Interview: Matthew Austin and Kate Yedigaroff

Mayfest, Bristol’s annual smorgasbord of adventurous theatre, returns this month: and it’s looking as eclectic and unclassifiable and, frankly, exciting as ever. We caught up with the festival’s co-founders and co-artistic directors Matthew Austin and Kate Yedigaroff as they gear up for Mayfest’s fourteenth (!) incarnation.

So, what are you especially excited about bringing to Bristol this year?
Matthew: We’re very excited about presenting the UK Premiere of Chekhov’s First Play by the Irish company Dead Centre. This show is unlike anything else being presented or made in Bristol, or indeed the country. They have been unable to find a London date for the show, so it’s coming to us, direct from Berlin and prior to a major international tour. It’s an extraordinary version of Platonov, Chekhov’s apparently ‘unstageable’ first play, reduced from five hours to one and featuring a few surprises.

Then there’s Selina Thompson’s salt., commissioned by us and Theatre Bristol, which traces Selina’s journey from the UK to Jamaica, via Ghana. Oh, and the return of Of Riders & Running Horses which, if you missed it last year, you HAVE TO SEE this year.

Any themes and/or styles coming through particularly strongly this year?
Kate: We don’t have an overt theme this year. But we notice, as ever, tendencies in the programme. A fair few shows look at stories or perspectives that perhaps we don’t often hear about – that can sometimes be ‘marginalised’ as experiences. What else – there’s a healthy scattering of dance, there’s some very funny stuff going on at the Wardrobe, and a gang of projects made in collaboration with young people which we’re really excited about.

Tell us about this year’s Mayfest Radio. What, when, why?
K: Our radio station this year is very, very exciting. We’re broadcasting 24/7 with interviews, features, art works, nonsense, music, big chats and much, much more. Our radio station is all about extending the reach of what we do – both so that people who are not accessing the live stuff can be a part of it, and also to really deepen the experience for those who are in the room. We’ve a bit of a coup this year too. A big ol’ interview. I can’t say any more….

Any venues you’re particularly excited to welcome on board this year?
M: The big change this year is that The Blind Tiger (our late night open-mic cabaret bar) is moving to the Old Market Assembly, which we’re very excited about. And it’s great to be presenting a top-notch programme at the new Wardrobe Theatre. It’s also great to be back at Arnolfini after a year away, and to present Blind Cinema at Watershed. But it’s the smaller quirky venues that are the most fun – this year we have shows on a ferry, on Brandon Hill and at SPACE, The Island’s new space on Old Market.

Have your own tastes in performance changed over Mayfest’s 13 years? Or is the baseline the same: adventurous, playful performance?
K: On the one hand yes, our tastes change all the time, shifting in response to the different things we see and the wonderful artists we meet. What feels meaningful, important, exciting and provocative in theatre for us keeps being affected by both personal and political circumstances.
But yes, the baseline is consistent – ‘adventurous and playful’ remains important. We are passionate about projects and artists that tread new ground and tell good stories with skill and integrity.
We don’t find words like ‘physical’ or ‘visual’ useful anymore: more and more we are interested in exploring experience, the connection between the ‘show’ and the audience’s experience of that. What is it that makes something feel really live and completely unique to that moment in that space with those people?

Mayfest 2016 May 12-22, various venues. For more info and to book tickets, visit mayfestbristol.co.uk/mayfest2016 or visit our day-by-day theatre listings

Pictured top: The Castle Builder. Pic: Jack Offord