Theatre / News
Suspension Bridge vaults to host theatre
Just 12 people at a time will be able to see the first ever theatre performances staged within the cavernous vaults of the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Orpheus & Eurydice will be performed by the Bristol-based Insane Root company, who have previously performed Macbeth in Redcliffe Caves (pictured above).
Audience members will be among the very few people who have entered the cavernous space in the last 150 years.
Huge vaults sit beneath both of the bridge’s towers on the Leigh Woods and Clifton sides.
Sealed since the day the bridge opened, experts long believed the abutments were made out of solid stone until in 2002 when a builder replacing paving slabs removed rotten wood to discover the shafts to the forgotten vaults.
Now, following a full survey, a dozen arched vaults hold the secret to the bridge’s strength. Tours began in the summer of 2016 after doorways were drilled into the sides of the abutments.
Orpheus & Eurydice will last for 35 minutes, featuring music by Ellie Showering, and a script by the acclaimed writer Alison Farina, performed semi-promenade in the Leigh Woods vaults, with audience members required to be able to climb up and down a vertical ladder and advised to wear sturdy shoes.
There will be six performances a day from February 17 to March 12. Tickets cost £20 and are available to buy now from www.insaneroot.co.uk.
Main photo by Jamie Corbin
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