My Bristol favourites: Ruth Pitter

Ruth Pitter works for Voscur, a charity that provides support to the voluntary sector in Bristol. She is also an active founding member of Breathing Fire, Bristol’s black women’s playback theatre company – which was founded in 2006 and is the only black women’s playback theatre company in the world.

Here are Ruth’s top-five Bristol favourites:

The Gasworks Studio, St Werburgh’s
“This performance space is a gem! Breathing Fire has given many Playback theatre performances at the Gasworks Studio; it is an intimate and bright space and on a sunny afternoon stunning shafts of light beam through the windows and doors – as if the sun has come in to the room with our audience. Who needs spotlights to perform when the natural light is so fantastic! The group and our audiences love the space; it’s sometimes hard to get people to leave afterwards.”

Bristol Black Elders groups
“My favourite community groups to perform to are the Malcolm X Elders in St Paul’s and the Golden Agers elders in Easton. I have a huge soft spot for them. Breathing Fire’s form of theatre, playback, relies on audience stories, and my, our elders have certainly got loads, and are far from shy about sharing their life experiences! They are like excited children when they see us playing their stories back as theatre – but are also quick to tell us if we’ve missed anything out!”

Opportunities for local collaborations
“Until recently we collaborated with the Bristol-based organisation SARI (Stand Against Racism & Inequality) and two local DJs and youth workers to run theatre sessions in, what was at the time, Ashfield Young Offenders Unit. A small group of us created interactive forum theatre where the audience is able to come up with solutions to real issues. Together we developed scripts reflecting the life stories of young men in the criminal justice and performed them in the unit. The young men really got in to it and it enabled them to reflect on their life choices; we even managed to encourage a few to get on stage and play some of the roles! Ashfield is no longer a Young Offenders unit which is a shame as the project had a valuable impact.”

The loop around the Floating Harbour
“My favourite walking route in the city is this three-mile loop with such uplifting views looking in towards the harbour and out towards the city landscapes. A few of us in the group, and some of our supporters, are walkers and use it as a training ground for long distance walking; we just keep looping the circuit. I often meet people I know en route so always stop for a quick chat. On weekends there are some fabulous food and craft stalls outside the Watershed, including good cake, and of course the famous Brunel’s Buttery on the other side. It’s also great to mix things up and change direction from time to time so you can approach landmarks from a different angle.”

Thali Cafe, St Mark’s Road, Easton
“I often end up here at the Thali Cafe when wanting a place to socialise with the network of artists that have been involved with, or are keen supporters of Breathing Fire. It’s a great eating place for a group, the service is quick and friendly and the staff don’t mind the increased decibel levels when we’re all chatting and laughing at the same time.”

Photo of Ruth Pitter by Dave Betts