Trinity believes that the best art is created and experienced by the 67 million voices that make up UK society today. This is why we support and nurture creative communities, creating opportunities for artists and communities to co-create and experience culture together.

"I can't tell you how much we enjoyed it. It was perfectly pitched for this age group. This is exactly what we need more of” - Head Teacher from school’s audience group

Collaborating with communities

In March 2021 we launched an ambitious community arts project, 'What I Want To Be, What I Want To See' that asked communities to share their hopes and dreams for the future, post-pandemic. From this initial idea we commissioned community arts practitioner Michelle Roche to collaborate Newton Network and the local community to programme a series of ‘creative happenings’.

Throughout 2021 Michelle, Newtown Network and local residents created a programme of activities including a weekly 'coffee morning and lantern making' session that culminated with a mid-winter Dolphin Parade. Residents also took part in a series of collective actions – a community painting day and a public playlist of their favourite songs – sharing the unique identity of this vibrant corner of Bristol.

Creating opportunities for children and families to access and shape culture

Spilt Ink Theatre Company was awarded the Young Audiences Commission, which was introduced following a consultation, to offer more young people and family activities. Through our on-going partnership with local school St Nicholas of Tolentine, the company delivered a series of workshops collaborating with over 60 children to devise a new work, ‘Home’ that culminated in a public sharing in May 2021.

Trinity joined forces with Take a Part and Hannah Moore primary school to deliver 'Art Club', a project for children and their families to explore what culture they enjoy and what issues matter to them. Art Club took place for 12 weeks after school and included group trips to visit organisations such as Spike Island and The Bristol Museum, meeting staff and volunteers and having an opportunity to ask questions and see behind the scenes of some of the biggest cultural venues in the city. We will also be hosting a pop-up exhibition of artworks created by children and families who took part in the project.

Supporting the development and sharing of new and exciting work

In the summer we welcomed a range of performances in our pop-up outdoor venue, in the community garden and, for the first-time since Mar 2020, inside the building. This included a Trinity ‘take-over’ by associate artist Roxana Vilk, The Vilk Collective and immersive tech-artists Squid Ink with their 'Lullabies Celebration' celebrating the culmination of Roxana’s Lullabies project. The project collected and responded to songs from the many languages spoken in Bristol and beyond. Roxana is continuing to develop her creative practise including performing at St Georges Hall and through her residency at Watershed’s PM Studio.

Through micro-commissions and subsidised space we continued to support the creation and development of new work, including Houston Dance Company who devised Like Mercury in the Fyfe Hall. The show was selected to be programmed as part of the spring season of theatre and dance in 2022 and premiered to sell-out audiences. The show explored gender, sexuality and identity and positive feedback from audiences included people commenting that the show ‘taught me to embody and celebrate my sexuality’. The company will be touring the performance in the UK throughout 2022.

Stand is the product of conversations. The conversations continued long after leaving the Trinity centre, but in silence; an inner-monologue set to my footsteps, set to snippets of strangers passing conversations. Stand made me consider myself, my actions.

It made me proud of that time I stood up to the racist man in the restaurant in Edinburgh and made me see my Mother’s pleasure in witnessing this in a new, brighter light. Stand made me hope that in the future I will be braver in making positive choices and not stop myself due to fear of an unsuccessful ending. Stand made me miss my younger self- the one who could be so riled up about the wrongs of the world.

Stand made my friend sad when she realised later that these were actors, not the activists, performing the verbatim transcript. Stand impressed me that the quality of performance made her think this.

Stand meant I was sure to find a bin to put my cigarette butt in and to feel guilty for all of the discarded ones that came before it and every dropped one that is sure to come. Stand reminded me that I am only human. Stand made me plump-up with pride for people. It made me deflate with despair in humanity.

Stand made me think of my friend who spends weeks, months living in protest sites; of the arrests, beatings, losses and wins. It made me question why I have been so hesitant to join him.

Stand made me wish I’d ordered the vegetarian quiche instead of this open-top ham sandwich but feel a little more at ease that at least the meat is locally sourced. Stand reassured me that standing-up can come in many forms. Stand is simple. It is sensitively, sometimes joyously performed. Stand made me want to know more, to do more. Stand made me want to be better.

Photo: Apple N Spice

Head to Trinity this Spring to get involved with a new season of theatre and dance featuring shows that amplify stories from across the UK and beyond, creating a picture of life in modern Britain.

From shadow puppetry inspired by Indian culture to spoken word, this season is one of highs, laughs and - as always - conversations.

"I loved this from the moment I read this two cultures mixing together with singing and dance and audience participation, great one for the children to get involved in" Forum member feedback on Apple 'N Spice, showing 17th Feb 22

Launching with Apple 'N' Spice (17 Feb), an interactive dance and theatre show inspired by Snow White and Ramayana (an ancient Indian story).

On the Inside (25 Feb) by Untold Theatre transports audiences to a dystopian world where four people are trapped inside and forced to live together and their morals and values are thrown out of the window when their true selves begin to emerge...

Dry Season (06 Mar) is a spoken word show that takes a candid look at the impact of experiencing the menopause in your 30's.

Like Mercury (12 Mar) is a powerful new dance and music collaboration by Emma Houston and Bellatrix. Developed with support from Trinity, the show explores the idea of identity through a queer lens.

The Big Trinity Picnic (26 Mar) is a family show hosted by poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko who will perform alongside a very special invited guest poet and is perfect for children aged 7-11 and their families/carers.

About Trinity Presents

The shows where selected following an open call for artists and companies responding to the theme, 'art of resistance'.

Trinity's programming forum made up of community members and independent representatives chose six shows to feature as part of our latest season of in-house programming.

This work is part of Trinity's commitment to amplifying the diverse voices of groups and communities who make UK culture today. To read more about what this means, see: #67MillionVoices.

All tickets are priced as 'pay what you can' starting at £7 + bf and all shows will feature a BSL interpreter.

As an iconic Arts Centre with forty years of music programming experience under their belt it should come as no surprise to you that the Trinity team are continuing to push boundaries with their IGNiTE programme of performance in 2017.

Ranging from the playful to the sometimes hard-to-swallow realities of life, the newly announced spring selection of programming is destine to challenge and excite audiences. Fergus Evans, Trinity’s theatre and dance producer says that all the shows presented are ‘a celebration of the spaces we make for ourselves when none of the boxes fit quite right.’

Mixing the exciting with the unexpected, the season’s five shows set out to provoke conversations. In I-Dentity Rider Shafique explores being mixed race and what it is like when you are neither but also both. Liz Aggiss’ giddy and sometimes sinister Slap and Tickle cheekily explores female sexuality and growing older. What you see is not always what you get in Alesandra Seutin's  C'eci n'est past Noire (This is not Black) - a journey through identity politics, Beyonce and, a few parlour games. Putting the Band Back Together is a playful story about why we give up on our dreams and how we find them again. Gather the round dinner table in Daughters of the Curry Revolution and find out what it means to be the daughter of a migrant.

At Trinity you're never just a member of the audience, and this carefully selected programming certainly reflects this. From picking up an instrument and joining Unfolding Theatre’s house band to learning new ways to move with Alesandra Seutin (Vocab Dance Company). You can sign up to be a member of one of our test audiences and see work in development from our resident artists. Let us know what you think of the show you’ve seen or volunteer as a steward. The message is clear: Don't just come see a show. Take part. Speak up. Start something.

Alongside our regular programme of live music and community events, we present world-class, innovative artists whose work is about issues that matter to people now, starting conversations and sparking debate. IGNiTE is supported by funding from Arts Council England.

Further Info:

Tickets go on Sale 10am Friday 3rd Feb http://www.3ca.org.uk/ignite ​ ​

Slap and Tickle, Liz Aggis 18th March 7.30pm £10 / £8

Ceci n'est pas Noire (This is not Black), Alesandra Seutin I Vocab Dance Company 25th March, 7.30pm £10 / £8

Putting The Band Back Together, Unfolding Theatre 21st April, 7.30pm £10 / £8

I-Dentity, Rider Shafique 28th April, 7.30pm £10 / £8

Daughters of the Curry Revolution, Afreena Islam 5th/6th/7th May : 3pm / 5pm / 7pm £12 / £10

Scottee's workshop explored making art about 'issues'. Photo Alexa Ledecky

Our Spring 2019 season of theatre and dance presented innovative artists who spoke from the heart and asked: How do we strip away the layers of expectation placed on us by society to find the truest version of ourselves?

Shows included: Fat Blokes from Scottee; Confessions of a Cockney Temple Dancer by Shane Shambhu; Rent Party by Darren Pritchard Dance; Windows of Displacement by Toussaint To Move.

All shows included ways for audiences to get involved, from Scottee's workshop Getting Things Off Your Chest to Rent Party's post show disco.

We also welcome and supported four IGNiTE artists in residence -Ania Varez developed and shared her project 'Guayabo' (Venezuelan slang for 'heartbreak').  Read her thoughts on taking the project to Spill festival and an honest and brave interview about the reasons and importance of the project with the BBC online.

Vicki Hearne, creative director of Untold Dance Theatre an all female intergenerational company, created a new piece ‘Practically Perfect’, a project that focused on the idea of perfectionism, the journey to strive for this unattainable goal and how this affects women in particular.

Audiences take a short break during Roxana Vilk's sharing of Lullabies. Photo Alexa Ledecky

Roxana Vilk's  'Lullabies' explored heritage migration and identity though collecting lullabies sung to children by families and parents across Bristol.

Sharing Hyper Fem - Viki Brown. Photo Khali Ackford

Viki Browne's 'Hyper Fem' asked whether the performance of femininity through Drag can be as powerful, political or subversive when performed on a female identifying body.

IGNiTE is programmed in collaboration with our Programming Forum.The forum is made up of members of the communities who regularly use Trinity and they help advise our programme.

IGNiTE is supported using public funding by Bristol City Council and by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

Ania sharing her work in progress at Trinity (photo @ Alastair Brookes)

A few thoughts about sharing Guayabo at SPILL Festival of performance 2018

"I just didn’t know how it would go until I had this experience"

Ania Varez is one of four Bristol based artists who are developing exciting new work in collaboration with communities at Trinity over six months as part of our IGNiTE theatre and dance programme.

During her residency Ania is developing ‘Guayabo’ a participatory work that invites people to gather around their pain and the pain of others and is heavily influenced by Ania’s move from Venezuela to leave her country’s violent dictatorship. The crisis is rarely mentioned in mainstream media and Ania has been using her art to share her and her family’s experiences with others.

Ania recently took ‘Guaybo’ to Spill Festival, an international festival of contemporary arts and activism in Ipswich. We asked her to tell us the four things she learnt while she was there.

Maybe not all works are meant for art festivals (or maybe they need a bit more help)

Guayabo is a very challenging piece to share for different reasons. Mostly, because it requires placing myself in a very vulnerable state, my family is also exposed through the videos and texts I read, and the topic is extremely painful and difficult on its own.

I was concerned that those who came to experience the work might not have the capacity to offer the mental and emotional investment this piece requires due to the festival environment which is overwhelming with people quickly moving from one performance to another. I also felt the audience needed more time to process the difficult information that Guayabo conveys, whilst in a safe environment, before leaving the room and returning to a conventional social mode.

Towards the end of the work, I invite people to stay in the room for as long as they need and to chat with me if they wish, but since people had to rush to another show, most of them could not have that time, which felt important in terms of caring for themselves and for me. To know this for future sharings is really positive!

I will think about what needs to change inside the work to ensure people receive the care they need. However, the context is also important. I’m sure SPILL would have made a bigger effort to ensure these things happened if I had spoken about them beforehand, but I just didn’t know how it would go until I had this experience. Maybe arts festivals are not the right context for Guayabo, or maybe it just needs some programming adjustments (have more time altogether, organising a meal to share right after, for example) would really help to overcome these difficulties.

Guayabo connects people in the UK with Ania's family in Venezuela

It’s nicer to meet people outside of performance settings

Whilst being at SPILL I slightly regretted not having the time to see other works and meet many people. Sharing this piece took all of my time and energy and I didn’t have the space to experience much more. In hindsight, I notice that I naturally felt more inclined to encounter people outside of the performance settings (at breakfast, or in the artists green room) in a more relaxed and meaningful way, and most of the time we didn’t even talk about our work which I enjoyed much more.

Before arriving to SPILL, I was quite worried that everyone around me would be trying to constantly pitch their work at each other, but I was glad to discover that most people seemed to agree that having a good time and laughing together was more important.

Self care and support kept everything together

I had severe technical difficulties during my first show and right until the beginning of my second show. This uncertainty added pressure to sharing such personal work, which massively compromised my mental health during the performance days.

Having my producer, Katherine Hall, with me during the first two days really kept me safe and capable of getting through the difficulties, as she took care of many things and allowed me to concentrate on the work. Sadly, she could not stay for the last two days and that would have really affected me if it wasn’t for Shabnam Shabazi (the Wellbeing Liaison of the festival) and Manon Santi (part of the SPILL team) who were there to support me. They gave such gentle and caring attention to me and to the work: this meant I could present the work without having a breakdown or feeling like I was delivering it on my own.

It’s not the end of the line

SPILL felt like an incredible opportunity for me as an artist and a person. It’s the biggest platform I have ever shared work on. But I didn’t want it to feel like the ultimate platform, or the culmination of this long process. I wanted it to feel like another island I stumble upon in the middle of this long trip. A place to pass by, gather things that felt valuable, meet great people and then continue on the journey. Almost one month after the festival, I see this opportunity has brought a few open doors, some new friends and a lot of learning. I enjoy holding on to this feeling of continuation, this long process that exists independently of the platforms that I visit, but continues to be nourished by them. I am looking forward to continuing my research at Trinity Centre next year.

Read more about our IGNiTE programme and artist in residence just here.

She Called Me Mother is a story of distance. Distance caused by travelling from one continent to another. The distance that secrets create. Distance made by time. Distance between generations. Distance as enforced protection when love is lost to broken trust.

Evangeline is waiting, waiting for a woman, waiting for her black swan. Meanwhile she observes passers by. From her spot at London Bridge station she is only really visible to those who choose to see her. She is asking for money, an interaction and kindness in exchange for a magazine. Evangeline recounts moments in her long life that have led her to this place. Her past is set in Trinidad where she held many roles; she was a wife and, most importantly to the tale, she was a mother. She speaks out to us, explaining her history while the figure of a younger woman casually moves around in background like the ghost of a life lost. The figure is the thought at the front of Evangeline's mind, loitering in her present life, unable or unwilling to be shaken off.

When we finally meet this figure we are not surprised to learn that she is Evangeline's daughter Shirley. Through the Shirley we hear a different side to the tale. The gulf of experience between the two women is evident in their accents, use of language and points of view. Deeper secrets are revealed; alcoholism, abuse, protection and neglect. Could more have been done to prevent a lifetime's worth of damage? Once these buried pains are brought to the surface can a broken relationship be fixed?

When the two women come together their focus on us as an audience ceases. Suddenly they occupy the same space, the same place in time and we, the audience, are redundant. We are no longer listening to a story, we are now witnessing a coming together of a bygone relationship. There is something inharmonious about this jump of focus which is followed by an overly drawn out scene of attempted reconciliation that finds the actors vying for emotional one upmanship. However, She Called Me Mother, overall, feels like something of a breakthrough. As a debut play it more than succeeds in giving voice to traumatic experiences in a palatable fashion. Respect and realism are prioritised where the writing and performances could have easily swayed to sentimentality and the question of blame and accepting accountability is, authentically, never fully resolved. There is no fairy tale ending, no wave of a magic wand. But there is life and, for Shirley at least, the chance to live it.

Lullabies workshop at Easton Community Centre. Photo @ Alexa Ledecky

Roxana is a multi-award winning Iranian/British multi-disciplinary artist working with music, storytelling, film and live performance in a participatory context for over 20 years. Core to Roxana’s work is a desire to connect with the human stories that unite us, using a multi art approach to tackle issues of racism, discrimination and belonging.

In 2018 Roxana joined the Trinity team developing her project, Lullabies, during her IGNiTE residency. Lullabies, was inspired by Roxana signing traditional Iranian lullabies to her children at night. Here she began to imagine how many others might be singing songs in different languages to their children and the stories behind them.

During her pilot project Roxana worked with local communities and schools to collect lullabies from families. She recorded interviews and songs from communities across Bristol, including Somali, Kurdish, Irish, Israeli, Iranian, Hungarian, German and Afro-Cuban songs.

In 2020 the project was selected to be part of Here and Now, a national project celebrating of 25 years of National Lottery Funding and showcasing everyday culture.

With the support of Trinity Roxana is continuing to develop Lullabies and in 2021 and will deliver online Zoom workshops. There is an open call for the public to submit their Lullabies and there are a series of adaptive podcasts with BBC R+D.

Join an unforgettable evening of passion and rhythm at the Flamenco Dance Show 'RAÍCES' ("ROOTS") presented by the internationally acclaimed prized winner flamenco dancer from Madrid, Rebeca Ortega accompanied by UK leading flamenco guitarist and composer from Granada, Ramón Ruiz, established star flamenco singer from Cádiz, Natalia Marín, London rising percussionist, Sebastian Ruiz.

Get ready to be mesmerized by the fiery footwork and soul-stirring music that will transport you to the heart of Spain.

S.U.S.A.A.N the socially distanced robot toured the local area and collected responses from residents

Deadline for Proposals: 9am Friday 25th June

Earlier this year we asked the people of Bristol to respond to the sentence ‘What I Want to Be, What I Want to See’.

Over two weeks we programmed free-online workshops with Vanessa Kisuule, Rider Shafique, Gerry's Attic - plus more - to inspire people to creatively share what they wanted to see for themselves and others in the world around them, post-pandemic.

S.U.S.A.A.N, a socially distanced robot, toured the local area collecting responses from members of the local community. In Trinity's community garden Artist Amy May-Ellis welcomed people to take part in a socially distanced workshop to share their hopes and dreams.

On our social media platforms we shared videos from groups who use Trinity regularly, including Misfits Theatre Company and Dance for Parkinsons.

Responses came in from across Bristol - from wanting to be a marine biologist to hoping to spend more time with family, wanting to see more bikes and less cars and much more. People responded in many forms including poems and drawings.

We are now looking for an artist or collective of artists to creatively interpret the responses, capturing this moment and continuing the conversation with the many communities who connect with Trinity.  This is a paid commission with a fixed fee of £9000.

The call is open to a Bristol based (within a 20 mile radius of Trinity Centre) artist or collective that is reflective of Trinity’s diverse communities.  We’re open to people working in any art-form but you must have experience of co-creating with communities.

Please note:

All work carried out as part of the commission must adhere to current Covid-19 regulations and guidelines.

Timeline:

• Deadline for Proposals: 9am Friday 25th June
• Artists Selection Panel Meeting with Programming Forum: w/c 28th June.
• Successful applicant receive notification by: Wednesday 30th June.
• Residency Period: 1st July – 31st December 2021

How to apply

• Download the full artist commission brief here
• Download the application guidelines here
• When you have read the guidelines you can submit your application online here

You’ll need to attach or link to examples of your work and a budget detailing how you will spend the available commission (each question can be submitted as a video or audio recording if preferred)

We held an informal Q&A session about the commission and you can view the recording of that session here.

If you have access needs in order to join the Q&A session. Please let us know in advance by emailing info@trinitybristol.org.uk or telephoning 0117 935 1200

What I Want To Be, What I Want To See is supported through funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund

‘One Foot in the Dark’ is an exploration of our known and unknown experiences of identity, culture and change through text and movement.

It comprises a double bill of solo ‘The Skeleton is White’, exploring how the colour of our skin can affect our relationship to each other and to the environment and ‘Six Degrees from Home’, an inter-disciplinary duet by Divija Melally and Saili Katebe, exploring borders and connection through movement and poetry.

Both are honest explorations of two artists from the global majority understanding what it means to navigate through life, questions and unknowns.

Credits: First commissioned by Pegasus Theatre and Dancin’ Oxford Festival 2023.

About Trinity Presents:

This is part of Trinity Presents - our in-house programme of music and performance, bringing world-class artists and emerging talent to inner-city audiences.

Nine Lives is a one-man show about asylum seeker Ishmael, played by Lladel Bryant, from Zimbabwe and his struggle to gain asylum in Armley. Bryant does a superb job of bringing the character to life, he is animated and convincingly plays Ishmael, and the characters he comes across, with lightness and ease.

The play explores what happens when Ishmael, who is seeking asylum because he is gay, starts the asylum process in Britain. The production focuses on the loss, creation and slippage of identity when faced with such a situation. How much of himself does Ishmael leave in Zimbabwe, how much does he hang onto and how much does he make himself anew?

This production, with beautiful African music introducing new aspects of the story, is a very honest and human account of this confusing, heart breaking and totally transformational time in Ishmael’s life. The script is excellent, the performance strong and honest and the design is elegant. There are no theatrical fireworks here, but there do not need to be, a simple story of Ishmael’s arrival and the difficulty in the decisions he has to make are powerful enough.

The script is written by Zodwan Nyoni, for Leeds playhouse where she was writer in residence in 2014. One of the effective aspects of Ishmael’s story is that it is entirely individual, prompting audience members to realise that asylum seekers are not a homogenous group in the same situation with the same concerns and problems, but each one is a person with their own very particular set of circumstances. Ishmael has to decide if he tells other African asylum seekers about why he is seeking asylum with the knowledge that he might be persecuted by his own countrymen or keep it quiet so he can seek the comfort of those with a shared background.

The narrative never rests, Ishmael is not allowed to settle, his story has no resolution. This echoes the transient, ever changing and never-resolved state that he is in. While he awaits the government’s decision as to whether Britain can harbour him, he has no firm ground to stand on. This production is very pertinent and has a lightness of touch that allows it to transcend the media coverage of this plight and depict one person’s difficult journey to a new start.

This year has seen even more bold, curious and talented young people come to NextGen-Sounds at Trinity Centre to learn more about music production, DJing, and playing musical instruments. Whether writing lyrics, jamming in bands, rapping on the mic or beat matching on the decks- it's all been going on.

Image: Nathalie Codsi in Arnold's Big Adventure by Tessa Bide Productions, photo by Kai Taylor

Spilt Ink Theatre Company have been awarded Trinity’s Young Audiences Commission to develop a new piece of work for 3-10 year olds. The £6,000 commission has been made possible through the support of the Cultural Recovery Fund.

Spilt Ink are a physical theatre company who create playful, joyful and fun work with and for communities and children. During their development commission they will be exploring the themes of home and identity.

“We will create a fantasy ‘home’ rooted in real stories of our multicultural community. It will explore both the physical sensation of home and the cultural meaning of home.  We will question what home means to ourselves, as diverse artists, and to the multicultural local community of East Bristol.”

They will work with Trinity and local community partners to deliver creative and playful workshops with local children and families; sharing and exploring the stories of the many communities living in Lawrence Hill and Easton.

Spilt Ink were selected for the commission following an open call out that received 20 project proposals. Their project, Home, stood out to our parent-led selection panel - made up of staff, volunteers and community reps - for the way it placed co-creation at its core and young people at the centre of deciding where the project journey would take them.

Between its members - Lebanese/Italian actor and theatre maker Nathalie Codsi, Bristol-based international theatre director, community arts facilitator and performer Hester Welch, and British actor, puppeteer/ theatre maker Sarah Cribdon, Spilt Ink have a wealth of experience of working with diverse communities across the world and we look forward to seeing where Home will take them.

If you are interested in finding out more about how to get involved with the Young Audiences Commission as it emerges, please get in touch or sign up to our mailing list.

Local children took part in What I Want To Be, What I Want to See in April 2021

In 2021 we asked the people of Bristol to tell us their hopes and dreams for the future as part of our ambitious community arts project, What I Want To Be, What I Want To See.

Trinity collected over 70 responses that ranged from a community mural, celebrating heroes, a daily protest, listening posts of voices we should listen to - young & old, a playlist for Newtown, a silent disco, a place for tea and cake, a zine to remind us ‘how to be nice’ and a day of art and dolphins.

In Autumn 2021 we sent an open call for an artist, collective or company to creatively respond to these. The successful project The Wish List by artist Michelle Roche was selected by Trinity’s programming forum. The forum, are made up of local residents, Trinity Members and regular groups and classes, chose Michelle’s project as it connected with the local community in a fun and playful way.

Working with grassroots organisation, Newtown Network, The Wish List will make the hopes and dreams, collected during the call out, a reality by co-creating creative happenings with local communities this December and January.

Newtown Coffee Mornings Throughout December local residents joined artist Michelle Roche for a cup of tea coffee and cake and creative activities.

Catch sight of The Newtown Dolphin Parade

In January keep an eye out through the curtains and look for the Dolphin Lantern parade that will take place in the streets on Newtown.

Get involved:

If you would like some further information on the project contact Stefan Boakye on stefan@trinitybristol.org.uk