Street theatre that gathers a crowd

Up to 90 minutes of performance in total across a day, and that is a maximum rather than a target. We split it into shorter sets with at least 30 minutes between them: two sets of 45 minutes, three of 30, or four of 20. Which shape is right depends on your audience. Three or four short sets only make sense where the crowd changes through the day; if the same people are there all evening, two longer sets will land better, and we will always talk that through with you. Parades can run longer, so tell us the route and we will plan it together. These timings are for street shows and festivals; corporate sets are shorter and sharper, and have their own page.

Whichever suits your event, and often a mix. A roaming show moves through the site gathering people as it goes; a parade carries a crowd from one place to another; a set on a stage or in a square gives the whole crowd one moment to face the same way. Some festivals book a roaming set that finishes on stage for the finale; others want the show out among the crowd all evening. Tell us the site and the running order and we will shape it with you.

Yes, brilliantly. In daylight the mirrored costumes catch the light, and the characters, the choreography and the drumming carry the show. At twilight it is beautiful in a different way, as the lights built into the drums and costumes take over. The best festival days book both: an afternoon set and a finale after dark.

Less than you might think, and we are very flexible about it. The show adapts to the space it is given: in the round, in a line, facing one way, down a narrow street or across a wide square, and it can change shape as the street changes around it. Bigger audiences need bigger spaces, so tell us roughly how many people you expect and we will tell you what works. On a stage we need 6 metres by 4 metres of clear space as a minimum; smaller stages work, and the show has no trouble filling a main stage either. A site map or route plan with rough dimensions is all we need to plan it.

No, and that is one of the best things about it. The sound and the lighting are built into the drums and the costumes, so Spark! is completely self-contained: nothing to rig, no stage to build and no PA to hire. We charge our batteries in our preparation space between sets. If you would like us on a stage, we need 6 metres by 4 metres of clear space. The only time we ask for a PA is at very large events, stadium scale, and we will raise that early if it applies.

Not much. A space of at least 6 metres by 6 metres close to the performance area in which we prepare the show, as set out in our technical specification, with access five hours before the first set; parking for one large van; and a hot meal for the team of six. For bigger street shows we may also ask for a steward or two. Full technical specification on request.

It depends on the event. At a big street show, where the crowd moves with the cast, a couple of stewards walking with the show make everything easier. We prefer them in low-vis rather than hi-vis, which keeps the atmosphere and looks better in the photographs, and we like to brief them ourselves before the first set. For smaller events and most stage sets you may not need any. Audience size is limited only by the space; the same show has played to a village green and a stadium.

The show was designed in the north east of England, so we are used to a bit of rain and a bit of cold. We perform in light rain as long as the ground is not too slippery underfoot. If it gets heavier, we make the call with you on the day about delaying or rescheduling the set, with safety first. In our experience, rain heavy enough to stop the show is rain heavy enough to send the audience home anyway.

Absolutely, and we have some lovely moves for exactly this. We can build the set to land on the moment the tree lights up, lead a crowd straight into a fireworks display, or keep playing while the fireworks go off behind us. Community lantern parades are a particular favourite; the show was made for them. Tell us the moment you are building towards and we will build the set around it. Christmas light switch-ons have their own page.

We are loud and live, but we are also mobile, so a clash is easy to avoid. If another act is playing nearby we can move the show to a different part of the site, and a roaming set can carry the crowd away from the stage altogether. We are very happy to be the act that holds a crowd while a stage is changed over. For a parade, put a good distance between us and any other musical group and everyone sounds better.

Yes, and festival runs are some of our favourite work. We quote per day, and our fee per day reduces rapidly for longer runs; two, three and four-day runs are common. We arrange our own travel and accommodation.

Yes. Five performers and a director is the right size for nine out of ten shows we do, and it is the one we recommend. For a big site or a big crowd we can bring seven to ten performers, which opens up a bigger parade and a show that splits and rejoins across a site. Ask early, because it depends on who is free.

Every event is different, so we quote per booking. Send the date, the site and the shape of the day and we will come back as soon as we can with availability, a fee and what we need on site. You are talking to the people who make and perform the show.