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Hester Welch

Performer

The Lost Cabaret Bristol Walkabout clown, The Wardrobe Theatre, February 2023	The Waiting Room The Waiting Room, Shambala Festival 2022. Played the Head of Neighbourhood Watch who has a passion for streaking.	Storyteller @ ValleyFest 2022 Using the kids ideas, I co-created an improvised story about a young sailor called Marty McLobster Legs living out his mothers dying wish; an epic holiday to the Caribbean... including sea shanties and talking pterodactyls. Thanks to Milk Poetry for having me!
The Lost Cabaret Bristol 'Nuns and Buns' - comedy act, April 2022, Aesop's Bristol	Lost Cabaret Bristol 1 In April 2022 I programmed and hosted the first Lost Cabaret Bristol which featured brilliant clown artists from the South West. Tickets on sale now for the 3rd night! 25th September at The Wardrobe Theatre!	Clown Cops We played as clown police at a Kill The Bill protest in Bristol, 2022, making it to the front page of the Bristol Post newspaper. Photo by Rob Spedding
Extinction Rebellion Protest I played Boris Johnson in this action with Bim Mason's Big Heads. Bristol. 2021. Photo by Simon Holliday	Spilt Ink Theatre Commission - Trinity Centre, Bristol We R&D'd a new physical theatre show for families in East Bristol, which we went on to successfully receive ACE funding for. More info and trailer on our Spilt Ink Theatre website. Photo by Craig Fuller. We were later awarded	Food Tripping Penang Wayang Kitchen teams up with Simply Enak and The Rojak Projek to bring you on a journey live streamed all the way from the islands of Penang and the UK. Food Tripping combines a cooking class with storytelling and facilitates an exchange of cultures with people from across the world. In this trip we visit Penang, Malaysia to discover the unique history and dishes of Hainanese cuisine, born from the Malaysian – UK connection since colonial times. Funded by British Council.
Stay Home EATertainment "Dig in to your delicious dish and uncover the clues to the secret code in Wayang Kitchen's interactive gastronomic experience." During lockdown 2020, Wayang Kitchen partnered with a variety of restaurants in Kuala Lumpur to create a series of interactive videos paired with specially curated meals delivered to your home. Click the link for a clip from our family edition with Miss Ellie Teahouse.	Training at École Philippe Gaulier After studying with Philippe Gaulier for one year, Hester has completed courses in Le Jeu, Characters, Mask, Bouffon, Clown, Shakespeare/Chekhov and Melodrama. Gaulier is a master clown and bouffon teacher who has taught actors such as Sacha Baron-Cohen, and Helena Bonham-Carter. In his words: "I don't teach a special style; what I teach more is a wonderful spirit. People have to develop a way of being beautiful and surprising." By beauty he means "anyone in the grip of pleasure or freedom."	Co-host of The Lost Cabaret Paris Théâtre Dalayrac, Paris October 2019 The Lost Cabaret is an obscene comedy cabaret that brings together local and international talent. It’s a night of big ideas, experimentation and alternative acts, from the risky to the utterly absurd. Feat. clown, circus, magic, drag, comedy, music, burlesque... and whatever else you can put on a stage, point a finger at and say “dad, what the hell is that!” Photos by Marley Bangert Photography
MC for Murder At The Masquerade This interactive culinary adventure is the first of its kind in West Malaysia as both the culinary world and stagecraft collide. Engaging its audience as they dine upon a 6-course degustation dinner prepared by Copper, each dish serves as a key element in the plot. The murder mystery-themed menu is intertwined with the plot of the show and woven with ingredients native to the country. Hester performed as the MC in Wayang Kitchen's debut show, a new company she is a co-founder of.	Wonder Jam, Edinburgh Fringe, 2019 Brexit Britain; do we really know what we are being sold? A seductive comic cabaret performance exploring consumption and power. Performed as a guest act at Wonder Jam, a late-night comedy party at Black Medicine, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019.	What Do We Leave Behind? A street performance and performance art piece about travel and climate change. Performed and written by Hester Welch in Malacca (Malaysia) and Paris (France). Follow the link to read the poem. #carbonfootprint #ecoart #environmentalart #activism #travel #consciousliving #extinctionrebellion #climatechange
Dance Improv @ MAP Fest Melaka This improvised dance performance was in collaboration with a group of movers and musicians from Australia, Malaysia and UK. As part of Melaka Arts and Performance Festival, Malaysia, 2018	Seeds Of Plastic 'A tree-dwelling creature fights for survival in an increasingly dangerous environment.' This performance was created at a residency workshop with Agung Gunawan in East Java, Indonesia. It was originally performed at dawn in the rainforest of Pelem and featured live gamelan.	PEEP SHOW A performance art piece in the form of a Peep Show. It explored voyeurism, the female body and audience agency in a playful setting. Performed at The Stretch, London.
Storyteller (Various) At Marphy's Playhouse, China, Hester performed many short stories for children.	Captain Quiver Boots, LEEfest Hester was a walkabout performer as a pirate with an extreme fear of water.	Storyteller, The Fir Tree A performance of the classic Hans Christian Anderson story at Omnibus Theatre.
Clown, An Omnibus of Stories A performance for families at Omnibus Theatre, London.	Deviser, Page One Theatre R&D Hester was a deviser on the Page One Theatre R&D of 'Made Up Stories From My Unmade Bed' (Lyric Hammersmith, Latitude Festival).	Parthenope, Nightengale Song This piece of new writing about Florence Nightengle was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Jamboree, London.
Maple, A Dastardly Fiction Hester played the clown-like investigator in this dark comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. “Your mind will certainly be on the show for a while after viewing – whether you’re reliving Maple’s hilarious befuddlement, or untangling the repercussions of the placement of a certain pie.” Fringe Guru	Landlady/Doll, The Tiger's Bride Performed at The White Bear Theatre, London with MISK Theatre - a new company supporting emerging female artists.	Street performer,Artists Against War A series of performances and provocations that took place across London, supported by Stop The War Coalition. The protest was against the British Government’s use of military action in the 'War On Terror'.
Prospero, The Tempest An imaginatively devised retelling of The Tempest with Goldsmiths Shakespeare Society.

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