Hijinx’s Global Smash Hit Meet Fred Comes to the Memo Arts Centre, Barry on 3rd March
Hijinx are taking their award-winning smash hit Meet Fred to the Barry Memo on 3 March, before the show embarks on the final leg of a 52-date French tour. The performance in Barry is a rare chance to catch Meet Fred on Welsh soil.
Hijinx is one of Europe’s leading inclusive theatre companies, creating outstanding performances with learning disabled and/or autistic artists on stage and on screen, for Wales and for the world.
Fred is a two-foot-tall cloth puppet that fights prejudice every day. He just wants to be a regular guy, part of the real world, to get a job and meet a girl, but when threatened with losing his PLA (Puppetry Living Allowance), Fred’s life begins to spiral out of his control.
Meet Fred, produced by Hijinx in association with Blind Summit, was met with rave reviews following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2016, which led to international appearances including at the World Puppet Theatre Festival in Charleville-Mézières, France.
It has continued to tour and now, in its eighth year, Meet Fred has been performed over 250 times, seen by over 25,000 people and visited 19 countries throughout Europe and beyond, notably including the USA, China, and South Korea.
Hijinx Actor Lindsay Foster, who hails from Barry, is the only remaining original member of the cast and continues to tour with the show. Lindsay says,
“My experience with Meet Fred has been both chaotic and fun. Travelling to new places I'd dare not go myself. It has at times also been sad, as the only original member from the beginning of the tour. I've seen old cast step back as new members stepped in, all bringing their own energy to the show. I can't wait to tour in France again. The land of cheese and croissants!”
On performing in Barry for the first time, Lindsay says it is “Exciting. It's closer to home. And my family are coming to see it!”
Lindsay attends one of Hijinx’s professional performance training Academies for learning disabled and/or autistic actors and is represented by the Hijinx casting arm, Hijinx Actors. Hijinx Actors represents over 60 professionally trained actors with learning disabilities and/or autism from around Wales and has the wider goal of increasing inclusivity in casting within the stage and screen industries.
Meet Fred will be performed at the Memo Arts Centre, Barry, on Friday 3 March, 7.30pm. Suitable for ages 14+. Contains strong language and puppet nudity.
