Exciting times in Leeds this weekend, as the hotly-anticipated Compass Festival of Live Art flashes and bursts its way onto the canvas of the city centre.
An orator reciting the words of both great statesmen and the general public from a platform at the Town Hall for twelve hours straight without so much as a break to visit the gents’? A domestic goddess baking cakes wholly inspired by the stories of others? A man and a woman recording and re-presenting images of the city from Leeds Bridge on the canvas of their very own bodies?
These and more make up the eclectic range of exhibits on show across town from Friday evening through Sunday.
As well as these free events which passers-by and committed culture vultures alike can enjoy are two ticketed shows: an intimate storytelling performance over dinner at the Playhouse, and a series of stories presented over six hours by the world-class company Forced Entertainment dressed as kings and queens at the Howard Assembly Rooms.
One lucky reader will even have the chance to go along to the Howard Assembly Rooms to witness ‘And on the thousandth night…’ – just comment below the name of the company producing the show, and we’ll draw one person at random to experience the show in its final flourishing glory.
But as well as sitting back and enjoying the ride, there are ways that anyone and everyone can take part in the weekend’s events. See Oliver Bray at the Leeds Town Hall Courtroom for his ‘Speechmaker’ exhibit, where he’ll be standing up and speaking for twelve hours without a break, delivering great speeches from history woven with contributions made by the people of Leeds. You can contribute a message of your own to Oliver’s rolling auto-cue by tweeting with the hashtag #speechmaker or emailing text to speechmaker@oliverbray.com.
Take a look at the festival map for more details and to find all that’s on offer, and see what whets your appetite. Compass will be tweeting throughout the weekend @compassliveart and producer Peter Reed will have more @producingpete
We’re looking forward to it.
