Best of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013
     – A Celebration of UK performance in China

1. Vanishing Horizon by Idle Motion

6 - 10 April 2013, NCPA, Beijing
12 - 14 April 2013, Lyceum Theatre, Shanghai
Idle Motion is a young physical theatre company currently working as Artists in Residence at Oxford Playhouse. Working collaboratively, they devise their performances from scratch using workshops, play and improvisation to create work which is highly visual, creating bold images on stage with an innovative use of props and movement. Strong narratives and a great talent for storytelling result in rounded and dynamic pieces of theatre. Nominated by Total Theatre Awards as Best Emerging Company 2009 for their production Borges and I, the company returns with The Vanishing Horizon, their sell-out show from 2010 and 2011 Fringe.

The Vanishing Horizon brings to life the history of the female pioneers of aviation and their new found freedom alongside the moving modern-day account of a young woman’s travels to discover the story of her estranged grandmother who had fled the constraints of her life in post-war Britain to settle in South Africa. Using devised physical theatre and inventive staging created from battered suitcases, puppets, maps and paper airplanes, the work creates a powerful and evocative experience for anyone who has ever travelled. It is a charming and inventive show which will appeal to audiences of all ages for its storytelling and witty use of creative techniques.

‘Beautiful, accomplished and innovative physical theatre ’  - The Stage

‘Propelled by real ingenuity… one of the most inventive stagings on the Fringe… a little jewel of a show’ - The Guardian

2. The Animals and Children Took to the Streets by 1927

24 - 26 May 2013, Lyceum Theatre, Shanghai
28 - 29 May 2013, Cultural and Arts Centre, Zhonghshan, Guangdong
31 May - 2 June 2013, Guangzhou Opera House
Founded by performance poet Suzanne Andrade and animator Paul Barritt, 1927 began life on the outskirts of the cabaret scene. The company's first show, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, was a hit in Edinburgh in 2007 and toured widely from New York to Sri Lanka. 1927 is best known for its playful mix of live performance and projected animation. With darkly comic storytelling, the company explores contemporary issues inspired by the macabre nature of fairy stories, silent films and Edwardian illustration.

1927's second production The Animals and Children took to the Streets tells the story of Agnes Eaves and her daughter who live in Bayou Mansions, a decrepit tenement block with a sinister air. The imaginary setting emphasises the timeless nature of its themes, as the characters navigate government oppression and the paranoia of inner-city life. Visually inventive and filled with live music and song, this show is suitable for a wide age range.

‘A jaw-droppingly clever and gloriously subversive parable… 1927 conjure a world so complete it feels as If you've fallen down a rabbit hole’ - The Guardian 

‘A mind-blowingly beautiful piece of theatre’ - Time Out 

‘Macabre, musically ingenious and graphically glorious… Anyone interested in the theatre should see this company now’ - The Observer