Theatre company opens pop up performance shop in Luton's The Mall this bank holiday

There’s going to be a touch of the funny, strange and beautiful in The Mall, Luton this August bank holiday as Tangled Feet’s pop up performance shop opens its shutters.

The Luton theatre company has commissioned a menu of short performances to fill an empty shop with artistic offerings that you don’t have to pay for.

Taking a range of multimedia and interactive forms, you can expect something for every palate. Expect a musical take on social media filters, interactive video, an exploration of identity through interview and dance, clowns taking over the kitchen, video games coming to life, a local poet throwing down the gauntlet and a celebration of owning the room.

Six brand new performances, all between 5 and 15 minutes, will repeat during Saturday and Sunday, August 27/28 between 10am and 5pm.

Since the 2020 lockdown, which had a huge effect on theatre’s freelancers, Tangled Feet has been commissioning and supporting its network of artists to develop, create and lead their own work.

A spokesman said: “The result has been an exciting journey of devolving and sharing creative power - a project we’ve called ‘Devolution Evolution’. In the summer of 2021, as cultural buildings reopened, we shared more than 20 pieces in Luton in an ‘open house of ideas’ at Hat Works (before it officially opened in Autumn 2021) and also at the shopfront where we present these new ideas. This summer, we’ve continued the journey by commissioning artists to step into their power and create short works that capture an audience in a shopping mall. If you had 10 minutes, what would you say?”

Kat Joyce, Co-Artistic Director of Tangled Feet, said: “We are so excited to be bringing this menu of new work to The Mall this August Bank Holiday. This has been an opportunity to really let some creative flames burn and to finally bring together collaborators who’ve so far only met and worked together on Zoom. We can’t wait to unveil what they’ve cooked up.”

“Tangled Feet have curated an exciting programme which we are sure our guests will love. We hope people will stop by and take a moment out of everyday life to enjoy some of these wonderful free performances”, said Roy Greening, General Manager for The Mall Luton.