Art group is bridging the gap with its summer performance on the canal
Fizzgigs, Ellesmere’s Community Arts Group, is getting ready for a spectacular new show to be performed early in June.
Bridging the Gap will tell the tale of how Thomas Telford was brought in to solve the problem of how to built a canal across the Welsh hills to connect Ellesmere to the newly named Ellesmere Port on the Mersey.
Anyone wanting to be involved as actors, musicians, artists, technicians, stage hands, stewards and other roles can find out more at an introductory meeting at 7.30pm on March 20 at The Ellesmere Hotel, in High Street, Ellesmere.
It was there that an appeal was launched in 1792 to raise money to build the canal.
Mirjana Garland, chair of Fizzgigs, said that the group was very excited about the event which would be a family-friendly performance of fun entertainment.
Called Bridging the Gap, the show focuses on the late eighteenth century when canal mania gripped the nation but investors faced the dilemma of how to build a flat waterway across the hills of Denbighshire.
It tells how investors brought in engineering giant Thomas Telford to solve the problem.
“We would be delighted to welcome anyone who would like to be involved in this fascinating community project to come along to the meeting on March 20,” said Mirjana.
Bridging the Gap follows on from last year’s successful performance, backed by the Canal and River Trust, when Fizzgigs told the story of four women from the canal boating world.
Rosemary Drake, whose huge figures dressed as a boatwoman was the starting point for the original work, said last year’s performance attracted over 400 people and many compliments.
“It made sense to repeat the experience but on a new theme,” she said.
Preparation for the show is already well underway with a script commissioned from Oswestry-based script writer Shaun Higgins. The show will be directed by Alison Utting of Ellesmere who has considerable experience in stage and theatre.
Kate Westgate, a member of Fizzgigs who is helping steer the project said: “There will be music a-plenty and lots of opportunities for audience involvement. But for now, we just need to put together a crew to turn the script into the usual Fizzgigs magic.”
Details of the meeting at The Ellesmere Hotel and all Fizzgigs activities can be found at www.fizzgigs.co.uk
