New troupe stepping high

Press, 10 February 1988, Page 22

New troupe stepping high

By ANABRIGHT HAY Purple Inc. rarely performs on stages or in front of curtains — beaches, lawns and streets are more usual venues for this energetic young theatre company. A troupe of four performers who trained together at the Christchurch Academy on theatrical Access courses last year, Purple Inc. has been performing at a variety of outdoor venues. The core members of the group are Chris Harding, Andrew Hampton, Anita Martens and Carol Osgood. Jane Pickering is the administrator.

Stilt walking and fire eating are two of the group’s more spectacular activities, but the performers have a wide variety of skills to draw on in their quest to provide colourful vibrant theatre. Juggling, clowning, playing games and story telling are regular ingredients of a Purple Inc. performance and make the group particularly popular with children. Young birthday party guests in a number of Canterbury homes have already enjoyed performances by Purple Inc. members but they plan to

spread their net wider. They are busy working on a programme to take to primary schools. The artistic director of Purple Inc., Chris Harding, hopes the group may eventually perform in secondary schools. “We’d like to perhaps include some thought-pro-voking material on community issues of interest to secondary school pupils like unemployment,” he said. “Not to moralise, but say this is what’s happening and how do you feel about it?” Fostering self esteem

and providing youth with a healthy means to self expression are some of the benefits the group see its performances giving people. While not a conventional theatre company, Purple Inc. is keen to perform interpretations of established plays and create new works. The group’s next performance is at the Malvern Country Folk Music Festival on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The group will also perform at the Lincoln College hostel orientation on February 23 and 24.