Presented by China Plate and Warwick Arts Centre

First Bite Festival 2019

Three days of eclectic extracts and ideas from some of the region’s most exciting theatre makers.

#FBBS19
A young woman performing with both of her hands out in front of her.
A young child sitting on a step not looking at the camera but something in their hands.

First Bite Festival 2019

The 2019 First Bite Festival took place across three venues – Midlands Arts Centre, Derby Theatre and Attenborough Arts Centre in March and April 2019 – and showcased work in progress material from seventeen regional theatre companies.

In 2019, we piloted a new project to enable young companies to perform new work alongside the First Bite artists as part of Take A Bite – a new China Plate initiative providing Midlands based 16-21 year olds with professional development opportunities within the UK arts scene.

For more information about Take A Bite, please contact our Engagement & Participation Producer Andrea Pieri Gonzalez.

In partnership with Midlands Arts Centre, Attenborough Arts Centre and In Good Company. Supported by Derby Theatre and Camden People’s Theatre.

Photo © Ed Collier

Line Up

The 2019 First Bite commissioned companies were:

Georgie JonesIsh…

Georgie Jones is 26 and has finally cracked what it means to be a woman. Just kidding. She’s haphazardly stumbling through adulthood trying to figure out the things she should know by now. Things like what shape your eyebrows should be and how long heartbreak lasts and whether putting a tampon in can kill you. In this debut hour, Georgie sets spoken word, stand up and storytelling to a soundtrack of nostalgic 90’s bangers in celebration of the simultaneously grotesque and glorious experience that is womanhood.

B TeamSlow Violence

Slow Violence looks at climate change in a new light – as something violent. Confronting our disconnect between freak weather and melting ice caps and the way our lifestyles are set up, this show asks the important question – what will we do when the violence reaches closer to home?

Mika JohnsonBefore the Flagz

X has been longing to find their people, they have been searching for connection and belonging. Before The Flagz imagines a time before colonisation, before gender binaries existed and the British planted their flags on stolen land.

MIDLANDS ART CENTRE – 2 March 2019

Lucy C Hayward | Bordering on Chaos
BoysClub | Petticoat Council
Tilly Branson | Aunting
Enter Edem | Un dia
Open Theatre Company | Juke and Lake – A box of tricks
Laura Ryder & Co | Slow Violence
Carbon Theatre | When We Died
INFLUENCING MACHINE | The Future History of the British Isles
Maisarra Margubul | Hidden in Plain Sight
Sidney Stringer Academy* | The Silence Breakers

*Take A Bite company

DERBY THEATRE – 22 March 2019

Open Sky | The Disappearing Act
Georgie Jones | ish…
Rinkoo Barpaga | Chocolat
Quick Duck Theatre | Fashion Spies
Derby Theatre Theatre Makers* | Theatre Makers

*Take A Bite company

ATTENBOROUGH ARTS CENTRE – 5 April 2019

Fish House Theatre | Ruby and Cedar
Mika Johnson | SHUV IT
TCU | BAE – Put a Ring on It
Jane English | Plaisteach
Turkey and Cranberry Sauce* | More Than just a Number

*Take A Bite company

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First Bite/Bite Size

Bite Size and its sister festival First Bite support, commission and showcase new work from the Midlands, running across four public events. If you are 18-23 years old, check out our Take a Bite programme, which runs alongside First Bite to champion the work of young creatives.

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First Bite Festival 2019: Take a Bite

23rd April 2019

We caught up with Turkey & Cranberry Sauce, who performed their piece On This Day.

Written by Andrea