Hippodrome festival showcases new work from Birmingham-based artists

Vibrant performances, workshops and artistic collaborations were brought to Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre’s stage as part of Origins Festival.

Curated by Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Work & Artist Development department, the week-long programme showcased new work from eight Birmingham-based artists who were part of the Hippodrome’s 18-month Origins residency programme.

Across the week, audiences experienced a wide mix of theatre, presented on a pay what you can basis, with all proceeds reinvested into supporting the Hippodrome’s development of new work.

Origins Festival also featured free workshops and discussions from leading organisations, including In Good Company and Paines Plough, alongside a scratch night where artists shared works-in-progress.

Creative director Corey Campbell and director, dramaturg and writer Daniel Bailey also led hands-on workshops.

The performance programme kicked-off with Grace Barrington’s Money for Nothing which explored the struggles of a working men’s club in Yardley during early-2010s, and Amerah Saleh’s Untitled which followed Layla, who is trying to write a play about her mother’s passing and perfectly express her grief and joy, without interference from her three aunties.

, Nathan Sebastian Lafayette presented As Poetic as it Sounds, a dance-theatre piece exploring what it means to be an artist, from the comic to the infuriating, alongside Louis Wharton’s  Hurts So Good which examined queer legacy and ethical dilemmas through research into Operation Spanner.

Zakariye’s Pretend Like It's Calm offered a poetic exploration of grief, family and unlikely friendships.

The festival came to a close with Elizabeth O'Connor’s Earth Secrets which followed the dispute of two neighbouring families over a bordering fence, a rose bush, and a lost dog, all while birds fall out of the sky.

Sophia Griffin, head of new work & artist development at Birmingham Hippodrome, said: “Our goal with Origins Festival was simple: we wanted to champion new work in Birmingham by creating opportunities for artists to take risks and experiment, but also bring people together to celebrate the city’s creative community.

“We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved, from the incredibly talented artists and facilitators to our engaging audience members who joined us for a performance, took part in a workshop or brought ideas to the scratch night – we couldn’t have done it without your support.”