Spill Festival
SPILL Festival is an artist-led biennial of theatre and live art in the UK that takes place in various venues in London and Ipswich, England. The festival was originally produced as the SPILL Festival of Performance by Pacitti Company under Artistic Director Robert Pacitti until 2021. Since then, Robin Deacon has served as the Artistic Director, beginning in 2021.
Launched in 2007, SPILL Festival presents internationally significant and groundbreaking work in the fields of performance, live art, and experimental theatre. The festival has become a major platform for both established and emerging artists, with a strong emphasis on innovation, accessibility, and community engagement.
SPILL also runs a year-round programme of events and activities through the SPILL Think Tank, a venue located next to Ipswich Museum. This space hosts exhibitions, talks, performances, and the Think Tank Live series, which showcases contemporary performance and interdisciplinary work. SPILL's robust artist development programme supports creatives through residencies, mentorships, commissions, and associate opportunities.
Over the years, the festival has been presented in prominent venues across London and Ipswich, including the Barbican, Southbank Centre, National Theatre Studio, Soho Theatre, Shunt Vaults, Shoreditch Town Hall, Greenwich Dance, Laban, Soho Square, and Toynbee Studios.
In addition to the biennial festival, the SPILL National Platform and Showcase is held every two years in Ipswich, featuring early-career artists selected through an open call. This initiative highlights new voices in live art, experimental performance, and socially engaged practices, providing a launchpad for emerging talent in the UK and beyond.
Artists
Spill Festival 2007
Productions have included:Covet Me, Care for Me, Sheila GhelaniTrans: Acts, Julia BardsleyCollected Works, Eve DentRingside, Mem MorrisonSacred, The Rite of Spring, Raimund HogheThree Duets, Pacitti CompanySpill Festival 2009
At SPILL Festival 2009 there were approximately 100 live performances by artists from Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the U.S. and from across the UK.Spill Festival 2009
- Paradiso by Romeo Castellucci, Italy
- Inferno by Romeo Castellucci, Italy
- Dinner With America, Rajni Shah, UK
- That Night follows Day, Victoria & Tim Etchells, Belgium/UK
- A Forest, Pacitti Company, UK
- Purgatorio, By Romeo Castellucci, Italy
- Saving the World, Gob Squad, Germany/UK
- Visions of Excess, Ron Athey & Lee Adams, USA/UK
- A True Story About Two People, Julie Tolentino, USA
- Listen, My Secret Fetish, Richard Haynes, Australia
- Aftermaths: A Tear in the Meat of Vision, Julia Bardsley, UK
- The Modes of Al-Ikseer, Harminder Singh Judge, UK
- Tears of Eros, Carla Esperanza Tommasini, Italy/UK
- The Porcelain Project, Grace Ellen Barkey and Needcompany, Belgium
- Look mummy, I’m dancing, Vanessa, Belgium
- Kim Noble Will Die, Kim Noble, UK
- Orgy of Tolerance, Jan Fabre, Belgium
- Prototypes, Robin Deacon, UK
- Void Story, Forced Entertainment, UK
- Intermission, Pacitti Company, UK
- I Feel Love!, George Chakravarthi, UK
Spill Festival 2011
Source:Glorious, Rajni ShahDo What Thou Wilt, Harminder JudgeI Guess If The Stage Exploded, Sylvia RimatIn Eldersfield Chapter 1, Kings of EnglandBody House Version 1, Shabnam Shabazi Unto Us A Child is Born, Rachel MarsFoley, Jo BannonA Sense of the World, Darren WhiteSPILL Festival 2023
Held from 13–22 October 2023 in Ipswich, the festival featured performances and projects by international and UK-based artists. Highlights included:Mega Bunny and Friends – Bruce AsbestosMonumental Construction – Olivier Grossetête, large-scale cardboard architecture built with public participation50 Dangerous Things – interactive family event based on the book by Gever Tulleyfriend – Gillie Kleiman, collaborative dance performances in the private homes of Ipswich residentsEcdysis – Alethia Antonia, dance piece exploring transformationI guess you have a lot of questions – Maritea Dæhlin, solo performance on language and identitySPILL Festival 2024
In 2024, SPILL presented Think Tank Live, a series of performances, talks, and exhibitions held at the SPILL Think Tank space in Ipswich. Highlights included:White Balance: A History of Colour Photography – Robin Deacon The Sonic Commons – Mike Challis, immersive sound performanceLines of Resistance – Elly Clarke, performance on digital identity and surveillanceThe SPILL Artist Development Programme also supported new work through artist residencies:Esme Podmore – development of a new visual/performance pieceMaria Garcia – interdisciplinary residency focused on movement and live art