PRESS RELEASE
21 September 2015
Immediate release
REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE LIKE NEVER BEFORE AT HALF MOON’S
FUN PALACES FREE FAMILY FUN DAY ON SATURDAY 3 OCTOBER
Half Moon Theatre is taking part in a nationwide celebration of arts and culture on Saturday 3 October
where they will reduce, reuse and recycle like never before through all things arty and dramatic. Fun
Palaces is a free family fun day that showcases a vibrant collection of events celebrating arts and the
environment organised by the local community for the local community.
Throughout the day, which runs from 10am-4pm, there will a variety of free events with a recycling theme,
including 15 minute interactive storytelling performances by Tell Tale Hearts Theatre, music workshops,
science experiments, a garden area where you can make a pot and plant a seed, bottle top art, craft
sessions, a gallery trail, art workshops and the chance to take part in a junk orchestra.
The Machine of Visual Delights is an interactive art installation created by Deborah Andrews, who returns
to Half Moon after a successful exhibition in the gallery space earlier in the year, and will run from 11am–
3.45pm. Participants feed the answer to a given question into the machine which then generates a piece of
unique art. It’s an engaging work that playfully combines illustration, installation and participation to create
delightful experiences for young and old alike.
Our current gallery exhibition, Recycollages – Junk Transformed, is by Susan Wadsworth who uses the
everyday debris of our throw-away society - such as plastic toys, old comics, drinking straws, broken
jewellery and plastic bags – to create her striking and playful art. Susan will be at Half Moon throughout the
day creating a bottle top hanging display that will go on permanent display at Half Moon Theatre.
Based on a never-built idea from theatre director Joan Littlewood and architect Cedric Price, the first Fun
Palaces took place in the UK and worldwide in October 2014, when 138 venues, locations, communities and
groups created their own local events. Over 3,000 people took part in organising these events, many of
them as volunteers, and approximately 40,000 people attended Fun Palaces in person, while tens of
thousands more engaged with them online.
Fun Palaces are about working with and from our own communities, creating events that bring together
arts and sciences – but above all people – to work together, create together, have fun together, and in
doing so, build our own communities, from the grassroots up.
Chris Elwell, Director of Half Moon commented: “We are delighted to be a part of Fun Palaces 2015 and
are thrilled to be creating a unique pop-up event across our beautiful building. It’s going to be an exciting
day with lots of engaging free family events that will make us all think about the important issue of
recycling and the environment, while also celebrating arts and sciences and the crucial role they play in
human life. We look forward to welcoming you to the Half Moon Fun Palace. Dip into one or two events, or
stay for the whole day.”
ENDS
LISTINGS DETAILS
Half Moon Fun Palace
Saturday 3 October, 10am & 4pm
Half Moon Theatre
43 White Horse Road, London E1 0ND
All events are free.
More information: 020 7709 8900 or online at www.halfmoon.org.uk
TIMETABLE OF EVENTS
Workshops and activities: 10am – 4pm
The Machine of Visual Delights: 11am – 3.45pm
Suitcase Stories (lasts 15 minutes): 10.30am, 11.15am, 12pm, 12.45pm, 2pm and 2.45pm
Supported by Tower Hamlets Council.
PHOTO-CALL:
Members of the press, and press photographers are invited to Half Moon Theatre on Saturday 3 October
throughout the day to take photos of the events and activities.
Please email stephen@halfmoon.org.uk (or call 020 7709 8907) if you are able to send a photographer.
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information or to arrange interviews and photographs please contact Stephen Beeny on 020
7709 8907 or stephen@halfmoon.org.uk
A selection of images can be downloaded from Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/i4ffivdieot8jne/AAAQ7Q6hLvZwRVxF1ROPOgxxa?dl=0
ABOUT HALF MOON
Half Moon is a local organisation with a national remit, committed to supporting artists and young people
at every stage of their creative development. Working from their base in East London, Half Moon
specialises in new writing and artform development, acting as a gateway organisation that provides
pathways for progression and experimentation. Half Moon’s wide-ranging programme reaches 49,000
people annually and engages those who are often excluded from arts activity. Half Moon’s activity includes
a season of professional plays for young audiences, national touring productions and an extensive creative
learning programme, including six youth theatres.
Half Moon is a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England and receives regular funding from
the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Website: www.halfmoon.org.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/halfmoontheatre
Twitter: @HalfMoonTheatre
For press enquiries please contact: Stephen Beeny
Communications Manager
stephen@halfmoon.org.uk
020 7709 8907