PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME
After three years, we are thrilled to welcome you back to a packed programme of Physical Fest!
For six exciting days, we’ll be bringing together exceptional local, national and international artists to celebrate the very best in contemporary physical theatre. Expect inspiring workshops, northwest premieres, performances, and the chance to discover exciting new work from our Female Bursary Award winners and the Tmesis Training Company.
We’ve really missed the energy, creativity and sense of community that makes Physical Fest so special, and we can’t wait to share it with you once again.
A huge thank you to our funders, Arts Council England and Liverpool City Council, whose support has made this festival possible.
We look forward to welcoming you to Physical Fest!.
Elinor Randle Artistic Director- Tmesis Theatre & Physical Fest
LIVE EVENTS
PARKER DEE: UNGIRLFRIENDED| PETA LILLY- TUES 8TH SEPT- 7.30PM- UNITY THEATRE
It’s drag, it’s comedy, it’s cabaret, it’s clown. Parker Dee is a wannabe woke ‘cis-het-straight-white-man’. His girlfriend taught him how to be a sensitive guy, but when she dumped him, he found himself teetering on the edge of the Manosphere!
What’s a guy to do but write a deeply moving and fearlessly exposing cabaret show?
Watch him battle back from heartbreak with quirky takes on pop standards and killingly witty original songs – the bluesy ‘Manspreading’ and the heartrending Brel-like ballad ‘Ow, Baby’. Ungirlfriended is full of poignant moments, hilarious twists and snazzy outfits. Anyone with a heart should see it.
Peta Lily is a director, performer, theatre maker. One of the main practitioners in the early physical theatre movement, she trained with Le Coq, Gaulier, Monika Pagneux, Yoshi Oida, Sankai Juku (Butoh Dance), Mike Alfreds (Theatre Direction) and Carlo Boso (Commedia dell’Arte).
BOOK TICKETS HERE
"KURUGO ME, TOGETHER!" | IZUMI ASHIZAWA - WEDNESDAY 9H SEPTEMBER - 6.00PM - UNITY THEATRE
This is a participatory performance art. The audience is invited to make the performer “invisible” by putting on the Kurogo costume pieces.
[Definition: Kurogo]
Kurogo is a figure on the stage dressed in black in the Japanese traditional theatre genres of Bunraku puppetry and Kabuki. Kurogo signifies “invisible”/ “ non-existent”, functioning to support the on-stage characters. In both of these 400-year-old Bunraku and Kabuki, women have not been permitted to perform professionally on the stage.
Izumi Ashizawa is a Japanese performance and visual artist, born/trained in Tokyo, based in New York. Rooted in her deep study/training in Japanese culture, she specializes in transmedia performance art, particularly keen on reinterpreting male-only-permitted Japanese traditional cultural codes, and places them in a different context to give a new meaning.
“Izumi Ashizawa has created a gut-wrenching realm of discovery where commonsense is thrown aside and your latent instincts are awakened.”—DC Metro Theater Arts
Ashizawa’s direction have the same kind of ritualistic beauty that one might find in a Japanese tea ceremony”—AmericanTheatre Web
“The show conjures up an otherworldly atmosphere that makes it intoxicating.”—Washington City Paper
BOOK TICKETS HERE
FEMALE BURSARIES /TMESIS TRAINING COMPANY SHARING - WEDNESDAY 9TH SEPTEMBER - 8.00PM - UNITY THEATRE
PHYSICAL FEST FEMALE BURSARIES 2026
Join us as we showcase two brand-new works by this year’s Physical Fest Female Bursary recipients. Supporting the development of women creating innovative physical theatre, the bursary provides funding, mentoring and creative support to bring bold new ideas to the stage. We’re delighted to share these exciting new performances as part of Physical Fest 2026.
TMESIS TRAINING COMPANY 2026
The 2026 Tmesis Training Company joins forces with Tmesis Theatre to create a brand-new ensemble physical theatre production inspired by the myth of the Minotaur. Developed through an intensive training programme, this original performance showcases the creativity, skill and collaborative spirit of the next generation of physical theatre artists.
BOOK TICKETS HERE
CLOWN DOUBLE BILL | MARIE CHOU-FLEUR - THURSDAY 10TH SEPT- 7.30PM- UNITY THEATRE
ALL OF US | JAMIE WOOD/ DAN LEES
Two ordinary clowns look out at the horizon, both with different goals. The sun shines on their behinds as metaphors nip their ankles. Will they stride fearlessly towards the unknown or sheepishly head back to shore? Perhaps rivalry will ruin everything?
★★★★ ‘Clowns of the highest order’ A Younger Theatre ★★★★ ‘A vital dose of joy’ Fest Magazine.
MARIE CHOU-FLEUR
Meet Marie Chou‑Fleur: a gloriously absurd, big‑hearted guide to being human. Part clown, part confidant, she arrives with joy, foolish wisdom and an unshakeable belief in you. Speaking straight from the heart, Marie celebrates who we are, who we might become, and the stories we tell ourselves along the way. Funny, stupid and deeply heartfelt, this playful show invites you to laugh, dream bigger, and feel truly seen — leaving with a lighter spirit, a fuller heart, and the sense that maybe, just maybe, everything is possible.
BOOK TICKETS HERE
"KURUGO ME, TOGETHER!" | IZUMI ASHIZAWA - WEDNESDAY 9H SEPTEMBER - 6.00PM - UNITY THEATRE
This is a participatory performance art. The audience is invited to make the performer “invisible” by putting on the Kurogo costume pieces.
[Definition: Kurogo]
Kurogo is a figure on the stage dressed in black in the Japanese traditional theatre genres of Bunraku puppetry and Kabuki. Kurogo signifies “invisible”/ “ non-existent”, functioning to support the on-stage characters. In both of these 400-year-old Bunraku and Kabuki, women have not been permitted to perform professionally on the stage.
Izumi Ashizawa is a Japanese performance and visual artist, born/trained in Tokyo, based in New York. Rooted in her deep study/training in Japanese culture, she specializes in transmedia performance art, particularly keen on reinterpreting male-only-permitted Japanese traditional cultural codes, and places them in a different context to give a new meaning.
“Izumi Ashizawa has created a gut-wrenching realm of discovery where commonsense is thrown aside and your latent instincts are awakened.”—DC Metro Theater Arts
Ashizawa’s direction have the same kind of ritualistic beauty that one might find in a Japanese tea ceremony”—AmericanTheatre Web
“The show conjures up an otherworldly atmosphere that makes it intoxicating.”—Washington City Paper
BOOK TICKETS HERE
Female Bursaries/Training Company Sharing - Wednesday 9th September
8.00PM - UNITY THEATRE
PHYSICAL FEST FEMALE BURSARIES 2026
Join us as we showcase two brand-new works by this year’s Physical Fest Female Bursary recipients. Supporting the development of women creating innovative physical theatre, the bursary provides funding, mentoring and creative support to bring bold new ideas to the stage. We’re delighted to share these exciting new performances as part of Physical Fest 2026.
TMESIS TRAINING COMPANY 2026
The 2026 Tmesis Training Company joins forces with Tmesis Theatre to create a brand-new ensemble physical theatre production inspired by the myth of the Minotaur. Developed through an intensive training programme, this original performance showcases the creativity, skill and collaborative spirit of the next generation of physical theatre artists.
BOOK TICKETS HERE
PERFORMANCE VENUES
Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place, Liverpool, L1 9BG