Potential Difference

signal fire (n): a fire or light set up in a prominent position as a warning, signal, or celebration.

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On the evening of the 4th of November, gather near while staying afar in the grounds of The Actors' Church. Light your lantern and search for a trail of clues to invoke and honour performers of the past, present and future. If you see your fellow seekers, signal to them - but don’t get too close - or the invocation may dissipate!

In this time of crisis, theatre touring companies from around the UK are joining together to light SIGNAL FIRES, a nationwide festival celebrating the 'original theatre' - storytelling around a fire.

As part of the festival, the Fragments team are reuniting for ONE NIGHT ONLY for a safe (socially distanced!) and spontaneous (devised in just a few days!) quest for story-telling, puppetry, laughter and light - honouring the stories of some of the people and performers associated with St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, locally known as 'The Actors' Church.'

This outdoor, promenade event will run for approximately 45 minutes. Please scroll down for practicalities....

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BUY TICKETS - Numbers are very limited so act fast.

If restrictions mean that we need to postpone, you can either keep your ticket for the new date or get a refund

‍Under current Tier 2 restrictions, you may only book to attend this event with members of your household or support bubble.

Supported by Blind Summit

‍Find more Signal Fires events at www.signalfires.co.uk

Also presented as part of Iris Theatre's Winter Season

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Full Credits

Signal Fires at The Actors' Church is co-created by

Anne-Marie Piazza, Jess Mabel Jones, Jon McLeod, Laura Swift, Lori Hopkins, Lucy Sierra, Natalie Allison, Russell Bender, Sherry Coenen, Tom Espiner, Victoria Saxton, Wendy Kibble

Samuel Pepys

Created and performed by Lori Hopkins and Jess Mabel Jones

Henry

Devised and performed by Tom Espiner

Puppet and character of Henry by Blind Summit

Eavesdropping

Conceived by Victoria Saxton, Jon McLeod and Natalie Allison

Edited by Jon McLeod

with material from the Company

Cello song

Written by Jon McLeod and performed by Anne-Marie Piazza

Dancer

Performed by Wendy Kibble

An Ode to Margaret Ponteous

Written and performed by Anne-Marie Piazza

Tiny People installations

Created by Lucy Sierra

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Produced by Potential Difference

Associate producer: Natalie Allison

Production Manager: Pete Rickards

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Practicalities

The Elements: This event will take place entirely outdoors in November. It will be cold. It may be wet. We will provide the joy, and a bar serving hot drinks. You will need to provide the warmth. So please dress appropriately, wear suitable footwear, and feel free to bring an umbrella. (“There is no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing!”)

The Pandemic: The safety of our audiences and our team is of the utmost importance. We have gone to great lengths to ensure that every aspect of our Signal Fire, from rehearsal to performance, is in line with current government guidelines and industry best practice to make it COVID secure. Please see our full Please see our full COVID FAQ for more info on how that works and what to expect.‍‍

Access: While parts of the event will be seated, you will be moving around the yard and grassy areas of the churchyard, searching for and following clues. Unfortunately, some parts of the church’s grounds are not wheelchair accessible. If you are a a wheelchair user or someone with limited mobility, we will be offering an accessible route through our 7:30pm show. Please request this when you book by emailing access@potentialdifference.org.uk

There is one disabled toilet on site which is only for use by audience members who need disabled access. Please note there are no other toilets available on site. The nearest public toilets are accessed from Covent Garden Piazza.

Making theatre in the time of covid - a British Academy project

As we create this new project together around the constraints of social distancing, we are concurrently participating in a research project led by Dr Laura Swift, from The Open University, and with support from the British Academy, investigating the role of performance arts when conventional live performance is not possible: Why does live performance matter? What is important and unique about it? What is lost when it can’t take place? And what is the role of live theatre in building resilience and recovery from the pandemic?

If you are interested in chatting about these questions, join Laura and Potential Difference at the Covid Theatre Cafe on November 12th, a free online event hosted by the Being Human Festival. More info and book your cafe place here.

SIGNAL FIRES: The Actors' Church