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Spring Chickens

Portable Telly

The Portable Telly is Big Telly's tiny four-seater mobile theatre which tours short pieces of theatre, side-show style illusions, attractions or excerpts from work-in-progress. The Portable made its first appearance during Autumn 2000 when it arrived at shopping centres, market squares and school playing areas all around the North with 'trailers' for the Fish tour.

For the Belfast Festival 2000, it appeared at Forestside Shopping Centre (where it was filmed for an Arts & Business promotional video by BskyB); outside the Students Union at Queen's and even on the shop-floor at Festival sponsors FG Wilson in Lame. Built inside an enclosed box van trailer, it has an opulent Victorian-style interior complete with curtains, mini-stage, gas lights and sound. There are two seats in the balcony and two in the stalls! Five-minute shows can be repeated throughout the day while outside, a team of magicians and circus performers 'roll up' the crowds and entertain passers-by.

Generated by the company's genuine desire to make theatre as accessible, popular and exciting as possible, the Portable Telly can be towed to any location and can function equally well outside or indoors, e.g. parks, school yards, community centres, shopping malls, station platforms. It has its own power supply from a small generator. The company can put together a programme in miniature to include theatre, readings, music, magic or puppetry.