Amplified @ Daring Pairings

A band playing a concept album. Some poets spitting rhymes. A story about birth, death and everything in between. nabokov mixes an acclaimed playwright with musicians and poets to create a multi-genre theatrical mash-up.

We’ve been invited by Hampstead Theatre to create two brand new pieces of work for their Daring Pairings Festival, which we’re performing on Monday 2nd November at 9:30pm.

Hampstead challenged us to pair a playwright with artists from other disciplines, and we’ve got some awesome head-to-heads for you. Our writer-in-residence Joel Horwood is penning two scripts, one in collaboration with composer Arthur Darvill (Been So Long), and another with Kate Tempest, Dockers MC and [verb]swish – three of the best spoken word artists around.

We’re calling the night Amplified. It’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen.

nabokov presents
AMPLIFIED
Written by Joel Horwood with Arthur Darvill, Kate Tempest, Dockers MC and [verb]swish
Starring Lousie Calf, Lachlan Chapman, Richard Corgan, Pieter Lawman, Daniel Rigby & Beverly Rudd
Monday 2 November // 9:30pm
Hampstead Theatre - Daring Pairings Festival // Eton Avenue // Swiss Cottage // NW3 3EU
Tickets £10 // Box Office: 020 7722 9301 // boxoffice@hampsteadtheatre.com

Book online here

Kate Tempest at The nabokov Arts Club:

Dockers MC at The nabokov Arts Club:

An open letter from the Artistic Directors and Executive Director

Hello everyone,

We’ve got some exciting news – for us and for nabokov – which we wanted to share with you personally.

We started nabokov in 2001 when we were students aged 19, 20 and 21, and it has always been a young company intent on producing the most incendiary new work by the most exciting young artists for mostly young audiences. Nine years on, we're hovering around 30, and we have decided it is time for us to pass on the baton to someone else to continue and expand that mission, and for us to move on to a new challenge.

And so we are delighted to announce the appointment of Joe Murphy as the new Artistic Director of nabokov. At 24-years-old Joe is one of the most talented young directors in the UK. Joe’s passion for new work, his vision, his tenacity and his youth make him the perfect person to drive the company forward over the next few years. We are very excited to be passing the nabokov torch to someone who we know will take the company to the next level, and in exciting new directions.

All three of us will remain involved with nabokov at Board level, and of course we’ll be in the audience at every nabokov event. Ric will remain in his position as Executive Director for the foreseeable future.

James and George will be moving to Paines Plough, where we are honoured and thrilled to have been appointed joint Artistic Directors. Paines Plough is a company we have greatly admired for many years and which has been a huge inspiration to us throughout our careers. We start our new positions on 1 February 2010 and we are relishing the opportunity to build on the company’s illustrious 35 year history and the incredible work of outgoing Artistic Director Roxanna Silbert to present the highest quality work to the highest number of people across the country and internationally, and cement Paines Plough’s reputation as the UK’s national theatre of new plays.

We are hugely proud of nabokov’s achievements over the past nine years. The company has premiered new work by more than 60 playwrights, 30 directors, 80 other artists and practitioners and several hundred actors. Our work has been seen across the UK and internationally; in the West End, in a toilet in Sheffield, off-Broadway and in a field in Suffolk. In 2008, more than 10,000 people saw a piece of work by nabokov.

For this, we want to thank all the amazing artists we have been privileged to work with. Their brilliance and passion has produced this thrilling work. We also want to thank all the venues we have worked at, the producers and supporters who have made the work possible, and Arts Council England, East for their continued and invaluable support.

Most importantly, we want to thank you. Whether you’ve been to one nabokov event or 100, we’ve always made work for our audience, and we are so grateful for the loyal and effusive support we have received over the years from everyone who has turned up to see our shows and events.

We very much hope you will continue to support nabokov as the company enters an exciting new phase under Joe’s directorship. This is just the beginning. And we hope you will continue to follow our work with Paines Plough.
 
We’ve had the time of our life. Thank you.

James, George & Ric

Introducing Joe Murphy

Here he is. The new Artistic Director of nabokov. We're thrilled to welcome him to the company.

Joe most recently worked with us as assistant director on 2ND MAY 1997. He directed Jack Thorne, James Graham, Joel Horwood and Penelope Skinner's plays in response to the show, which starred Sally Phillips and John Heffernan.

Joe's other directing credits include: Service, Building Site (Arcola/Miniaturists); After, Come on Over (Tristan Bates); The Things That Never Grew in the Garden (Hampstead Start Night); Normal (Cockpit); Julius Caesar, Esme-Tales (Edinburgh Fringe); South Pacific (Northcott).
 
As Assistant Director his credits include: The Priory (The Royal Court); 2nd May 1997 (The Bush); Fixer (High Tide Festival); Purgatory (Arcola); Girls and Dolls (Old Red Lion); He Said... (The Bush).
 
Joe has a BA(hons) in Drama from Exeter Univeristy, and a PG Dip in Theatre Directing from Mountview Academy of Performing Arts. He was a finalist for the JMK Young Director's Award 2009.

Joe's a big fella with ginger hair. You can't miss him. So do say hello at the Arts Club. He's going to do great things.

Thank you Arts Clubbers

Oh what a night! Our heads are just about clearing...

Huge thanks to everyone who came along on Saturday night. We hope you had a ball. We certainly did.

Massive thanks also to all the incredible artists who produced such unforgettable work, and the 50 or so amazing people who worked so hard before, during and after the event to make it happen.

The next nabokov Arts Club will be in March 2010. We're fairly quivering with expectation already.

Meantime, pop back to the blog in the next few days as we'll be posting photos, videos and various other reminders of the hedonistic merriment that was The nabokov Arts Club.

It's coming... The nabokov Arts Club

 

Yet more additions to the Arts Club line-up

As if the line-up wasn't already lip-licking enough, we've added a whole lot more stuff to the bill for the undisputed heavyweight of artistic happenings anywhere, ever.

We've got a very special live set from Molotov Jukebox! We've got one of the UK's most astounding close-up magicians! We've got DJ Fish spinning tunes till the early hours! We've got a confessional booth! We're joining 350.org in climate change action! We're welcoming Amnesty International's Protect The Human Campaign! We've got guest cider straight from the barrel! We've got the jacket potato man from heaven! We've got an extra hour when the clocks go back! Here's the full, phenomenal line-up:

Theatre
WHEN CHERYL WAS BRASSIC by Leo Richardson
nabokov presents our side-splittingly filthy Latitude Festival hit...Without a tenner to her name, Cheryl is facing a weekend of tedium unless she can find some cost-effective fun. Fortunately, her mate has just the tonic. Under the tutelage of lascivious lesbian Shaniqua, Cheryl attempts to seduce her disinterested boyfriend Dean with a Britney Spears dance routine, a bottle of champagne and some carefully applied Nutella.

Physical Theatre
SHOWTIME by Tangled Feet
A brand new spectacular from one of the most innovative and exciting physical theatre companies in the UK. Tangled Feet aims to create theatre that captures an audience in a total experience and that stimulates imaginations. The Stage describes them as: "Probably the most accessible and original physical theatre company working in the UK today… A must see". For the Arts Club we've commissioned a brand new piece from the company that will leave you awestruck.

Comedy
ED GAMBLE
We saw rising star Ed in Edinburgh as part of The Comedy Zone and had to be peeled off the floor at the end of what was possibly the best 20 minute set we've ever seen. Ed has been a finalist in the Revels Student Comedy Awards (2007) and The Laughing Horse Big, Big, Big New Act Competition (2007). He is co writer and host of the Chortle sponsored ‘Peacock and Gamble Podcast’. This guy is going to be a huge star, so catch him live at The nabokov Arts Club before he's live at the Apollo.

Poetry
JOSHUA IDEHEN
A mesmerising wordsmith who we saw wowing crowds at Latitude and Camp Bestival. He has performed all over the UK at events such as Onetaste, Poetry N Motion, The Cellar, Shortfuse and the John Betjeman Festival in Cornwall. Joshua is co-founder of the collective known as A Poem Inbetween People, the host and organiser of the spoken word event PoeJazzi, and a member of funk band Benin City. We're super excited to welcome him to The Arts Club stage.

Live Set
CLOCK OPERA
The Guardian dewscribes them as "Aled Jones singing with Autechre," and says "We'd sign them if we had a label". We'd sign them too, but for now we'll settle for welcoming them to The Arts Club. Producer/songwriter Guy Connelly and his band make intoxicating chop-pop symphonies - innovative sample-songs that break Philip Glass with blunt instruments found in a skip. They're going to rock the joint. Check them out on Myspace and bring your ears.

Close-up Magician
DAVID SEXTON
Ever since he realised he was not very good at football, David has been practising his unique style of close up magic and has built up a national reputation over the last eight years. Mixing magic, mis-direction and mind reading, David will make you believe the impossible is possible. Prepare to be truly wowed.

Live Set
MOLOTOV JUKEBOX
One of the nation's most exciting new bands spent the summer spreading their contagious “BANG” sound throughout the festivals of Britain and Ireland, so the chances are you're already infected with their unique gypsy power dance funk. If you know what you are in for: bring your friends. If you don’t, brace yourself. When they play, you dance.

Your host and compere
LUKE WRIGHT
Described by The Observer as "The best young performance poet around," Luke is a 4Talent Award winner, founder of Aisle16 and regular on TV and Radio. Since 2006 he’s launched his own curve-ball bid to become Poet Laureate, programmed and hosted Latitude’s poetry arena (the largest poetry event in Europe) and has become the newest poet-in-residence on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live. We're thrilled to welcome him back to the Arts Club to marshall proceedings and treat us to a few lyrics.

Live Dancing Tunes
THE CORRESPONDENTS
If you’ve never danced to The Correspondents, you’ve never danced. The star attractions of Arts Clubs 1 & 3 are back by phenomenal demand to whip you late night revellers into a delirious frenzy with their sensational live set. DJ Chuckles and Mr Bruce will have the warehouse shuddering with their 21st century revamps of the Big Band sound of the 20s and 30s. Ask anyone who's seen them before and they'll say - don't miss.

A unique one-on-one experience
ICONFESS
Step through the velvet curtains and get ready to hear the real life confessions of a stranger. You might find yourself revealing your innermost secrets in return.

DJ
MR FISH
Mr Fish will have The Arts Club leaping to the freshest cuts ranging from funk to wonky to scabba. Let the waves commence.

What more could you want from one night? Tickets are £15 if you book online in advance, with any remaining £20 on the door. They're going fast so book now!

It's a kinda magic

Hey presto, look who we've added to the Arts Club line-up.

David Sexton is one of the finest close-up magicians in the country, performing feats of wonder that will leave you awestruck.

Ever since he realised he was not very good at football, David has been practising his unique style of close up magic and has built up a national reputation. Mixing magic, mis-direction and mind reading, David wandering around the Arts Club making you believe the impossible is possible. Prepare to be truly wowed.

Protect The Human at The Arts Club

We're welcoming our friends from Amnesty International to The Arts Club on Saturday with their I Protect The Human campaign.

The campaign simply asks people at festivals, gigs and other events to have their photo taken with the Protect The Human sign as a show of support for human rights.

Amnesty International is a movement of ordinary people from across the world standing up for human rights. Our purpose is to protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied.

By having your photo taken as part of  I Protect the Human, in support of our Equality for Women in Iran campaign, you are showing that you are standing up for human rights, and moreover, that this can be done wherever you are. It is our call to action. It shows we celebrate humanity and have the determination to protect it.

So dress to impress, and please take part! Check out more photos here.

 

350 International Day of Climate Action

The Arts Club will be part of the biggest ever day of climate change activism on Saturday, with our crowd joining tens of thousands of people in over 150 countries urging world leaders to take steps to reduce carbon emissions.

Saturday 24th sees a worldwide wave of extraordinary events across nearly every country, from the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef to the summit of Mount Everest.

At each event a photo centred around the number 350 will be taken (350 is the parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere that scientists say is the safe limit – it’s currently 387ppm). The photos from around the world will be delivered to waiting reporters and broadcast to the world’s media on giant screens in New York’s Times Square.

Within the solar-powered Village Underground, we'll have a bicycle-powered art installation showcasing climate change photography and we'll be inviting people to make a huge banner to promote the number 350.

The finished item, a piece of art produced and owned by those who participate, will then be photographed on the roof of the venue overlooking the City - with the photographs uploaded to 350.org to join the pressure on the Copenhagen treaty.For more information visit 350.org and check out our action on the 350 map.

We want to say a huge thanks to our friends at Paintworks who have sponsored our Arts Club 350 action by donating materials for our banner. Thank you!

Paintworks Ltd., 99-101 Kingsland Rd., London E2 8AG UK
tel +44 (0)20 7729 7451 fax +44 (0)20 7739 0539
Shop Open: Monday to Saturday 9:30am to 5:30pm (6.30pm Friday)

 

2ND MAY 1997 hits the road

The van is pretty tightly packed with the 2ND MAY 1997 set...

Production Manager Dave Agnew and Assistant Producer Marlaina Darmody admire their tetris-like handiwork...

...and the matress fits perfectly between the van and the ramp.

And we're off!