INTERVIEW | Ellie Dubois, Hold Fast
Last month, Hold Fast toured rural Scottish village halls and community spaces in Strathspey. We chatted with Herald Angel Award winner artist Ellie Dubois to find out more about this journey.
Can you begin by introducing yourself and telling us a little bit about your journey into theatre..
Hello, My name is Ellie and I am a theatre maker based in the Highlands. I went to Circus Space(now the National Centre for Circus Arts) but I think I always knew that I wanted to create shows and collaborate with other people.
How did you develop your practice in circus, what drew you to this style of work specifically?
What I love about circus is seeing people push themselves to their physical limits. The moment your heart flutters in your chest at watching someone fly through the air and be caught. There is something about watching humans lift and throw and catch and support other humans that I find magical to watch and that’s why I wanted to be a circus performer and create that kind of work.
You are touring rural Scottish venues with Hold Fast. Where did your influences stem from for this work?
From living in rural Scotland my partner is from Achnamara in Argyll and we moved there and later onto the highlands. I passionately believe that people in rural communities deserve access to high-quality performance without having to drive long distances to see it.
What have been the challenges of developing a piece of work that will be presented in more intimate spaces?
Everyone has to be very aware of each other and we start very slowly and then build up speed and confidence in tricks but circus is often performed on small stages if you think of a space like a Spigal Tent so we have just chorographed it small from the beginning.
What is Hold Fast about?
Hold Fast is about a coming together of contemporary circus and inventive folk music in a wild, tender celebration of our enduring relationships with the landscape and each other. Made especially for village halls by local artist Ellie Dubois and composer Sarah Hayes, Hold Fast is a spellbinding family show exploring our community and the water running through it.
You are combining performers with musicians in this piece, how has that added layers to the overall product?
This has been amazing as because we are all in the room
What has been your favourite part of developing this production?
Bringing other artists to the places that I live and getting to create work in my own home rather than having to go to a city. And we haven’t shared it with audiences yet but its exciting for the people who live in my community to see what it is that I do and to have made a show for them.
If you could bring Hold Fast to more communities in the UK, where would you like to bring it?
Argyll in particular the communities around Achnamara, Tayvallich, Ardfern, Lochgilphead, Ardrishaig and Tarbert where we use to live as it is a similar area where you have to travel large distances to see performances like this.
What can audiences expect from seeing this production?
A magical night out seeing a show with their local community.
If people are interested in finding out further information, where can they find that?
www.superfanperformance.com
