Festival of the Sky Presents… The Twilight Hour

Created by internationally recognised performance company, Periplum and produced by From the Fields, The Twilight Hour will help re-imagine some of the stories, history, folklore and memories unique to Cleethorpes and its people.

Ahead of the performance, the organisers want to work with the local community and artists in the area to create this work, and they are already looking for:

• stories of women workers, industry and sea-faring
• magical stories of supernatural characters in Cleethorpes, especially women, e.g. wise women and ghosts
• any stories relating to Meridian Park Showground, and the Meridian Line itself
• local dialect – expressions and words unique to Cleethorpes
• personal memories of places & people (memorable & eccentric characters) and life in the town
• childhood memories – school / gang rivalries, places where children played, and the games they took part in
• social history and heritage, stories of pubs & bars, sports and community clubs
• changes in the landscape, natural and built
• stories of life by the sea and seaside activities
• vintage or modern film footage, postcards and pictures

If you can help with any of the above, please email: periplumperformance@gmail.com in the first instance.

As part of the theatrical spectacle Periplum will deliver a performance participation programme, supporting 20 young people between the ages of 18-25 to develop their theatrical skills, and then perform as part of the public show.

Additionally, there will be an exciting wrap-around programme with community partners, to offer a diverse range of further engagement opportunities, including a volunteer programme, providing a range of opportunities to support the show, and a creative response programme whereby 45 local photographers, writers and film artists will be able to experience and respond to the spectacle.

In securing a grant of more than £90,000 to support the event from the Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grant, James Trowsdale, Cultural Lead at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “This will be a fabulous extravaganza celebrating Cleethorpes’ heritage with pyrotechnics, performance and sounds not seen in the area before.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have been working on a number of projects in the background to make sure that when it’s safe to do so, we can bring brilliant projects like this forward.”

Cllr Callum Procter, Cabinet member for culture, said: “I’m really pleased that we’ll be building on both the success of Festival of the Sky in 2019 and other related cultural initiatives in the region, developed and delivered over the last two years, including the Grimsby Creates programme.

“Along with other festivals, including the Festival of the Sea in Grimsby this year and next, we are helping to develop the local cultural and creative ambition, and building our cultural credentials for the future.”

This project will supplement and enrich the work of Grimsby Creates, the Cultural Development Fund initiative, which is supporting the growth of the local creative sector through its development of a high specification site specific commission targeted at local audiences.

ENDS