Friday 7th until Saturday 22nd May 2010 @ Various Venues, Bristol

So that was this year’s Mayfest, Bristol’s festival of contemporary theatre, back with its biggest and unquestionably best programme yet. We laughed, we cried, we laughed some more. Those two weeks went by so fast it all seems like a mad, blurry dream and I wouldn’t believe some of the crazy stuff that happened if it wasn’t for the stacks of theatre stubs that currently litter my desk. Having taken a couple of days off to calm myself right back down to a healthier pace of life however, I now feel ready to share some of the incredibly insane and insanely incredible experiences I’ve have courtesy of this brilliant festival. A lot of these might sound fictional or exaggerated but I can guarantee everything mentioned here took place – mate, you should have been there!

…I pierced a girl’s ear (twice), thumb-wrestled, completely destroyed a washing machine with a hammer and saw, watched the world’s first solo synchronised swimming routine and then practiced a bit of my own on the top deck of a cruise liner, followed a commuter across town as he danced in underpasses, hosted a gameshow inside a caravan, gambled on a fist-fight in a ship’s hull, received a very personal letter from a character I had met days before (yes, the character not the actor), controlled the mouse pointer on a giant onstage cardboard computer screen, played at treasure hunts in a supermarket, kissed a yummy actress as part of a show, watched cranes build a four-storey hotel to be used as a performance space on the harbourside, and held a man’s floppy cock onstage. It was a crazy fortnight.

As you can see, Mayfest is not your average theatre festival experience. For everyone who got involved, I’ll meet you on a Kings Street picnic bench to share notes and ales; for everyone who wasn’t, what are you doing with your lives? Contemporary theatre this good is not something to be passed up. It is above and beyond any other medium of performance simply because it can make you laugh harder, touch you more deeply and engage you so much more completely than films, music, sport or television ever could.

The only real downside to this year’s festival was the fact there was almost too much stuff on. I managed to squeeze in 17 shows in those two weeks and me and many other patrons were moaning about “theatre burnout”, but there were in fact around 39 shows and I missed out on some stuff I would have jumped at if they were on at any other time of the year. The Mayfest programme declared that dates and times were organised this year so it was possible to see every show if you so desired but I would love to meet the uber-athletic, wealthy, determined and insanely committed theatre groupie who managed it. It’s just a shame because I really felt everything was worth watching this year. However, it is a festival after all and maybe it’s unrealistic to expect to see everything, but spreading the festival over another week so everything’s not so dense and intense might be something to look at. That and a few more money saving incentives would go down very nicely.

That’s just nitpicking though as Mayfest 2010 was a fantastic festival, a tremendous success that was great fun and managed to create a real buzz around the whole city. The festival truly has become a superb event and is a glowing highlight on Bristol’s culture calendar.

All the individual reviews Suit Yourself Magazine produced during Mayfest can still be found easily on the SY blog but if people are interested a few name-checked standouts from this year, well, here you go:

Craziest Idea:
Famous Last Words (Greg McLaren)

Unexpected Delight:
Where We Live and What We Live For (Kings of England)

Had Most Fun At:
Forest Fringe Microfest - Speed Dating

Funniest:
The Human Computer (Will Adamsdale)

Most Moving:
Everything Must Go (Kristin Fredricksson)

Most Interesting:
Electric Hotel (Fuel)

Most Memorable:
Internal (Ontroerend Goed)

Best Overall Show:
Love & War (The Mark Bruce Company)

www.mayfestbristol.co.uk

Matthew Whittle www.matthewwhittleblog.blogspot.com