City News

Adults, families and children around the midlands are being encouraged to come and experience a FREE theatrical, pyrotechnical and magical fairy tale performance in the very heart of Birmingham City Centre on June 22nd, 23rd and 24th.

The location, Paradise Gardens, near Chamberlain Square (by Birmingham Central Library) will see experimental arts company HamFisted! deliver a city fairytale performance entitled Paradise Dreaming, inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The magical tale involves an array of performance skills (acting, music, circus, visual arts and pyrotechnics) brought alive by a mixture of trained professionals and community groups and facilitated by ‘HamFisted!

The shows start at 8.30pm in Birmingham’s Chamberlain Square where the audience is invited to be guests at what seems to be a relatively normal wedding party ….however it is Midsummer and all may not be as first perceived … so you better watch out for the naughty fairies!

The wedding party leads through to a unique and creatively transformed Paradise Place gardens, providing an unusual and inspiring backdrop to this magical, interactive and theatrical experience.

The event is FREE but those wishing to attend are recommended to reserve tickets my emailing their name, and address to: paradise@hamfisted.org.uk or alternatively they can call 0121 622 1424 and leave details of how many tickets, on what date and a name and address. Tickets will need to be collected on the night. Numbers are limited so reserve your ticket now!

Tickets will be distributed on the night from a ticket booth in Chamberlain Square. Performances start at 8.30pm but people are recommended to arrive between 7.45 and 8.15pm to allow time for ticket collection.

Johnny O’Hanlon, the HamFisted! artist leading the project, commented ‘HamFisted! aims to put smiles on people’s faces, and we intend that the people of Birmingham who take part in and watch these performances will have an inspiring, extraordinary and highly enjoyable experience. The opportunity to work on a site-specific piece, engaging with diverse art forms and artists, is a rare and challenging experience for us all.'

He continued ’We are using the inspiration of Shakespeare’s text, but we are also inspired by the extraordinary location and appearance of the gardens on Paradise Place. This formal garden is pretty and well tended but is barely noticed by most city centre users, passing by it on the upper level by the library and navigating by it in their cars around Paradise Circus. It is dominated by towering concrete buildings and the roar of traffic … it couldn’t be anywhere else but the heart of the city.’

Paradise Dreaming truly is a unique performance in Birmingham, by the people of Birmingham … Come along and enjoy the magic!