Student Workshop & Performance by Come you Spirits +Community

Join the 4 actors of acclaimed international touring theatre troupe Come you Spirits for a fun, active and supportive workshop full of drama games, becoming larger-than-life characters. Learn to create unforgettable performances full of dynamic energy with the knock-on effect…Confidence, Charisma and Connections for life. 

This workshop is in 3 parts. Please make sure you are available for ALL components:

1. Friday 15th September 4:00-5:30pm at The Haven Amphitheatre: First rehearsal, learning the fundamentals of performance, physicality and the performance essentials for working in open-air theatre

2. Friday 22nd September 4:00-5:30pm at The Haven Amphitheatre: Final dress rehearsal and costuming 

3. Saturday 23rd September at 9am for preparation for the show starting at 10am - 11:45am at The Haven Amphitheatre: Public performance alongside the professional cast

Limited places are available for this rare experience for students to learn from, and then perform with such celebrated, and award winning actors. Costumes will be provided for students but they will need to supply their own footwear. 

Students enrolled in the workshop will receive 1 complimentary adult ticket to watch the public performance. 

The Come you Spirits troupe have toured Australia and the UK with their productions and education workshops to wide-spread acclaim from theatre critics, academia, students, young people and dignitaries including a commendation in NSW Parliament. They have performed in Stonehenge, Esperance WA, the McLaren Vale region of SA, the Coal Loader tunnels in Waverton Sydney, the Chapel of Blue Mountains Grammar, the Southern Swan Tall Ship sailing Sydney Harbour, Queens Gardens Townsville QLD, Marvell Hall Gardens Byron Bay, the Brunswick Picture House in Brunswick Heads, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, the Willow Globe in UK, The Dell in the UK, a riverbank at St Albans regional NSW and an open field in Kangaroo Valley NSW. The troupe now offer an invaluable community engagement experience under the banner Come you Spirits +Community. 

“Come you Spirits will take you to a place just between the human and the ethereal, to demonstrate just how close we are through language and our connection to the natural world. Utterly indistinguishable from magic.” - Theatre Travels

"The moonlight performance was just magic. The costuming and acting were brilliant and the acoustics were extraordinary. The community can be very grateful to have such stunning cultural experiences.” - Commendation in NSW Parliament with a Community Recognition Statement by MP Tim James

"This is next-level experiential theatre. One of the best theatrical and outdoor adventure experiences you can possibly have in this or any other city." - City Hub

“⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Shakespeare but not as you know it...The troupe had done the work for us, so all we needed to do was show up. Nourishment for the eyes, ears, nose and tongue and offered a weight off the heart and kinship with your fellow human beings.” - Arts Hub

“Minimalized cast, delivers maximized SHAKESPEARE. Highly Recommended. Magnificently performed by 4 outstanding actors.” - Sydney Arts Guide

“The performers are wonderful storytellers, utilising the energy of the audience and environment to provide a connection to language and the powerful soundscape is designed to be a whole-body experience. I found the performances to be spiritual and engaging. I was impressed with the passion and energy of the performances and completely mesmerised by the experience.”- Stage Whispers

"Come You Spirits are a theatre company with a difference. Not only do they offer strong, sharp performances of Shakespeare’s works (in well-paced productions), but they also engage uniquely with the space around them, and offer audiences an experience designed to enhance their connection to nature and wellbeing. They are making innovative steps in ecological or environmental theatre, and their site-specific work is spectacular. They are also generous practitioners who were much valued participants at our recent ‘Ecological Shakespeare in Performance’ conference at James Cook University.” - Dr Claire Hansen, Lecturer in English at the Australian National University

 "Come You Spirits put the rhythms of Shakespeare's language in tune with the frequencies of nature and the elements, breathing new life into words and characters with which we have become too familiar. Enthralled by these performers in a production pared back to bare essentials, I found myself finding Shakespeare made new again as if by alchemy.” - Professor Laurie Johnson, QLD university, President, Australian and New Zealand Shakespeare Association

MORE ABOUT THE COMPANY:

The acclaimed company style amplifies the magic contained in Shakespeare's plays and celebrates the wonders and mysteries of the natural world reminding us that we all have superpowers. We draw on Ancient Wisdom from around the globe to support the storytelling and to connect the audience. 

The pace is fast, colourful, bursting with energy and physically dynamic with the story told in 1.5 hours by the troupe of 4 actors.

The soundscape used in all the shows has been originally composed by Brandon Read and is attuned to the natural frequencies of the body and of nature and is supported by a selection of Indian, Tibetan and African sound healing instruments played live. 

The four professional actors in the troupe are Charles Mayer, Jo Bloom, Sontaan Hopson and Ciarán O'Riordan and each hold a Working With Children Check and have many years experience working with children to bring out their very best.