Ipswich announced as the destination for a Dr Who adventure as part of the London 2012 Festival

Created by Punchdrunk, the award winning internationally acclaimed pioneers in immersive theatre, ‘The Crash of The Elysium’ is a live Doctor Who theatre adventure in which the audience is the star of the show.  There will be three different types of performance in 2012 –  schools performances, family performances for 7-12 year olds and performances for those aged 13+.

The Crash of the Elysium will be presented at Ipswich Arts Festival
(Ip-art) by Manchester International Festival, the London 2012 Festival, the New Wolsey Theatre and Ipswich Borough Council supported by Arts Council England and Suffolk County Council. This project was originally commissioned by Manchester International Festival, BBC, the London 2012 Festival and Salford City Council with funding from Arts Council England.

Ruth Mackenzie, Director, Cultural Olympiad & London 2012 Festival, said: ‘I’m delighted that we can confirm that Ipswich will be the host for this brilliant show. The production will be a highlight of the London 2012 Festival and is sure to be a hot ticket. Our thanks go to Arts Council England for their funding support.’

Ipswich Borough Council Leader David Ellesmere said: ‘This is fantastic news and something the Council is really pleased to be a partner in. The Crash of the Elysium will be a huge event for Ipswich and the region in 2012. It will also be a welcome boost for the local economy as it will bring thousands of people into the town. I would like to thank all our partners who will be helping us to put this together next June.’

Sarah Holmes, New Wolsey Theatre Chief Executive said: ‘We are very proud and excited to welcome the world-renowned Punchdrunk to the east for the first time but doing so as part of the London 2012 Festival and working with London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and with Manchester International Festival makes it even more exciting.

‘The Crash of the Elysium will undoubtedly be one of the cultural highlights of the 2012 celebrations and it’s happening in Suffolk. This is an incredible opportunity and one not to miss.’

Councillor Kathy Gosling, Suffolk County Council’s portfolio holder for sport, culture, diversity, health and wellbeing, said: ‘Suffolk County Council has been working hard to make sure the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games leaves a positive legacy for Suffolk. This news is a welcome boost to our ongoing campaign to capture some of the magic of the Games for local people to experience and enjoy. We are delighted to be working with London 2012, the New Wolsey Theatre, the Arts Council and Ipswich Borough Council to bring The Crash of the Elysium to Suffolk to our county town.’

Andrea Stark, Executive Director, Arts Council England, said: ‘We are thrilled to support Ipswich Borough Council and the New Wolsey Theatre in their presentation of Punchdrunk’s live Doctor Who adventure The Crash of the Elysium. It’s great to see a high-quality show with such universal appeal coming to the East of England. As a principal funder of the Cultural Olympiad, the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic movements, we are especially pleased that The Crash of the Elysium will form part of this. Its inclusion in the London 2012 Festival will bring unprecedented and well deserved national profile to Ipswich and the region.’

Tickets will be available from the New Wolsey Theatre in early 2012, for more details visit www.london2012.com/festival

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Production images
Production shots from The Crash of the Elysium are available by request.

Notes to editors:  
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About the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival
The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people.

The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad will be the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK, from Midsummers Day on 21 June and running until the final day of the Paralympic Games on 9 September 2012.The London 2012 Festival will celebrate the huge range, quality and accessibility of the UK’s world-class culture including dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, fashion, film and digital innovation, giving the opportunity for people across the UK to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Principal funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival.

For more details on the programme and to sign up for information visit www.london2012.com/festival

Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, we will invest £1.4 billion of public money from government and an estimated £0.85 billion from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

Grants for the arts is Arts Council England’s open application funding programme. It invests National Lottery money to support activities that engage people in the arts and help artists and arts organisations with their work.

London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald’s, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.

LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury’s and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock. The London 2012 Paralympic Games also acknowledges the support of the National Lottery.



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