Ramshacklicious - The Band at the End of the World!

The Band at the End of the World!

Apocalyptic brass band mayhem

Arriving in a cloud of raucous brass-heavy music.
Dressed in punk marching band attire & existing within their very own miniature apocalyptic microclimate.

These idiots are convinced that the inevitable end of the world is upon us, maybe today, maybe right here, maybe right now!

Their mission? To educate you into what to expect when we move into the next phase, the switch over into the new dawn, into the next frequency of consciousness.

Welcome to The Band at the End of the World!

The Small Band

A denim-clad band play their instruments against the body of a smiling participant, whilst the drummer holds their shoulder conspiratorially.

In a festival field, a group of people dressed in denim with red pompoms on their heads, hold brass instruments or blue cones to their mouths.

A man with a red drum strapped to his front and wearing a tall denim hat with an orange pompom plume, strides around a field with his mouth open in a gleeful shout. Around him, performers wearing pompoms on their heads move amongst a throng of people.

In a town square surrounded by audience, the brass band kneel in a horseshoe and play their instruments, whilst the drummer stands to attention holding a red bass drum.

At a festival, a woman dressed in denim plays her saxophone against the belly of a participant. They receive it with closed eyes, arms outstretched and an empty pint cup in one hand, whilst onlookers grin.

In a field, the band play their instruments to smiling onlookers. One man band member pouts his lips behind a bucket that emits plumes of orange smoke.

On a street, the band pose with their instruments. They wear double denim accessorised with red, and tall denim hats with a gold emblem and giant pompoms on top. They stick their tongues out and pull dopey expressions.

On a festival field, a group of participants clump together, grinning. They wear blindfolds and are surrounded by people dressed in denim with orange capes and large pompoms on their heads.

A performer with an orange pompom tied around their forehead, swishes an orange cape fixed at their shoulder. Behind them, orange smoke erupts from a bucket as musicians play brass instruments.

Two people sit on a bench, smiling at each other. Posed around them are five musicians holding brass instruments and a bass drum. They wear double denim, red shoes and tall denim hats with large red pompoms on top.

Five musicians arrive with the intensity of the inevitable end of the world burning through their eyes. From the gentle to the manic, comic to the heartfelt, their simple existence, struggle and joy play’s out as they roam freely in a series of beautifully striking intimate moments and audience interactions.

All accompanied by a partly improvised musical score played live by the 5-strong musical clowns.

A humorous and emotional re-styling of the traditional street band.

Touring as a standalone show or as larger scale participatory projects with local performers and musicians.

The Big Band - Daytime

In a town square, a man lies on his back on the ground whilst fire burns from a metal pole nearby. Behind him, a woman stands on an elevated platform, above a rust-coloured vehicle, holding a white-flamed flare in each hand.

Four band members stand to attention in a line facing another denim-clad band member, who holds a trombone. Behind them, crowds line the pavements.

A group of performers wearing pompoms on their heads, stand close together and blow into blue cones they hold to their mouths, whilst a drummer gazes out intensely.

The back of a man dressed in a blue velvet suit leaping into the air, drum stick in one hand, gong in the other, whilst a crowd watches.

A large group of people dressed in denim with troubadour cloaks over one shoulder and large pompoms on their heads, stand on and around a rust coloured, open-backed vehicle. Some carry brass instruments and drums. From a small crane at the rear dangles a metal globe on a chain and from the centre a raised platform holds someone playing a trumpet. In the foreground, smoke smoulders from a large firepit on wheels.

In a town square, scattered performers in various degrees of denim, hold their arms upwards and shout joyfully to the sky.

In a town square, a cluster of blindfolded participants are surrounded by dancing performers dressed in denim.

A group wearing red capes and pompoms on their heads stare down with sad expressions, whilst a denim-clad woman with sorrowful eyes plays a soprano saxophone.

A man in a blue velvet suit sings into a metal cone placed over an audience member’s chest, whose eyes and mouth are wide open in delight

In a town square, a group of young performers lean backwards in a clump, their arms raised at right angles and their mouths open in an ‘o’. They wear orange pompoms on their heads. On an elevated platform behind them, a man in a blue velvet suit has his arms raised in a similar gesture.

Part processional, part static, incorporating elements of spectacle including fire, pyrotechnics and pneumatic air effects.

Performed from a home made, flaming and smoking battle-church (a 1970’s milk float) and supported by an original brass heavy, off kilter musical score played live by a clown ensemble of five - thirty musical cult members.

A richly layered, euphoric performance with a touch of spectacle, poignancy and the ridiculous!

Available as a participatory project - with local performers and musicians.

The Big Band - Night Time

A group play brass instruments around a rust-coloured vehicle. Fire burns from a cage hanging above the vehicle and from a fire pit attached to the back. On the platform body of the vehicle, a man plays drums, whilst fireworks erupt in the background.

A man in a blue velvet suit stands with his arms outstretched and mouth open as he shouts to the sky. Behind him, a fire pit burns whilst pots of fire hang from a crane attached to a vehicle.

A woman stands on a small platform, one leg resting on the handrail. She plays a trumpet into the night, whilst pots of fire suspended from the platform burn brightly.

Under a night sky, a group wearing orange capes and pompoms on their heads hold up flaming torches. Their faces are sad in the soft light. In the foreground, a globe-shaped cage holding fire burns brightly, whilst a downcast drummer plays his drums.

Four people stand back-to-back in a town square, whilst golden confetti flutters around them. In the background a firepit, attached to a vehicle with band members on and around it, burns.

In twilight, a cluster of people play brass instruments around a rust-coloured vehicle. Above it, a globe-shaped cage hangs, with a fire raging inside. Fire burns from a fire pit on wheels at the back of the vehicle and, from the low roof of a building behind, fireworks explodes.

An epic, all encompassing, dusk time version of the show with up scaled pyrotechnics & fire elements with the transformation of the Battle-Church into a moving fire installation.

Creating an intimate, chaotic spectacle with a deeper magical atmosphere.

Available as a participatory project - with local performers and musicians.

Collaborations

We have collaborated with local performance groups, brass bands, and individual performers and musicians.

This includes people with different levels of experience – from emerging and professional artists to community participants.

Together we have created large groups of local believers, ramping up the dramatic content with beautiful large-scale performance imagery and fantastical soundscapes, all performed live.

The creative process has taken many forms. In some places, we have run weekly sessions over a longer period. In others, we have held intensive residencies. These different approaches have built towards unique, one-off versions of The Band at the End of the World!

Collaborators include

Hull Freedom Festival
Bath Spa Uni acting students
Hull based community performers and musicians
Cross Keys silver band
The Big Splash (Newport)
Bath based community band players
Devizes International Festival
Tin Shed Theatre Company
Green Man Festival
A performance ensemble from the Basque Country

Project Credits

Initial concept/producer/production/tour manager - Jack Stoddart
Director - Flick Ferdinando
Musical Director/composer - Tim Hill
Additional music composition - Richard Hughes
Performers - Katie Storer, Ali Houiellebecq, Richard Hughes, Jack Stoddart, Jackson Lapes (2019) & David Insua Cao (2018)
Set Designer - Will Datson
Additional set fabricators - Paul McGarry & Jean Goubert
Pneumatic air/water effects designer - Pete Gunson (Pif Paf)
Costume design - Sean Donohoe
Costume developments - Abi Kennedy
Fire/pyro design, consultation and delivery - And Now
Additional pyro design - Paul Bryce
Milk float Electrics designer - James Ashwell
Producers - Zoe Munn & Jack Stoddart
Additional producer support - Out There Arts

Visual content creation
Photos - Paul Blakemore & Mark Dawson
Video - Garth Williams & Benjamin Hooper

Researched and developed in 2015 by Jack Stoddart, John Nicholson, Carlos Mendoza, James Gow, Mike Fergie, Katie Storer, Garth Williams, Pete Gunson, Will Datson. Ralph Skrimshire & Tim Mileusnic.

2018 Commissioners/support - Arts Council England, Without Walls, SeaChange Arts, Hastings Borough Council, OnSet, 101 Outdoor Arts Creation Space & The Invisible Circus

2019 Commissioners/support - Arts Council England, Freedom Festival Hull, The Big Splash (Newport) & The Point

The Small Band

The Big Band - Daytime

The Big Band - Night Time

Collaborations

Collaborators include

Project Credits

Project Partners

Get in Touch

If you have seen our shows and have feedback, we'd love to hear it. You can get in touch below.

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