A delicate dance-theatre performance for children and their adults, playfully exploring silence and noise.
Two characters on a journey through boings, wooshes, tick tocks and cacophony. on their journey they also manage to listen to the silence. They learn to feel the noise and see the sounds around them.
Suitable for ages 3+
Running time 45 mins
- Director: Daphna Attias
- Movement Director: Ayse Tashkiran
- Dramaturgy: Richard Shannon
- Lighting & Set Design: Jackie Shemesh
- Music: Yaniv Fridel & Niall Kearney
- Costume & Props: Jenny Hayton
- Original Stage Manager: Faith Rowley
- Cast: Maya Politaki & Anna Richmond
- Understudies: Bridget Lappin & Megan Griffin
Shh...Bang! began life in August 2013 when we first thought that sound could provide the basis for a magical show for a young audience. But what aspects of sound might be both entertaining and engaging?
The journey started at Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Department of Audiological Medicine where the company learned about the way we hear and how children with hearing impairments can be helped with cochlear implants. Further research took place at the University of Southampton’s Institue of Sound and Vibration, where the company were inspired by the most wonderful demonstrations of how sound is generated. One of these magical examples found its way into the show - the metal rods that make an extraordinary, unexpected sound. What resonated with the company was that sound is vibration and vibration is movement. The embodiment of
sound thus became our starting point. All these ideas were allowed to form for over a year. When the company came together again in January 2015, we were ready to start to shape the final show. Each workshop explored a different sound - Whooshes, boings, tick-tocks, splashes and more. Over many weeks, ideas were refined and decisions made. Choosing which sounds to focus on proved hard as every sound offered wonderful theatrical possibilities; but in the end we settled on a series of sounds that will take the audience on an exciting journey, which also embraces the pleasure of silence. We hope the audiences ears and eyes will be opened to the world of sounds that surround us every day.
“We were very pleased to be involved with the development of Shh...Bang! The Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR) has a long tradition of working with partners to develop creative arts activities, enabling the exchange of knowledge between the University and society as well as inspiring young people with the multi-disciplinary spectrum of acoustic science. Peut-Être Theatre’s project to work with a very young audience made us think about our science communication with a new focus. We’ve learnt from those conversations and embedded new early-years activities into our general outreach programme.”
The research and development for the show was in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at Southampton University.
The show is kindly funded by the Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England.
Read what others have to say about Shh...Bang!
Shh…Bang! “pulses with energy” – The Stage
There is more to Shh…Bang! than “meets the eye and ear” - British Theatre Guide
Shh…Bang! is “never dull and always surprising” - Writing about Dance
“No sound is too small or silence too big for Shh…Bang!” – Children’s Theatre Reviews
There are currently no scheduled performances of this production.
You can view a touring history of this show below, and see the What's On page for other productions which may be touring now.
- ASK Nanjing Theatre, China
- ASK Nanjing Theatre, China
- ASK Nanjing Theatre, China
- ASK Nanjing Theatre, China
- ASK Nanjing Theatre, China
- ASK Nanjing Theatre, China
- ASK Nanjing Theatre, China
- ASK Nanjing Theatre, China
- Hello Space, Chengdu
- Hello Space, Chengdu
- Hello Space, Chengdu
- Hello Space, Chengdu
- Vision Hill, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin, China
- Vision Hill, Tianjin, China
- Vision Hill, Tianjin, China
- Vision Hill, Tianjin, China
- Vision Hill, Tianjin, China
- Vision Hill, Tianjin, China
- Vision Hill, Tianjin, China
- TYA/USA Festival, Atlanta, USA
- TYA/USA Festival, Atlanta, USA
- TYA/USA Festival, Atlanta, USA
- Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023, USA
- Lincoln Center, New York, NY 10023, USA
- Stratford Circus Arts Centre, London, E15 1BX
- Luton Central Library, Luton, LU1 2NG
- Tobacco Factory, Bristol, BS3 1TF
- Tobacco Factory, Bristol, BS3 1TF
- Tobacco Factory, Bristol, BS3 1TF
- Tobacco Factory, Bristol, BS3 1TF
- Tobacco Factory, Bristol, BS3 1TF
- Tobacco Factory, Bristol, BS3 1TF
- British Royal Hospital for Children, Bristol, UK
- Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK
- Nanjing, China
- Nanjing, China
- Nanjing, China
- Nanjing, China
- Nanjing, China
- Bridgewater Arts Centre, Bridgewater, TA6 3DD, UK
- Brockhouse Nursery, Somerset, UK
- Knights Templar Church School, Somerset, UK
- Red Oak Children's Centre, Surrey, UK
- York Theatre Royal, York, YO1 7HD, UK
- Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds, LS2 3AD, UK
- A.S.K (Tianqio Arts Centre, Theatre Lab), Beijing, China
- IPAY showcase, Philadelphia, USA
- A.S.K, Shanghai, China
- Roundhouse, London, UK
- Pegasus Theatre, Oxford, UK
- Nuffield, Southampton, UK
- Greenwich Theatre, London, UK
- Attenbourgh Arts Centre, Leicester, UK
- Pavilion Dance South West, Bournemouth, UK
- Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK
- ŻiguŻajg, Valeta, Malta
- Sailsbury Playhouse, Salisbury, UK
- I Theatre, Singapore
- The Place, London, UK
- Cambridge Junction, Cambridge, UK
- Royal Albert Hall, London, UK
- New Woolsey, Ipswich, UK
- Southstreet, Reading, UK
- Stamford Arts Centre, Stamford, UK
- Southbank, London, UK
- Middlesbrough Town Hall, Middlesborough, UK
- Pontio, Bangor, Wales
- The Albany, London, UK
- The Egg, Bath, UK
- artsdepot, London, UK
- Lighthouse, Poole, UK
- South Hill Park, Bracknell, UK
- Oxford Playhouse, Oxford, UK
- Polka Theatre, London, UK
- Watermans Arts Centre, London, UK
Nothing like starting your day with a dance party!
- Audience member Kate Cordaro @kateydaro
Fantastic performance, the use of movement and sound was incredibly imaginative.
Both my 4 year old daughter and 9 month old daughter were mesmerized throughout !
- Audience member