Hidden City launch

The Hidden City Festival is supported by The Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, Plymouth City Council and Real Ideas Organisation and has also been helped with in-kind support from Urban Splash. The Buildings to be highlighted as part of The Hidden City Festival are: 

MAYFLOWER SAILING CLUB

A co-commission with the Drum/Theatre Royal will explore the history of this often over-looked Grade II listed building in the heart of Plymouth's waterfront, which saw over half a million emigrants leave Plymouth's shores in the mid 1800’s from Phoenix Warf and the Elphinstone Emigration depot. For this hidden bit of Plymouth’s history, writers Shiona Morton and Bill Wroath will use the historic diaries of those who made these epic journeys across the sea as their starting point, creating a unique performance experience exploring the forces that compel people to leave their homeland. 

DEVONPORT GUILDHALL

Designed by the architect John Foulston in 1821 and part of a plan that included an Egyptian house, a Hindu temple and a commemorative column to celebrate and promote the new town, the Guildhall was once the civic heart of Devonport. In its current position amongst the demolished remains of Ker Street it’s a tangible memory of prosperous times presiding over the areas regeneration. New writers, choreographers and artists come together to create a site-inspired work. 

CATHERINE STREET

This street is a hidden gem, tucked away behind Royal Parade where the remains of old almshouses, workhouses, orphans aid and early health care provision jostle with a cluster of faith houses including the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the English speaking world. Nationally renowned writer Peter Oswald and composer Hugh Nankivell will be inviting audiences to take an extraordinary journey down Catherine Street, a pilgrimage through time, walking through walls that are no longer there. A theatre piece with a difference, full of music and ritual, piecing together the traces of past, present and future in a scrambled city!

ROYAL WILLIAM YARD

Following 150 years as a no-go area while in the hands of the Royal Navy, The Royal William Yard in Plymouth now has a brand new role to play; a leader in the regeneration of the city's waterfront. Developed by Urban Splash and recognised by English Heritage as one of the 30 best development schemes in the UK, the 18 acre peninsula is now open and thriving. This will provide the location for our festival headquarters including our exhibition, workshops, a writer’s room, lectures and drop-in sessions. 

Other venues for the festival include Ker Street Social Club. Silver Crest Ferry, Plymouth Gin Distillery, Roland Levinsky Building, The Barbican Theatre and The Treasury.

The Festival runs from 29 September to 5 October 2008.

Single session tickets can be purchased via the website, and also from The Theatre Royal Box Office on    01752 267 222. For the full programme, descriptions of each event and further details see www.hiddencityfestival.org.uk