc, etc on down to any smaller places that get lots of tourists.
Don't forget Bath and Stratford. ( Yes I know about the ridiculous permit fee in Stratford. I suggest not paying it as a protest. )

Good Luck,

Rex Boyd
from West Oxfordshire

[Byron Bertram]

Has anybody ever worked that pedestrian street in Manchester? Or Edinburgh when the fringe isn't on? Also is there any pitches in Glasgow and Belfast?

[geno_uk]

I have worked in Manchester a few years ago. It was a while ago so I cant really remember the name of the square, but I think it was Kings Square out side the Royal Exchange. It was Ok, best around lunch time when you have workers traffic ... It was a bit raw if I remember. A few Jugglers from the UNI came along and just did what they want when they wanted..you know the kind of thing. It wasnt bad money wise tho ... No trouble from police at all thow .. hope this helps a bit and sorry to be so vauge, but It was a long time ago.

[Stu]

hey Byron (met you briefly last time you did Edinburgh),

Myself and Noel have been working manchester all last year: I heartily recommend St.Anne's Square outside one end of the Royal Exchange theatre. Noel's doing solos there at the minute. We tried Market Street, but it was horrific despite being way busier... I think shows are technically illegal in the city centre, but we never had any official problems. You might want to bring a hand-grenade for the occasional middle-class samba band, or roving group of frankly terrifying football supporters. Manchester is only an hour away from Chester, which is also a beautiful pitch and well worth a look.

Amazing Guy is working Glasgow at the moment - apparently do-able but i don't know how good...

Contact me or Noel on unknownstuntmen@hotmail.com if you want to know more. x

[Noel]

I am working Manchester even as you read this.

But don't listen to Stu. It's cold. It's unfriendly. The bit about samba drummers is true.

I hate the people of Manchester and they hate me.

This lends an odd and unfortunate atmosphere to my shows.

(I am, of course, joking. Manchester is a great pitch. Cold, but great.)

[Neil Brown]

Anyone know of any success stories of performers in Southampton? I'm at Uni here, and want to start street-performing on a regular basis? Any tips? Neil