Plunge Boom in Detmold
Date: 7th July 2008

The opportunity to perform in Detmold was of huge importance to Plunge Boom and provided an invaluable insight into performing internationally. It was the first time that we had taken the shows outside of the UK and so while a little daunted, this was truly exciting stuff. When making a piece of performance, you always hope that a) it will be good, b) that it will have a good life span, and fingers crossed it could go to tour nationally, and then c) fingers crossed even tighter, that it might be programmed to show in other countries and cultures.

So in a nutshell our first international venture was great in a sense that, the shows went down well with the audiences and the Festival itself was exceptional, in terms of its organisation and the manner in which we were taken care of. One another note it was a superb learning experience about working abroad and the differences that arise with other cultures.

On thing that we were immediately struck by were some of the differences between our British audiences in comparison to those of other Europeans, many whom had travelled from outside of Germany to see the work. Having performed a number of shows in the UK we had become familiar with the ‘rules of engagement’ between performer and public, but here in Detmold we confronted by new possibilities and expectations. These included a very genuine sense of commitment on the part of the audience toward the work, and this introduced perhaps more of a formal attitude to the experience, something that we hadn’t yet encountered. As a UK company working in walkabout, we usually encounter a pattern of constantly fresh faces throughout a slot, people coming and going as they choose, all very casual and fleeting. In comparison to Detmold that seems excessively discourteous, as the audience would arrive before the show had begun and then roam with us until the slot time was up, at which point there was applause! This genuine investment made by the audience was a new ball game to us and forced us to modify the material so as to work under this new dynamic. It was an incredible experience and a very positive one too, as it made us address the variety of ways in which we can communicate to our audiences.

In addition, being programmed into a European programme also allowed us to see some amazing performances from a range of companies. This included large and small scale work and was a hugely inspiring element to the trip, allowing insight to the work emerging from Europe at the moment and no doubt prompting exciting perusal as to future shows and ideas.

The trip to Detmold has provided us with a wealth of invaluable encounters, in nutshell some of these have been, the adaptation of material to audience dynamic, the logistical planning of international touring, networking opportunities with companies and promoters, exposure to a diverse range of inspiring work, and also, we managed to secure some dates for future international events. Superb stuff and many thanks for making it happen!