Hoipolloi
Encyclopedia
Hoipolloi are a British touring theatre
company committed to creating new work for theatre that imaginatively engages their audience and makes them laugh. Their work includes ensemble
shows such as The Doubtful Guest and My Uncle Arly, and collaborations with Welsh artist Hugh Hughes, including the shows Floating
and Story of a Rabbit
.
, and initially worked with other performers they had met at the school. The Lecoq
approach to theatre remains a large influence on the company’s work.
Since 1994, Hoipolloi have created and toured 18 new shows.
by the company's core artistic team, led by Artistic Director Shôn Dale-Jones, including input from the performers, with improvisation
playing a large role in the creation of each show. Hoipolloi shows are often highly theatrical and humorous. Shôn Dale-Jones’ interest in nonsense literature is reflected in Hoipolloi’s last two ensemble shows, The Doubtful Guest, inspired by the book of the same name by Edward Gorey
, and My Uncle Arly, which was inspired by the work of Edward Lear
.
Past Hoipolloi productions
Hughes’ theatrical style is unusual, often involving flip-charts and power-point presentations, and sometimes resembling a lecture more than a play.. In 2010, the Barbican Centre commissioned Hugh and Hoipolloi to turn all three shows into a residency called The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes.
In September 2011, BBC Radio 4
will broadcast Floating
as an afternoon play
.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
company committed to creating new work for theatre that imaginatively engages their audience and makes them laugh. Their work includes ensemble
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
shows such as The Doubtful Guest and My Uncle Arly, and collaborations with Welsh artist Hugh Hughes, including the shows Floating
Floating (play)
Floating is the name of a stage production created and performed by "emerging Welsh performance artist" Hugh Hughes, in collaboration with British touring theatre company Hoipolloi....
and Story of a Rabbit
Story of a Rabbit
Story of a Rabbit is a stage production created and performed by "emerging artist" Hugh Hughes, in collaboration with British touring theatre company Hoipolloi.-Themes:In the production, Hughes discusses his father's death and the impact it had upon him...
.
History
The company was founded in 1994 by Shôn Dale-Jones (now Artistic Director) and Stefanie Müller (Associate Director). Dale-Jones and Müller met at the International Theatre School Jacques LecoqJacques Lecoq
Jacques Pierre Lecoq born in Paris, was a French actor, mime and acting instructor.He is most famous for his methods on physical theatre, movement and mime that he taught at the school he founded in Paris, L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq from 1956 until his death in...
, and initially worked with other performers they had met at the school. The Lecoq
Lecoq
* Jacques Lecoq* Monsieur Lecoq, fictional character* Maurice Lecoq* Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran* Henri Lecoq, French botanistSee also: Le Coq...
approach to theatre remains a large influence on the company’s work.
Since 1994, Hoipolloi have created and toured 18 new shows.
Productions
All Hoipolloi productions are devisedDevised theatre
Devised theatre is a form of theatre where the script originates not from a writer or writers, but from collaborative, usually improvisatory, work by a group of people...
by the company's core artistic team, led by Artistic Director Shôn Dale-Jones, including input from the performers, with improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
playing a large role in the creation of each show. Hoipolloi shows are often highly theatrical and humorous. Shôn Dale-Jones’ interest in nonsense literature is reflected in Hoipolloi’s last two ensemble shows, The Doubtful Guest, inspired by the book of the same name by Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
, and My Uncle Arly, which was inspired by the work of Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
.
Past Hoipolloi productions
- The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes (2010 onwards)
- Hugh Hughes in... 360 (2009 onwards)
- The Doubtful Guest (2008 - 2009)
- Story of a RabbitStory of a RabbitStory of a Rabbit is a stage production created and performed by "emerging artist" Hugh Hughes, in collaboration with British touring theatre company Hoipolloi.-Themes:In the production, Hughes discusses his father's death and the impact it had upon him...
(2007 onwards) - The Impostor (2006)
- FloatingFloating (play)Floating is the name of a stage production created and performed by "emerging Welsh performance artist" Hugh Hughes, in collaboration with British touring theatre company Hoipolloi....
(2005 onwards) - Ablaze! (2004)
- The Man Next Door (2003)
- My Uncle Arly (2002-2005, 2009)
- Marry Maria (2002)
- Sweet Bobabola (2000–2003)
- Living Like Victor (1999–2000)
- Dead on the Ground (1997)
- Backwash (1996)
- Honestly (1995–1999)
- The Breeze (1995)
- Amok (1994)
- The Naked King of the Morning (1994)
Hugh Hughes
Since 2005, Hoipolloi have collaborated with the emerging Welsh artist Hugh Hughes. Hughes’ shows Floating, Story of a Rabbit and Hugh Hughes in... 360 have brought Hoipolloi great success, each winning an award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Floating won a Total Theatre Award in 2006, Story of a Rabbit was awarded a Fringe First in 2007 and 360 received a Three Weeks Editors' Award in 2009.Hughes’ theatrical style is unusual, often involving flip-charts and power-point presentations, and sometimes resembling a lecture more than a play.. In 2010, the Barbican Centre commissioned Hugh and Hoipolloi to turn all three shows into a residency called The Wonderful World of Hugh Hughes.
In September 2011, BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
will broadcast Floating
Floating (play)
Floating is the name of a stage production created and performed by "emerging Welsh performance artist" Hugh Hughes, in collaboration with British touring theatre company Hoipolloi....
as an afternoon play
Afternoon Play
The Afternoon Play is a long-running drama programming strand, broadcast every weekday at 2.15pm on BBC Radio 4. Each play lasts for 45 minutes, and roughly 190 new Afternoon Plays are broadcast each year....
.