THE JINGAH PROJECT
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the storybook & musical
The Jingah ProjecT
In 2018, together with City Arts Nottingham, Chloé Charody Creations Ltd. successfully secured funding from Arts Council England to create a free community and education-based production of ‘Jingah Island’ - a new musical written by Duncan Townsend & Chloé Charody. However, the unexpected delays caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic forced the team to re-think how they were going to present Jingah Island, and this is how The Jingah Project was born.
Highlights of The Jingah Project include…
Partnership with Nottingham Refugee Forum - On Sunday, September 12, an invitation was given to families linked to the Nottingham Refugee Forum to take part in puppetry workshops, and then come and see Jingah Island at the Squire. Some young people from the Forum even accepted the invitation to operate their puppets on stage in the final production. Jingah Island’s co-writer and co-creator, Duncan Townsend also taught these children the Jingah Island theme song & dance that they were invited to perform in the finale of the final performances at The Squire Performing Arts Centre.
The Stinky Jingah Jungle costumes designed by Bryony McCombie Smith and made by refugee children
Partnership with Nottingham Pride - Patrick Poppywopple, the star of Jingah Island, created by London-based puppet making company, Mandinga Arts made his debut at Nottingham Pride on Saturday, September 11.
Partnership with Mandinga Arts - London based Mandinga Arts, who have collaborated with City Arts for over a decade on Carnival and outdoor projects, were commissioned to create co-star Patrick Poppywopple. Patricks first puppeteer is Nottingham based artist and designer Izzy Hollis. Nottingham artist Bryony McCombie-Smith was also commissioned to create work for the puppetry elements of Jingah Island.
CREATING THE 4-METER HIGH PUPPET AND STAR OF JINGAH!, PATRICK POPPYWOPPLE
Designed by Maxim Krioukov | Made by Mandinga Arts © JINGAH 2021
Partnership with local Nottingham-based artist, Jessica Kemp
Local Nottingham artist Jessica Kemp was widely and highly regarded throughout the Nottingham carnival and outdoor arts community.
We commissioned Jessica to bring the giant aerial-based puppet, The Evil Thorny Vine to life for our final performance of Jingah.
Jessica began work on this puppet but unfortunately passed away part way though The Jingah Project.
Several third year university students from Trent Uni took over Jess’s work and a modified version of Jess’ creation was presented in the final performances.
The Evil Thorny Vine, designed by Maxim Krioukov (c) 2021
Partnership with Nottingham Trent University
The Jingah Project established a vital partnership with Nottingham Trent University's Theatre Design Department which gave students a unique opportunity to engage with The Jingah Project in an academic and also professional capacity as part of their third year studies. Students were given the opportunity develop their skills in a wide range of theatrical disciplines and experience working alongside an exciting cast of internationally renowned creators and performers.
This led to two students, Ella Barraclough and Anouk Hufschmid Hirschbuehl, being invited to work on designs for the final production of Jingah Island, with Ella leading on the final realisation of the set.
The JINGAH! Project’s design team catching up with Ella and Anouk from Nottingham Trent Uni as they discuss their designs for Jingah Island.
Partnership with The Squire Performing Arts Centre
This special partnership saw creation and staging of the first workshop of Jingah Island The Musical which took place on September 26 & 27 2021.
The Jingah Project created opportunities for students from Nottingham Girls’ High School to shadow the rehearsal process, meet artists, take part in a bespoke workshop programmes and see the final production.
A class of Year 9 drama students watching Jingah Island rehearsals in The Squire Theatre
Street Pantomime Shows
In the lead up to the debut of Jingah Island The Musical, we presented a number of free outdoor street pantomime performances in Sneinton Market, Nottingham.
Visiting Oakfield School Nottingham
On September 24 we visited Oakfield School in Nottingham, which is a specialised school for disabled children. They were absolutely over the moon to see the performance and of course, meet Patrick Poppywopple!
Children from Oakfield School, Nottingham enjoying a free performance of the Jingah Island Pantomime show
Working with young people within Nottingham
Auditions took place to recruit children and young people from Nottingham into the show, with eight young people from The Dance Studios Nottingham coming on board to work with The Jingah Project team and perform alongside our cast of internationally renowned performers in the final production of Jingah Island.
Meet JINGAH ISLAND’S WRITERS
DUNCAN TOWNSEND | co-writer & co-songwriter
German pop star Nena found Duncan working as a live musician on Hamburg’s red-light district and the pair released a duet, which was a chart success in several European countries. Duncan followed this with three solo albums and numerous other releases, all of which have been well received by critics and brought Duncan extensive experience as a live musician.
As a songwriter, Townsend has now contributed to seven #1 albums in European territories and holds two gold discs and one platinum. From X-Factor winning singles to German Hip-Hop hits, EDM classics and underground Alternative bands, Townsend continuously works without musical boundaries. His music and voice has been featured in several major advertising campaigns. Duncan also starred in Lufthansa’s European-wide Premium Economy TV Ad Campaign as himself. In addition to all of this, Duncan works as a voice-over artist, presenter, translator, librettist and author of children’s literature.
CHLOÉ CHARODY | producer, co-writer, co-songwriter & composer
Through the dynamic fusion of opera, classical music and circus, Chloé Charody has created a style of music and a theatrical genre that is unique and has enjoyed wonderful reception by critics, the media and audiences worldwide. Nigel Kennedy states “Chloé’s music represents the epitome of the human heart”.
Chloé has composed two ballets for The Dutch National Ballet & has enjoyed nine years of international success with her circus opera ‘The Carnival’ which first debuted on London’s West End in 2011 with two sold out seasons. Circus Opera is a style of opera that Chloé has pioneered & in 2012, she founded The Berlin Circus Opera Lab to train up a new generation of opera singers in this niche medium.
Chloé’s fourth opera ‘Morning Blossoms’ played in some of the most prestigious concert houses in Europe when it toured with The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra in 2016. This opera was followed by the creation of ‘Tale of The Firebird’ – a concerto for aerial-fire-taming-violin-virtuoso and fire-taming-acrobatic orchestra (written for Sonja Schebeck & The Freestyle Orchestra) which premiered for Sydney’s VIVID Festival at City Recital Hall in 2019 supported by The Australia Council for The Arts.
In 2020, Chloé’s children’s musical ‘JINGAH!’ (co-written with Duncan Townsend) will premiere as a giant outdoor musical spectacle for the Nottingham Puppet Festival supported by Arts Council England and produced by Chloé Charody Creations UK. Following this, Chloé’s next children’s musical ‘The Wonderful World of Wellington Whale’ will tour England in 2022, supported by Arts Council England.
Chloé has recently received a significant grant from the Australia Council which will see the composition and creation of her next Circus Opera, ‘The Devil’s Tiger’ that is due to premiere in Sydney in 2022.
