Strong Island

Theatre and Dance

Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers

Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers will be on tour in the UK in May 2013, with their full concert of thundering rhythms on huge taiko drums, mysterious masked choreography with inventive lighting, muscular synchronisation timed to perfection, post-apocalyptic imagery & infectious belly laugh humour – all in a spellbinding display of pure energy & sheer athleticism.

Performing in full costume and using an array of percussion instruments, gongs, bells, the bamboo flute and vocals, the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers are the UK’s first and only professional touring Taiko group and Europe’s most established performing company in this art-form.

2013 has already seen the group perform complete two tours of the UK, Middle East and Japan, and on Thursday 16th May it’s Southsea’s and the Kings Theatre’s turn!

Last year was an important year for the group; not only did they thrill a 40,000-strong audience at London’s Proms in the Park, they pushed musical boundaries collaborating with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra at the London Jazz Festival.

Originating from Japan, this energetic, physical and highly choreographed traditional art form has been developed by Mugenkyo’s own spectacular passionate style; fusing the traditional spirit with contemporary synchronised movement, dance and voice, providing music for the soul and ensuring that Taiko is universally appealing to every age and musical taste.

Tickets are £19.50 (£16.50 concessions) and they can be bought from the website HERE or by calling the Box Office on 02392 828282.

Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers 1

Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers 2

Behind the Scenes – An Exhibition of Work by Solent Camera Club at The Kings Theatre

On the last August Bank Holiday, the Solent Camera Club were given privileged access behind the scenes at the Kings Theatre in Albert Road and allowed to explore the theatre with their cameras in a way that allowed for the historic space to be documented in a new way. An exhibition of their work from that day can be seen in the theatre itself from Tuesday 12th February until Monday 25th February.

Patrons attending shows at the theatre will also get to enjoy this exhibition too. Programme permitting, open viewings are scheduled for Thursdays and Saturdays from 10:30am to 2pm and entry is free. Please check with the Box Office on 02392 828282 for availability.

Solent Camera Club is based within Portsmouth and is a growing group of people of all ages and abilities who have a passion for photography. The club have a variety of lectures and practical meetings plus competitions through the winter months and then organise weekly photography walks and visits in the summer. New members are made very welcome. Check the Solent Camera Club website for full details if you are interested in finding out about joining:

solentcameraclub.com

These photos are by Solent Camera Club member Duncan Allen.

Kings Theatre by Duncan Allen

Kings Theatre by Duncan Allen

Behind the Scenes Poster

Lil’ Most Wanted on Sky 1 Got To Dance

Most Wanted is a street dance organisation that was originally established back in 2007 by Carly-Ann Purcell (Dance Development offer at The University of Portsmouth). Most Wanted gives people of all ages and abilities the chance to get involved in street dance with drop in sessions through to teaching as well as the long running and hugely successful Most Wanted Dance Off school street dance content. Within Most Wanted there are different dance crews where dancers can audition and excel, these include Neptune Girls, Most Wanted, Ignite and Lil’ Most Wanted. Lil’ Most Wanted is where the young guns step up, with some serious talent on show.

Different Most Wanted crews have appeared on Sky 1′s Got to Dance and last night it was Lil’ Most Wanted on the stage in the dome and this year they had to get three stars to make it through. If you’re a fan of the show you’ll know that’s no easy task. Safe to say they smashed it and got a gold star from every judge. A huge congratulations to Lil’ Most Wanted and all the people and dancers at Most Wanted! See the backstage chat and preview clips below and click on the link below to find out more:

mostwanteddance.co.uk

Lil Most Wanted on Got to Dance

Lil Most Wanted on Sky1 Got To Dance Tomorrow!

This Sunday at 6pm Portsmouth’s Lil’ Most Wanted Street Dance Crew will be appearing on Sky 1’s Got To Dance tv show.

Back in August 2012 Lil’ Most Wanted (8-12 yrs) and Most Wanted Crew (14-17 yrs) auditioned for ‘Got To Dance’. Over 5000 dance acts went to the preliminary auditions in London, Greenwich. Only 500 acts were selected for televised ‘Dome Auditions’. Both Most Wanted Crews were successful!

Artistic Director Carly Ann describes the experience “September 2012 Most Wanted all travelled to London once again but this time Clapham Common. The crews had a long day of rehearsals and a backstage interviews before being walked over to the ‘The Dome”. Once mic’ed up and ready to go, they could see down the infamous ‘tunnel’ (the TV does not translate just how nerve wracking ‘the tunnel’ is) onto the stage and the audience. Both crews danced in front of ‘Got To Dance’ judges; Ashley Banjo (Diversity), Kimberly Wyatt (Pussy Cat Dolls) and Aston Merrygold (JLS).”

Watch this Sunday 6pm to see if Lil’ Most Wanted get three gold stars from the judges and get shortlisted to be in with a chance of winning £250,000! Keep an eye out for the older crew later on in the series.

For more info please visit the crews website, Twitter and Facebook.

Most Wanted

Most Wanted Dance Crew

Most Wanted Dance Auditions

Portsmouth dance crew Most Wanted are holding open auditions this Sunday (2nd December) for new members over the age of 12 to some of their crews including Beginners Crew: Invasion, Intermediate Crew: Ignite and Boys Crew: MWB. Beginners are invited to come with the prospect of training up as well as experienced street dancers. The auditions are being held at Portsmouth Dance Academy at St Peters Church in Southsea and will run from 1pm to 3pm.

Most Wanted have been busy recently with a performance at the Firework display celebrations at the start of the month, winning awards at a recent Street Dance Championships and also Little Most Wanted featuring on CBBC on Alesha’s Street Dance Stars. You can find out more at:

mostwanteddance.co.uk

Most Wanted Dance - Photo by Diana Goss
(Photo by Diana Goss)

Glasses Comedy Halloween Show

Portsmouth comedy group Glasses have a halloween show at The Fat Fox on the 21st of October, doors open at 7:30pm and the show kicks off at 8pm. Entrance fee is only £2 or only £1 if you come in halloween inspired fancy dress.

Glasses currently are: Sam Schafer, Richard Langdon, Luke Roberts, Matthew Lidierth and Teo Dumitriu and they use a mix of sketch, improv, nonsense and special guests to make their monthly comedy evenings in Portsmouth.

Find out more about Glasses at their Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/glassescomedy

Glasses Comedy

Bloom at The Stacey Centre, Copnor

Residents of Portsmouth are getting creative this month as they join professional actors on stage in a new production by Forest Forge Theatre Company, all about the English garden.

Forest Forge, a professional theatre company, based in Hampshire have commissioned playwright Dinos Aristidou to write Bloom, a new production to celebrate English life in the garden and the story of one family over 100 years. The story centres around Emily Langley, who has mysteriously inherited an English garden which is watched over by a guerilla gardener who doesn’t share her views on how it should look.
As you would expect from this innovative small-scale theatre company, the audience will be fully involved as they enter the venue to walk round the garden, engaging in the action including helping “build” the garden, take part in English folk dances and being immersed in the experience.

Writer Dinos Aristidou says: “Forest Forge is taking an original approach to theatre and I’m very happy to be part of what I think will be an exciting process of discovery and theatre-making.”

Director Kirstie Davis added: “It’s a promenade, interactive production with lots and lots of audience participation. We’ll be transforming small arts and community centres and holding strange events within communities to really encourage audiences to engage with this style of presentation not usually seen in rural areas. Audiences should keep a look out for garden gnomes and enormous plants coming to venues soon!”

The company is working with local community groups over the course of the project, with members helping to create parts of the set and performing songs and dance alongside the professional actors. The groups involved are as diverse as a zumba exercise class, a judo club, youth theatres knitting circles and even Portsmouth bicycle recycling centre.

Bloom wil be at The Stacey Centre, Copnor, from 4th – 6th October. Tickets are available here.


New Theatre Royal Heritage Open Days

The New Theatre Royal are offering a unique opportunity to see parts of the beautiful Grade 2* Listed Building with their upcoming heritage open days. See parts of the theatre the public do not usually get to see, learn all about the redevelopment project that will restore the section of the building that was burnt down in the 1970′s and create creative learning space and dressing rooms whilst still retaining the Victorian aesthetic of the building.

The open day tours will take place on Thu 6/Fri 7/Sat 8/Sun 9 September. Thu and Fri tours take place at 11am, whilst Sat and Sun tours take place at 11am and 1pm.

Limited space available, book in advance by contacting the Box Office on 023 9264 9000.

New Theatre Royal Heritage Open Days

Southsea’s Most Wanted on CBBC

Hopefully you saw our feature last month on local dance crew Most Wanted. The group are competing on CBBC’s show Alesha’s Street Dance Stars. The crew, made up of boys and girls aged between 10 to 12.

Here is what Teacher and choreographer Carly-Ann Purcell had to say, “I’m so proud of them all, they have worked incredibly hard and have such professional and mature attitudes for their age. I’m so happy that they have had this opportunity they thoroughly deserve it. They were a pleasure to teach.”

Most Wanted will appear on Alesha’s Street Dance Stars 2012 on CBBC today at 4.30pm. You can also check them out on the iPlayer and skipping forward 3 mins 5 seconds.

For more information go to the website or you can email Carly-Ann on carly2ann@hotmail.com. You can follow the crew on Twitter.

The New Theatre Royal

The New Theatre Royal rebuild gets closer with another exciting leap forward with substantial funding from two leading family Trusts and Foundations

The Monument Trust and the Foyle Foundation have both generously expressed their support for the New Theatre Royal’s rebuild and refurbishment by awarding substantial grants totalling £350,000.

“We are truly delighted to receive this funding from two of the country’s largest family trusts and foundations. Their support of the theatre’s vision and the impact and benefits the re-development will have on Portsmouth and the surrounding area recognises this as a project on a national scale”. Caroline Sharman, Director of New Theatre Royal

The theatre is currently in an unprecedented period of change and will emerge as a unique combination of a beautiful heritage building equipped with state of the art facilities.

Its re- development which includes a completely new Creative Learning Space, dedicated to the memory of Oscar winning writer, director and educationist Anthony Minghella, will be a really vibrant space where new work can be developed and will become a new regional centre for work based learning. It will also become a space for teaching offstage and heritage skills and a home where local talent can be nurtured. It will enable local amateur dramatic groups to produce and present new work, as well as act as a place for networking and developing creative businesses.

“As a family we know from experience what a difference a creative education can make, we believe that the theatre’s education and outreach work is not only essential, it’s vital if we are to inspire and encourage a new generation to be the very best they can. With the fantastic support from both the Monument Trust and the Foyle Foundation, we are a step nearer to completing this incredible journey, for without theirs and other funders’ support, the redevelopment of this iconic theatre could not be completed.”

To find out more about the venue and upcoming events you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Features

Southsea in an Instant, An Instant Photography Walk and Instant Exhibition

Strong Island & local artist When We Were Cows present ‘Southsea in an Instant’ an instant photography afternoon walk where anyone with a camera that uses Polaroid, Impossible Project or Fuji instant film are welcome to get involved. We will be exploring Southsea seafront from 1pm on 18th May with our instant photography cameras, starting off at The Bridge Tavern Pub at The Camber in Old Portsmouth. We’ll then make our way to The Hot Walls and then along the Millenium walk and then the Prom to South Parade Pier.

From the pier we’ll make our way to Albert Road and we’ll then be holding an instant, pop-up exhibition with the photos taken during the walk in Little Johnny Russells from 5pm to 7pm. We’ll then put the photos up on our upcoming exhibitions archive section of the Strong Island website soon after.

If you want to get involved simply pop along to The Bridge Tavern from around 12:30 to 1pm, the more the merrier and all that. Look forward to seeing you there!

Southsea in an Instant, An Instant Photography Walk and Instant Exhibition

Southsea in an Instant, An Instant Photography Walk and Instant Exhibition

Strong Island & local artist When We Were Cows present ‘Southsea in an Instant’ an instant photography afternoon walk where anyone with a camera that uses Polaroid, Impossible Project or Fuji instant film are welcome to get involved. We will be exploring Southsea seafront from 1pm on 18th May with our instant photography cameras, starting off at The Bridge Tavern Pub at The Camber in Old Portsmouth. We’ll then make our way to The Hot Walls and then along the Millenium walk and then the Prom to South Parade Pier.

From the pier we’ll make our way to Albert Road and we’ll then be holding an instant, pop-up exhibition with the photos taken during the walk in Little Johnny Russells from 5pm to 7pm. We’ll then put the photos up on our upcoming exhibitions archive section of the Strong Island website soon after.

If you want to get involved simply pop along to The Bridge Tavern from around 12:30 to 1pm, the more the merrier and all that. Look forward to seeing you there!

Southsea in an Instant, An Instant Photography Walk and Instant Exhibition

Strong Island Clothing Co X Portsmouth Supporters Trust T-Shirt Available for Pre-Order

As you are probably well aware from reading the news recently, the Portsmouth Supporters Trust succeeded in their bid to take control of Portsmouth FC making it the biggest community owned club in the UK. It is a long and hard fought victory by the fans that have endured years of bad fortune, bad news and bad performances and a couple of the SI crew have seen most of them! PST’s aim is to bring about responsible, democratic representation at Portsmouth Football Club and so help promote the highest standards of transparent governance, accountability and embed Portsmouth FC deeper into its community through greater communication and co-operation with its fans.

We contacted the PST back in November last year to put forward our idea of doing a Strong Island PFC edition T-shirt to raise money towards buying a share in the club. The PST warmly welcomed the idea and we are pleased to say we are now putting our plan into action.

Strong Island is keen to get behind the trust as are many others. We’re going to pledge £5 of every limited edition SI X PFC tee sold towards Strong Island buying a share of the football club, therefore financially helping PFC in it’s aim to become stable again and continue to be a hugely important aspect of the city.

The design itself is a re-imagining of the common elements from the iconic Portsmouth FC logo from the 1980s and the Strong Island logo, with two swords in place, each dated with the club’s FA Cup wins. The Strong Island Clothing Co. items are normally hand screened in East London but for this particular tee they are produced literally just down the road from Fratton Park and will be at a special price of £15 (plus P&P).

No matter if you are passionate about football or not, we hope this tee is a way of showing support for a club that is now a beacon to the rest of the country for a city and a community that strives to work together for the better.

To pre-order the t-shirt click on the link below. Tees will be back from the printers soon and we hope to have orders in the post by the end of the month, if not sooner.

Strong Island Clothing Co. X Portsmouth Supporters Trust T-Shirt

Anglepoise, Strong Island and The University of Portsmouth Present The Creating Balance Project

We are very proud to announce The Creating Balance Project, a new, collaborative project between Anglepoise, Strong Island & the University of Portsmouth to celebrate a design classic and local creativity in Portsmouth. The project aims to showcase the working studios and disciplines of artists and designers across the island and connect them to local photographers to capture, document and collaborate.

Anglepoise lamps have been given to each of the 10 participating artists/designers and the 10 photographers involved have used the lamps to light the photographs, give a sense of place and document the artist, where they work & how they create. During the collaboration sessions University of Portsmouth BSc TV and Broadcast students Massimo Marzullo and Jonas Jakunas have been documenting the project, producing short films for each collaboration.

Later this summer key images from each photographer will be printed and displayed with the films, lamps, photos and more in an exhibition in Portsmouth and one in London (TBA).

The collaborations are:

Andrew Whyte & Peter Clutterbuck
Matt Sills & Lorna Apps-Woodland
Paul Gonella & Tristan Savage
Russell Squires & Farkfk
Josh Knill & I Love Dust
Thor Haley & William Pounds
Rob Luckins & Roo + Barry Abrook
Cotton Candy & Neal Layton + Sadie Tierney
Matt Saxey & Deer Park Alpha
My Dog Sighs & Jack Daly

The project is progressing over the next couple of months and already two films are finished and many collaborations complete. Below are the completed collaboration films and we will be posting updates on The Creating Balance Project regularly here on Strong Island. To keep up to date with the project also please check the Creating Balance website where you can see loads of photos from behind the scenes of the collaborations.

creatingbalanceproject.tumblr.com

A huge thank you to Claire Sambrook, Simon at Anglepoise and everyone involved.

The Creating Balance Project

The Creating Balance Project (3)

The Creating Balance Project (4)

The Creating Balance Project (5)

The Creating Balance Project (1)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Spring 2013 Capsule Now Available

It’s been a while (apologies) but the Strong Island Clothing Co. spring 2013 capsule drop is now available and online in the Strong Island Shop Ahoy store! The drop includes some brand new Branded tee colourways, a new grey crew (highest quality, carefully selected and sourced) and a collection of accessories including new beanies, our seriously high quality Branded iPhone cases (4 & 5) from Etch and our hand crafted, leather coin pouch collaboration with Raw & Auburn.

To kick this capsule drop off right we visited the home of Portsmouth’s Eberhardt signwriters and neon sign specialists. Eberhardt are a true creative business gem of the city with a very long history and still produce hand crafted, carefully designed neon signs, a rare and special craft these days. Check the photos below and the behind the scenes edit too to see more. Photography principally by Jack Daly.

View the full lookbook HERE.

www.strongislandclothingco.com

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (1)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (1)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (2)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (3)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (4)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (5)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (6)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (7)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (8)

Strong Island Clothing Co. Collections - Spring 2013 - Eberhardt (9)

Opening Night of the My Dog Sighs Exhibition at The West Bank Gallery in London

Southsea and Portsmouth street artist (and Strong Island contributor) My Dog Sighs had the opening to his solo show in London last night and as expected, he killed it. ‘Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me’ opened at The West Bank Gallery and is home to not only the largest collection of My Dog Sighs’ work to date but also shows his work sparking off in to some new directions of creativity including the apples, collaborations with other artists and a room covered with paintings that can be cut out to reveal a painting underneath.

Word was that pre-opening sales had gone really, really well and there were people outside the gallery at 8am, ready and willing to wait the ten hours on the pavement to get their chance to have a look and buy some of My Dog’s work. Don’t take our word for it, below are the thoughts and opinions of the show by the people who experienced it and I think say all you might need to know…:

“I’ve been to several exhibition openings but none as been as warm as the one of MyDog. He was there happy to meet his fans and the staff was friendly, helpful and more than happy to introduce you to him. And about the art, what can I say; it’s truly sweet and inspiring. You have either the eyes that give an entire story in their gaze to the delightful stick men, all accompanied by simple but touching phrases”. – Dette Marhez

“I queued from 8 in the morning and throughout the day MDS popped out offering coffee and to talk to the brave hardy souls braving the temperatures. His whole manner on the run up and throughout the day and night is an example to any up and coming artist and artists in general. The gallery is a cracking space to show in and the work on show was of the highest order. MDS and the collabs were exhibited so well it was pleasure to wander around and warm up!” – Rob Pike

“The show promised big things and I was not disappointed. After an impressive 12 months from his first solo show at Pure Evil, I was looking forward to seeing how Can Man had progressed. There was not a bare wall in the gallery and the whole show felt like an art hunt with pieces hiding in every nook and cranny. With so many pieces to choose from MDS had taken his work to the next level and even managed to capture the innocent of a lost can on the street that you can take home and put on your wall. The hype is well deserved and things can only get better!” – Ryk Turner

“I loved it. It’s kind of like he’s brought life and beauty back to the discarded and neglected. Whilst other pieces capture solitude, loneliness and searching, leaving you topped up with that warm-glow of finally finding The One!” – Les Black

“Had a fantastic time. Just unbelievable what he’s managed to produce. Incredibly varied work. Totally stunning”. – Rick Christie.

The show is open to public until Sunday 31st March and there is also a bit of a special event tomorrow (Saturday) too. Gallery open daily 11am-7pm. Below are photos of last night’s opening by Strong Island homie Jack Daly.

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (2)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (4)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (5)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (6)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (9)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (10)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (11)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (12)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (3)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (16)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (17)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (18)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (20)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (22)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (23)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs, Photo by Jack Daly (24)

'Walk By, Ignore Me, Forget You Ever Saw Me' Exhibition by My Dog Sighs