Skid 180

An international collaboration with Manchester’s Contact, SKID 180 is a fast-paced journey following a group of urban bmx riders into the chaotic and fractured world of Manchester’s underground bmx scene. Featuring a stunning projected design and a set constructed of ramps, multiple screens and filmic image, SKID 180 integrates live bmx, film, animation, poetry and sound.

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McStone is a young man who, after leaving one world of his nightmares, wakes in another. In his previous world he was in isolation, in this new one he encounters a new 4Real family in the underpass. The 4Real mode of transport is revolutionary wheels, and in their job as couriers, they have a unique view of the city… When the city tries to get one over them, they bite back with style.

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Skid 180 is a co-production between Arena Theatre Company and Manchester-based companies, Contact Theatre and Digital Summer, set in Manchester’s BMX scene.

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The three companies have been engaged in a collaborative dialogue that will have been nurtured over three years by the premiere season in 2005. The first stage of the creative development of Skid 180 took place in Manchester in December 2002, and involved Manchester and Melbourne digital artists, twenty Manchurian performers, three BMX riders and a DJ. The development was commissioned by Digital Summer in partnership with Contact Theatre, and supported by the BBC Northern Exposures. The second stage of Skid 180’s development took place in Melbourne in November 2003.

 

Skid 180 premiered at Contact Theatre, Manchester, UK in April 2005. In 2006 it toured Melbourne: ArtsHouse – North Melbourne Town Hall, Arena Theatre Company and Contact Theatre (27 July – 5 August), and Sydney: Drama Theatre – Sydney Opera House, Arena Theatre Company and Contact Theatre (9 – 19 August).

 

Credits

Writer Louise Wallwein
Director Rosemary Myers
Staging Concept Pete Brundle, Graham Clayton-Chance, Rosemary Myers
Video Design Peter Brundle, Graham Clayton-Chance
Stage & Costume Design Vanessa Hawkins

Lighting Design Mark Distin
Sound Design Hugh Covill
Choreography Luke George
Cast Curtis Coles, John Deprielle, Rachel Glendevon, Chris Mahoney
Production Manager Richard Dinnen

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