About

Forced Entertainment: Real Magic (UK Premiere)

Forced Entertainment’s new performance Real Magic creates a world of absurd disconnection, struggle and comical repetition. To the sound of looped applause and canned laughter, a group of performers take part in an impossible illusion – part mind-reading feat, part cabaret act, part chaotic game show – in which they are endlessly replaying the moment of defeat and the moment of hope. Caught in a world of second-chances and second-guesses, variations and changes, distortions and transformations, Real Magic takes the audience on a hallucinatory journey, creating a compelling performance about optimism, individual agency and the desire for change. 

Forced Entertainment are a group of 6 artists who have been making performance since 1984 – questioning, pushing and breaking theatre to see what can be built from the wreckage. Based in Sheffield, UK, their work has been seen all over the world. 

Conceived and devised by the company: Robin Arthur, Tim Etchells, Richard Lowdon, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden and Terry O’Connor

Artistic Director: Tim Etchells 

Performers: Jerry Killick, Richard Lowdon and Claire Marshall 

Lighting Design: Jim Harrison 

Design: Richard Lowdon

Production Management: Jim Harrison 

Sound Technicians: Greg Akenhurst, Doug Currie 

Project Assistant: Anna Krauss 

Music, Electronics & Sound Editing: John Avery 

Loops: Tim Etchells‘Grave’, from Telemann Fantasia Number 1 in B-Flat Major Aisha Orazbayeva

Forced Entertainment Creative Team:

Robin Arthur, Tim Etchells (Artistic Director), Richard Lowdon (Designer), Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden and Terry O’Connor.

Forced Entertainment Management Team: 

Eileen Evans (Executive Director), Jim Harrison (Production Manager), Natalie Simpson (Office Manager), Callum Berridge (Marketing Intern)

Forced Entertainment is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. 

Real Magic is a Forced Entertainment production. Co-produced by: PACT Zollverein Essen, HAU Hebbel Am Ufer Berlin, Künsterlhaus Moustonturm Frankfurt, Tanzquartier Wien Vienna, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, University of Sussex and the Spalding Gray Consortium – On the Boards Seattle, PS122 NYC, Walker Art Center Minneapolis and Warhol Museum Pittsburgh. 

The Real Magic performances are part of a three-day intensive Forced Entertainment residency at Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts that also includes a video screening (Uncertain Fragments), a public conversation about the company's work, between Tim Etchells and Dr. Sara Jane Bailes, and culminates in a rare chance to see the group’s legendary durational work of improvised storytelling And on the Thousandth Night… which runs 4 to 10pm on Saturday 12 November, with the audience free to arrive depart and return at any point.

General Information

Guests with Mobility Impairments

Guests who use a wheelchair or experience mobility impairments are asked to call the box office on 01273 678822 or email info@attenboroughcentre.com so that we can assist you to find the best seat to suit your requirements.

Pay What You Decide

There are up to 20 Pay What You Decide (PWYD) tickets available to guests on a first-come, first-served basis. Come and see the show without paying anything in advance, and then pay what you think is appropriate at the end of the show. Maximum of four PWYD tickets per person. Please phone the box office on 01273 678822 or email info@attenboroughcentre.com for further information.

Concessions

The Concessions rate is available for students, University of Sussex students, Over 60s and people receiving JSA or DLA/PIP. Proof of eligibility may be required on the door or at the box office (if collecting).

A free ticket is available for essential companions or carers of disabled people. Please contact the box office on 01273 678822 or email info@attenboroughcentre.com for further information.

Box Office Opening Times

The box office phone line and drop-in service is open from 10am to 4pm, Mondays to Fridays.