Niki McCretton presents Space 50 A Theatrical Voyage to Mark 50 Years of Space Travel at Bridport Arts Centre on hursday 10 April 2008, 7.30pm

Space 50 receives personal endorsement by Sir Arthur C Clarke:

“Our human achievements in space over the past half-century should be marked by a celebration that reflects such innovation and exhilaration.  Space 50 will, I’m sure, present audiences across the globe with an lasting experience that draws them into the joy of exploration and enables them, as space travel does, to reflect on their own humanity and the beauty of our unique planet”

As a child, Bridport based performer Niki McCretton wanted to be an astronaut. Now in the 21st century space tourism is here. Driven by her lifelong passion, Niki takes us on an epic expedition of extraordinary moments from history, fuelled by her imagination. Spanning fifty years of the space race, Space 50 revisits a time when ambition exceeded logic, and men were sent to the moon to touchdown in not much more than a tinfoil spacecraft. Space 50 tells some of the personal stories of those people who experienced this astronomic goal, who saw earth from outer space, and the aftermath.
 
Space 50 features two live performers and is produced by an outstanding creative team featuring animation, film and an original score. The text has been written by Andrew Smith, whose best-seller Moondust recounts how he tracks down nine of the astronauts who walked on the moon. The original concept and research for the piece included working with leading popular author Piers Bizony, who specialises in space. This is Niki’s second project with award-winning director, Guy Dartnell, and film-maker Kathy Hinde.
 
In preparation for Space 50, Niki’s research took her to Star City, where she visited the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre just outside Moscow and saw the Soyuz simulators, the centrifuge room and the neutral buoyancy lab - an underwater facility that simulates the conditions of a zero-g space walk outside of the space shuttle.
 
Niki explains, “I travelled to Russia with my father who is 66 and had some fascinating memories of the space age. I’m interested in the memories and opinions that people have, going right back to 1957. So much has changed since satellites came along and I want to reflect those planetary rites of passage.”
 
She also met Captain Alan Bean of the Apollo 12 mission, fourth man to walk on the moon (first man to eat spaghetti there!). He is now a visual artist. Space 50 received a personal endorsement by leading science fiction author Sir Arthur C. Clarke (see above).
 
Niki continues, “I’d like people to send in memories of significant moments from man’s journey into space; what they felt when Sputnik 1 sent back its eerie signal, when Yuri Gagarin went into orbit or where they were when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon. Hand them in to Bridport Arts Centre where they will be collated and made available at the performance.”
 
Space 50 is commissioned by ICIA at the University of Bath as part of its ongoing policy to commission new arts projects regionally and nationally. With support from: Activate (Dorset), Arts Council England, Bournemouth University, Dance South West, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Halton Borough Council (Brindley Arts Centre), Merlin Theatre (Frome), Take Art (Somerset), The Lighthouse (Poole),  Sponsored by  PBC&T and Bellingham International.

Tickets for the show are available from the box office on 01308 424204.

Tickets: £10, £9 supporters, concessions, £5 students
Box Office: 01308 424204