There's an immersive gig theatre show coming to an empty unit in The Galleries
Posted on: 26 Jul 2021A deserted store space will be given a new lease of life this Friday 30 July and Saturday 31 July as the gig theatre show 'Shop Window' comes to Broadmead.
Shuttered up and forgotten, the lights in the empty space once inhabited by Edinburgh Woolen Mill will flicker on for the first time in months in a reimagining of empty shops as spaces for live music, dancing, and sharing the good times.
The performance from Bristol gig theatre collective Doomsday Dance Band, dressed in their trademark white boiler suits and surrounded by mannequins, harks back to the glory days of shopping when it was glamourous and theatrical, not merely transactional.
The event, funded by Broadmead Bristol BID (business improvement district), is designed to appeal to new audiences and bring people back to the city centre after long stints of forced closures related to Covid-19.
In a statement, chair of Broadmead Bristol BID and Galleries Centre Manager, David Wait, said: “Shop Window gig theatre performance has great inter-generational appeal and I’m excited about trialling an empty shop unit as a performance space.
"Before Covid, I wouldn’t have guessed that shoppers would be dancing to live music in the Edinburgh Woolen Mill."
Performing on both days are local collective Doomsday Dance Band - a group of internationally acclaimed artists who have worked across music, theatre, television and film - who create off-the-wall, inspiring, music/performance projects.
The event bills itself as 'an uplifting journey out of Lockdown, reawakening our collective memory and joy of dancing with friends, family - and complete strangers.'
Doomsday Dance Band Guitarist and singer Dan Wilson said in a statement: ”Shoppers will be coming back to a high street hollowed out by Covid and online shopping.
"Shop Window is our vision for how city centres could be reclaimed for communities: where empty shops might become makers’ workshops, community hangouts, pop-up communal dining rooms; or a “shop window” for artists to showcase their work and entertain shoppers."
Flamboyant Bristol dance artist Ella Mesma will lead the gig with easy-to-follow dance moves for the audience to follow.
So bring yourself, your friends, your family and dance out of Lockdown!
'Shop Window' will take place this Friday 30 July and Saturday 31 July at Edinburgh Woolen Mill, Ground Floor, Bristol Galleries. Dance performances begin at 2 pm and 4 pm. All government Covid restrictions will be applied.
All tickets are free. Get them here.
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George is a journalism graduate and writer passionate about music and culture. Get in touch via email at george@365bristol.com
