Experience the magic of Thomas Hardy’s classic Tess D’Urbervilles in Bristol this Autumn

Experience the magic of Thomas Hardy’s classic Tess D’Urbervilles in Bristol this Autumn

Posted on: 18 Aug 2023

Presented by Ockham’s Razor, the UK’s foremost circus theatre company, this bold feminist reimagining of Hardy’s legendary novel is touring the UK between October and April 2024.

 

Ockham Razor’s Tess will take over Unit 15 Circus City between Friday 13 and Sunday 15 October 2023.

 

Tess will use the language of the original 1891 classic alongside the physical language of the circus, allowing the skilled performers to retell the legendary tale of power, loss and endurance through a fresh, feminist lens.

 

BUY TICKETS HERE

 

 

Hardy’s classic novel still holds an urgent relevance for contemporary audiences, exploring questions of privilege, class, consent, agency, female desire and sisterhood. Tess will feature a diverse ensemble of circus performers, with a female actress and female circus performer taking on the role of Tess.

 

The company has a great deal of experience reframing the female body with circus, looking at strength, capability and agency. Tess utilises acrobatics, aerial, dance, physical theatre and the distinctive simple, evocative design of Ockham’s Razor to re-create Hardy’s world.

 

Tess represents Ockham’s Razor’s first dip foray into the world of literature and the script has been written by the company using Hardy’s own words, with advice from novelist and screenwriter Anne Marie Casey, who has previously adapted Little Women and Wuthering Heights for the stage.

 

The piece perfectly captures Hardy’s poetry as well as the novel’s philosophical depth, weaving the company’s signature physicality into this gut-wrenching tale. The cast’s strength and world-class circus language to evoke the physical labour depicted in the novel.

 

Hardy’s Wessex will be created onstage using wooden planks, shifting walls, ropes and swathes of linen, which the cast will balance upon, climb, carry and construct.

Ockham Razor’s Tess will take over Unit 15 Circus City between Friday 13 and Sunday 15 October 2023 with full price tickets available for £17 and concessions for £14. Secure your tickets HERE.

 

Located a stone’s throw from the heaving cultural hub of Old Market, Unit 15 is a creation space with a collective, community focused approach to professional circus training and performance. Home to The Invisible Circus, the space also hosts one on one teaching sessions and various other events. Find out more from the venue's website.

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.