Brunel 200 Finale Celebrations

Brunel 200 finale celebrations!

Friday 15 to Sunday 17 September 2006

At venues across Bristol

Throughout 2006, Bristol has been celebrating the 200th birthday of one of the greatest engineers ever to have lived – Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Brunel 200 has been promoting dozens of events across the city – exhibitions, plays, education work, music, dance, poetry, radio performances, lectures, publications, fireworks, even ‘Fizzambard’ spring water and Brunel beer!

Thousands of people have enjoyed visiting, watching, reading, listening to and taking part in these activities but the time has come to draw our fun to a close.

Over the weekend of 15 – 17 September, we will be re-visiting some of our favourite projects, giving you chance to catch them for the first time if you missed out earlier in the year, or to see them again if you loved them first time around. The weekend will also be a springboard for future Brunel-related projects, carrying the legacy beyond 2006.

For further information, visit our website: www.brunel200.com

PROGRAMME:

BRUNEL FRAMED EXHIBITION FREE Friday 8 – Sunday 17 September 12 – 5pm Create Centre, B Bond, Smeaton Road A celebration by local photographers, including Mark Simmons, Paul Box and David White, of the Brunel 200 art projects in Bristol and the memorable fireworks launch event. NOVA – exhibits from the group’s sculpture trail inspired by the 11 minutes ‘lost’ when Bristol adopted London time as a result of Brunel’s Great Western Railway. Watershed's Bristol Stories – artists, engineers and architects have created digitally illustrated stories inspired by Brunel’s impact on the city of Bristol. Sculptures and images created in local schools will also be exhibited.

THE BRUNEL MILE FREE Friday 15 September Brunel Mile, Temple Meads to ss Great Britain Unveiling of the Brunel Mile, the Bristol Legible City initiative running from Temple Meads station to the ss Great Britain. Visit www.bristollegiblecity.info for further information.

TRAVELLING LIGHT PERFORMANCE FREE Friday 15 1.30pm Bristol Old Vic Studio, King Street The Family Deaf Centre and Elmfield School present a unique opportunity to see the very best talent from deaf children and young people, with an electric mix of poetry, short stories, film and physical

1 theatre – the first time deaf theatre has been seen on the stage at the Old Vic!

BRUNEL BANQUET Friday 15 7.30pm Passenger Shed, British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Temple Meads Re-creation of the Royal Banquet of 1843 that launched the ss Great Britain, with good wine, prodigious entertainment and friendly fellow diners. With music from Bristol Brass and Emerald Ensemble and photographs by David White. More information from 01275 370790.

ART AND POWER MURAL UNVEILING FREE Saturday 16 11.00-11.45am Platform 1, Temple Meads station Throughout the year, artist Steve Joyce has been working with Art & Power to create a 12 metre long mural to be installed behind platform 1 at Temple Meads station. The unveiling of this beautiful artwork will be accompanied by the orchestra of The Brunel Sinfonia playing the first movement of Industrial Dreams, commissioned by Burges Salmon LLP from BAFTA-winning composer Geoffrey Burgon, commemorating Brunel's achievements in building the Great Western Railway. The orchestra will also play a short selection of popular classical pieces.

THE ISAMBARD PROJECT FREE Saturday 16 from 12.30pm Underfall Yard, Cumberland Basin Shipwrights at the Underfall Boat Yard have started building two Cornish Pilot Gigs which will be raced in the docks and through the South West of England from next summer. To mark Brunel 200 the first gig is to be called Isambard. A new club is being formed in Bristol to organise training and competitions and, on the 16th, the shipwrights will be on hand to show off their work and tell you how you could become involved.

A TALE OF TWO BRIDGES FREE Saturday 16 1.30pm Brunel’s Swivel Bridge, Cumberland Basin - meet under Plimsol Bridge Continuing our focus on an area of the city often overlooked when Brunel’s achievements are promoted, David Neale, former Docks Engineer for the City Docks, and David Greenfield, former Bridge Engineer for Somerset County Council, present this entertaining lecture. Further information from: www.brunelbridge.org.uk

NOVA GROUP’S SCULPTURE UNVEILING FREE Saturday 16 2pm Lock Master’s notice board, Cumberland Basin promontory Unveiling of NOVA group's Brunel enamel notice board sculpture in partnership with University of West of England School of Art. Dance Bristol boys dance group perform 'Defy', with choreography by Kwesi Johnson. Supported by Lockside Café and the office of the Harbour Master.

AN AUDIENCE WITH SARAH GUPPY INCLUDED IN ADMISSION TO ss GREAT BRITAIN Sunday 17 12 noon

2 Hayward Saloon, ss Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Gas Ferry Road Sarah Guppy: inventor, engineer and the woman who brought Brunel to Bristol. Hear her story, written by Sheila Hannon and presented by Kim Hicks of Show of Strength Theatre Company, and soak up the atmosphere of Brunel's great ship.

BRUNEL THE HERO PERFORMANCE INCLUDED IN ADMISSION TO ss GREAT BRITAIN Sunday 17 1.30pm and 3pm Hayward Saloon, ss Great Britain, Great Western Dockyard, Gas Ferry Road Foremost actor-manager of our time, Mr Walter Coborn, most ably assisted by Miss Jenny Dalton and the Flying Rossillo Twins, presents the true story of a hero born in a time of heroes: a hero who fights battles, defeats monsters and wins the heart of a beautiful princess. The play is written and directed by Toby Hulse, and was originally performed by Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in over forty schools across the region.

TRIANGULATION PERFORMANCE INCLUDED IN ADMISSION to ss GREAT BRITAIN Sunday 17 12 noon and 1.30pm Maritime Heritage Centre lecture theatre, ss Great Britain Devised by Pete Judge, Reuben Knutson and Bob Walton, Triangulation was an uplifting site-specific event staged in the Cumberland Basin flyover. Featuring some of the leading performers from Bristol’s thriving jazz, improvisation and digital sound scene, this performance is repeated in a new location.

AN AUDIENCE WITH SARAH GUPPY FREE Sunday 17 7.00pm Auditorium, Create Centre, Bond B, Smeaton Road Sarah Guppy: inventor, engineer and the woman who brought Brunel to Bristol. Hear her story, written by Sheila Hannon and presented by Kim Hicks of Show of Strength Theatre Company.

Acknowledgements

Major funders: National Lottery Arts Council Heritage Lottery Fund Bristol City Council Business West

Finale supporters and partners: ss Great Britain Lockside Café Bristol Old Vic Theatre The Create Centre First Great Western Arup Burges Salmon

Brunel 200 is an initiative of Bristol Cultural Development Partnership,

3 Leigh Court, Abbots Leigh, Bristol BS8 3RA

T: +44 (0) 1275 370815 E: [email protected] www.brunel200.com