Boat on the Water Press Release – Three Women on a Boat

Residents of Plymouth are invited to experience live dance, theatre and poetry onboard a locally moored boat.

The boat is called the ‘Panacea’ and the women performing on it are Devon based artists: performance poet Hannah Silva ‘one of the most ambitious and entertaining poets in the country’ (The Times) dancer Chloe Langford, known for her inventive and contortionist movements and Alice Tatton-Brown, the actor who will become the audience’s guide: ‘the boat stays still, but I’ll lead you on a journey’ she promises.

The Panacea is a 34ft yacht moored at the Mayflower marina in Plymouth. The performance will take place 10 times over two days, each time to an audience of just eight people.

Hannah Silva gives us a taste of the story: “The piece is about three sisters, the eldest can’t stop talking, the youngest can’t stop reciting poetry, and the one in the middle can’t stop dancing. They gather on the boat from their childhood, recently returned by the youngest sister, who is constantly travelling. ‘Panacea’ means cure, and that’s something all three could do with. Does the boat hold the secrets that will unite the sisters? And will they listen?”  

Each audience will be met at the marina's car park by Alice, playing the eldest sister, and led to the boat for the half-hour performance, which is being staged with support from Apples & Snakes and Dance in Devon, as part of the Dance-ing Devon festival 2009.

Hannah explains: “one of the exciting things about creating a site specific piece is that everything around us becomes part of the performance, the other boats, the shrouds flapping and the wind makes a ghostly sound - there are already stories in the environment, and it’s our job to bring them out and show them to an audience.

It is an intimate show and we’ll make the audience comfortable, they are our guests and we want to show them a unique experience, bringing together dance, theatre and poetry. We’ve already had fun exploring the space and the ways in which we can use it, so we can promise a few surprises!”

The performances will run during Friday 31st July and Saturday 1st August 2009 at Mayflower Marina, Stonehouse, Plymouth.  Tickets are free but need to be booked in advance, which can be done by contacting Hannah on info@boatonthewater.co.uk or 07777 649 509.

ENDS

Hannah Silva’s website: www.hannahsilva.co.uk

More information regarding Dance in Devon and the Dance-ing Devon Festival can be found at www.danceindevon.org.uk

For tickets or further info contact Hannah at info@boatonthewater.co.uk or 07777 649 509.

Performance times are as follows: Friday July 31st and Saturday August 1st

12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 18:00 and 20:00 each day

Mayflower Marina, Stonehouse, Plymouth