More than 1,000 festival-goers enjoyed an exciting smorgasbord of entertainment in July at a new event organised by Theatre Orchard and Culture Weston.
Live at the Quarry showcased at Weston's historic, old town quarry with a series of live shows taking place under canvas in a fairy-lit stretch tent, all run on solar-power.
The magical venue presented a diverse mix of socially spaced shows, where audiences lost themselves in music, comedy, cabaret, theatre, dance, poetry and spoken word, as well as the stunning surroundings of the natural landscape.
Live at the Quarry was made possible through Arts Council England and the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, which enabled Theatre Orchard to run the events and welcome audiences back to outdoor arts, in the beautiful ‘hidden gem’ of Weston’s old town quarry.
Fiona Matthews, artistic director at Theatre Orchard said: “Live at the Quarry was a truly uplifting event bringing together the brilliance of live arts and an amazing community spirit under one canvas roof. Huge thanks to the amazing audiences and our band of volunteer Culture Makers who helped to make it all such a great success.
“In keeping with the beauty of the surroundings and in line with our green policy, the event also promoted sustainable practise and eco-friendly features from solar powered performances to locally sourced drinks and food.”
People of all ages enjoyed a range of evening and daytime shows from July 1-17, as nationally-acclaimed acts performed alongside some outstanding local and regional talent.
Performances ranged from sell-out music and DJ sets to theatre, poetry and family workshops, including collaborations with the town’s Loves Café and The Brit Bar.
Among the highlights were popular South West artists including Booty Bass, Kosheen, RSVP Bhangra, Roustabout Theatre and Bristol Comedy Box, as well as emerging talent from Weston and a new commission from theatre maker Tom Marshman.
The team behind the successful event is hoping to organise more performances next year. Tom Newman, programme manager at Culture Weston, said: "We're planning to build on the success of this year's Live at the Quarry and put on more live performance in the stretch tent as a pop up venue and will be looking at a range of location options to bring a summer programme of live performance to Weston in 2022."
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