Taking Ground, 2006
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KEYWORDS

Part tour, part journey - location specific, live art/contemporary theatre performance


WHEN AND WHERE?

April, 2006 at the Cumberland Basin, Bristol Habour


TAKING GROUND

On an isolated swing bridge, underneath a flyover and surrounded by water, Taking Ground reflected on, two hundred years of travel and our obsessions with technical innovation and progression.


Moving from walking pace to the speed of Tele-Yoghurt pot-communication, Taking Ground examined how our lives have been affected by the acceleration of speed in transport and communication.


Each chapter of Taking Ground invited the audience on a journey though the Cumberland Basin and Brunel's swing bridge. Weaving together the facts and fictions of the site, with tales from far away lands, we created handmade communication devices, said our goodbyes to loved ones and celebrated with unknown strangers and passerby's.


Taking Ground was Polar Produce's second major site-specific collaboration in Bristol. Devised and performed by six, live art practitioners, it used text, movement, sound, and visuals to create a multi-layered experience that transformed this often forgotten site.


SUPPORT AND THANKS

Taking Ground was commissioned by Brunel 200 with supported from Creative Bristol, Heritage Lottery Fund, The National Lottery and The Arts Council of England and the Millennium Commission.