Shortly before the beginning of the annual theatre, comedy, dance, spoken word, and music festival, OFFBEAT we got the chance to speak to spokespeople from each event to get an insight into the essence of what OFFBEAT is all about. Here’s what they had to say…
TARTMASTER, The Cabaret Gameshow: “We’re going to take over Oxford and make it as queer as possible.”
AN OPEN COMMUNITY READING BY THE MARSTON PLAYERS OF 1978’S THE BUTTERWORTHS ARE COMING TO SUPPER ORIGINALLY STARRING TV’S PATRICIA ROUTLEDGE:. “It is a zoom comedy thriller for 20 mins where you, the audience member are there witnessing everything that is happening around you.”
COLOUR ME RAINBOW: “We’re doing a live show and it will be live streamed as well. We have 8 dancers including myself and we have a number of small pieces which we are doing so it’s like a collage. Each one touches on a different aspect of colour and the connection to human consciousness.”
THIS TATTY OLD HEART:“What is wonderful about children I think is what’s frustrating about them, their playfulness and rebelliousness and how you help them stay kids through difficult times.”
THE GIFT: “It’s a very uplifting piece. As the person who is not the writer who is directing it, one of the things I found so beautiful about it is even though it does engage with these very melancholy themes it’s a fun uplifting little piece because the way the gift happens is so surprising.”
AIDY THE AWESOME: “It’s about empowering young girls and having women as the main characters in theatre. It’s also about empowering grannies as well as you don’t normally see them centre stage.”
INA AMA: “The piece itself comes from a Filipino concept which creates a beautiful image that we can all be together, we are all in the same boat and the moment we help each other it’s easier, so that is really the aim of the piece.”
