About Angel Exit

Formed in 2001 by graduates of the prestigious Ecole Lecoq, Angel Exit Theatre is a shifting ensemble of performers with a shared passion for new dynamic physical theatre, under the artistic direction of Tamsin Fessey and Lynne Forbes.

To date Angel Exit have devised, produced and performed five original pieces of theatre, all critically acclaimed. They have very different stories, but what the shows have in common is a strong emphasis on storytelling through physical ensemble theatre, using the European traditions of clown, chorus, melodrama and buffoonery.

“Angel Exit… is weaving stories with more than
a little theatrical magic… There is so much vivid theatricality and inventiveness at work here that I am already looking forward to its next show”
(Lyn Gardner, The Guardian)

The other key aspect of Angel Exit’s work is its international emphasis. With past members of the company hailing from Greece, Brazil, Spain, France, Nigeria and Denmark, Angel Exit also has a sister company working in the United States under the direction of Acushla Bastible. The company is constantly searching for a visual language that can transcend language barriers.

The company was previously based in Dublin, but is now based in Dorset in South West England, with strong connections to Dorchester Arts Centre, The Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre, Taunton, and Bridport Arts Centre.

Angel Exit Theatre News

New date added to The Secret Garden Tour!

A new date has just been added to our tour. Come along to the lovely New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth on the 22nd March at 7.30pm. You can book tickets online: here.

The Secret Garden R&D and Rehearsals

We carried out some research and development on The Secret Garden at Dorchester Arts in April and we got very excited about the characters, themes and ideas in the book and we can't wait to start work properly on the show. We then did another week at Bridport Arts Centre in July with both Polly Beestone (our puppetry consultant and designer) and Phil Porter (our dramaturg and writing consultant) and before that some R&D at the Young Vic in London. We had our first read-through of the script (which Tamsin and Lynne have been writing with Phil's advise) at the end of November. We are really excited about starting rehearsals at Dorchester Arts and Lighthouse Poole's Centre for the Arts in December.

You can follow the progress of the growth of The Secret Garden on our blog at angelexit.wordpress.com

Fundraising

Most recently we were successful in our crowd funding campaign on We Fund. We raised over £2500 which will pay for the set, costumes, props and puppets for The Secret Garden. We are very grateful to everyone who generously donated. Please see our Current Productions page for further details.

Over the summer we held fundraising pop up tea room events at Dorchester Arts and in London. We served cream teas, held a raffle and Marthas and Arthurs entertained the guests. You can see pictures from the event on our Facebook page: Angel Exit Facebook

We are delighted to have received grants from Arts Council England and from the West Dorset Leisure Fund to help fund the creation of The Secret Garden and the tour.

Angel Exit does not receive regular funding so if you would be interested in supporting the company please do get in touch at: lynne@angelexit.co.uk

Associate Artists at Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts

Lynne and Tamsin, along with Lorna Rees from Activate had a wonderful meeting at Lighthouse Poole back in April with Elsbeth Gibson and Helen Donaldson and we are delighted that we have been invited to become Associate Artists. Lighthouse have co-commissioned our current production of The Secret Garden and we will look forward to working with them again in the future, hopefully on all sorts of interesting and creative projects. www.lighthousepoole.co.uk

Angel Exit at Einstein's Garden, Green Man Festival 2012

Angel Exit have been commissioned to perform in Einstein's Garden at The Green Man Festival for 2012. This year we worked with scientists and PhD students to create a new collaborative piece of walkabout theatre on the theme of healing and injury; The Roaming Scar Collectors. You can read more about the work we did in The New Scientist. We are really excited to be working at Einstein's Garden again next year! We will update with more information soon. www.greenman.net

You can follow the progress of the growth of The Secret Garden on our blog at angelexit.wordpress.com