Two weeks ago I attended and photographed Scratch night at the Castle Pub. Scratch nights, if you are unsure, are a platform where fledgling performers can test pieces on an audience.
Work shown in Scratch Nights is usually work-in-progress, often in its very initial stages, and offers artists an opportunity to get immediate feedback and thus make appropriate changes or development to their work for the future. For the audience, it is an opportunity to see new, up and coming work, have an enjoyable (and cheap) night out and help to create a buzz about new artists and emerging work.
Melanie Claire the driving force behind the Scratch events and creator of The Electric Sunshine Project introduced the audience to a plethora of poetry, comedy and mini theatre.
Participants for the evening and in reverse order were Steve Gunnar Stroud, Adam Waterworth, Jack Bell, Helena Ainscough, Anthony Briscoe, Sean Patrick Brown and Jo Cassidy.
Their deliveries ranged from a comedic character from a failed cabaret circuit, sort of Copacabana meets Jayne McDonald, right through to some extremely heart felt poetry. Covering topics including the current state of the world , the impact of social media and how it feels to be a girl, a drug addict and a sci-fi fanatic, it was an eclectic mix.
Mini performances crossed contemporary boundaries with impersonations from reality tv to dialogue from modern film such as The Wolf of Wall Street and an anxiety inducing performance based on depression.
The night presented a mixed bag of Blackpool’s performance scene and offered a glimpse in to what felt underground and subversive. If you think you would like to be involved either as a performer or as a member of the audience find The Electric Sunshine Project on Facebook.
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