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Truman, Rebecca, Born 1967

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: Born 1967

Biography

Rebecca Truman (b.1967), became interested in circus as a child, after reading ‘The Circus is Coming’ by Noel Streatfield.

Rebecca is the founder of Skinning the Cat.

Rebecca, aka ‘The Grande Dame of Aerial’, studied art and fashion at Bradford College. This is where she first experienced performance on a trapeze. On her second year she persuaded the ‘Bradford Bouncing Back’ campaign to award her £2,000 to stage a fashion cabaret in a nightclub, showcasing designers. This was a great achievement for a student and already showed signs of Rebecca’s showmanship and business skills. For her graduation degree show, Rebecca choreographed and staged ‘Snakes and Ladders’, an aerial performance featuring four aerial trapeze artists and her own costume and sculpture designs at Carlton Bolling Theatre.

Rebecca graduated with BA (Hons) in Art & Design in 1988 and this same year she was commissioned to organise a fashion cabaret and perform a trapeze show by the Bradford Festival in the Wool Exchange. She joined Cathie Sprague to deliver this project, which became the basis of Skinning the Cat and marked Rebecca’s debut as a professional performer. Over the years, Rebecca trained as a professional performer in circus schools in London and Paris while Cathie, who had been teaching printmaking, puppetry and circus, in Bradford in the early 1980s, enrolled on the RA RA ZOO’s circus skills course in 1986, where she trained on the trapeze.

In 1993, Rebecca received a Prince’s Trust grant to invest in a van and a rig for the business, which enabled the company to tour around the UK for the next two years. This same year, she received the Prince’s Youth Business Trust’s ‘Young Achiever of the Year Award’, presented by Jasper Conran and she was featured in Martin Miller’s book ‘The Best of British Women’.

In 2002, Rebecca created a special show for the Millennium Dome and she was made artistic director of the Commonwealth Games Opening and Closing ceremonies in Manchester.

Despite dissolving Skinning the Cat in 2002, she has remained a prominent figure in aerial theatre and the visual arts. She has lectured at Bradford College, has specialised in special effects costumes, rig design, life casting, sculpting and mask-making, and helps to run a company making rope for aerial performers. Some of Becky Truman’s costumes are housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Found in 68 Collections and/or Records:

Fest Quest 93: Festivals in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region programme, May - November 1993

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.11
Scope and Contents Yorkshire and Humberside. Photograph of a man in red atop a statue of an elephant, Fest Quest logo in white and black type on a yellow, red, green and blue background, and the subheading in red type on the cover when folded, names and descriptions of various festivals in the Yorkshire and Humberside region with black and white and colour photographs of selected acts on one side, and on the other a map of seasonal celebrations in the region and an overview of the events, names, dates and...
Dates: May - November 1993

Films, 1988 - 2008

 File
Reference code: 178D22
Scope and Contents

Films showing Skinning the Cat shows.

Dates: 1988 - 2008

Financial records, April 2001-March 2002

 File
Reference code: 178H28.7
Scope and Contents

Financial records of the Skinning the Cat company from April 2001-March 2002, including business account statements, transaction receipts, invoices and travel tickets.

Dates: April 2001-March 2002

Fold-out programme for Le festival Furies, c1997

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.5
Scope and Contents

Châlons-en-Champagne, France. Colour illustration of a clown with white-and-yellow background and black type on the cover when folded, with running order of each day, black and white and colour photographs of the acts with purple, black and orange type giving short descriptions, and commercial advertising.

Dates: c1997

Grec Festival d'estiu de Barcelona programme, 25 June - 16 August 1997

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.14
Scope and Contents

Abstract black line illustration on white background on front cover, inside list of events and black and white and colour photographs of performers and information, 56pp.

Dates: 25 June - 16 August 1997

Grec Festival d'estiu de Barcelona programme, 1995

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.15
Scope and Contents

Abstract black and yellow line illustration on blue and red background on the front cover, inside list of events and black and white photographs of performers and information, 48pp.

Dates: 1995

Grec Festival d'estiu de Barcelona programme, 25 June - 19 August 1998

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.18
Scope and Contents

Photograph of a wooden peg on orange background on the front cover, inside black and white and colour photographs of acts and performers with information and list of events, 59pp.

Dates: 25 June - 19 August 1998

Handbill: Circus of the Streets, 18 - 23 September 2001

 Item
Reference code: 178T44.4
Scope and Contents

Sheffield. An edited colour photograph of a man wearing a red t-shirt, blue trousers and rollerblades bursting through a brick wall, with red and yellow type giving the event name on the front, and on the reverse colour photographs of various performers and yellow, red and white type giving the festival name, description and contact information.

Dates: 18 - 23 September 2001

Handbill: Firebird Aerialist, c1994

 Item
Reference code: 178T44.14
Scope and Contents

Black and white photograph of Rebecca Truman during a Firebird performance, and the performance name in white type on the front, and on the reverse white type describing the act and performer, and contact information, on a black background.

Dates: c1994

Handbill: Firebird Aerialist, c1994

 Item
Reference code: 178T44.15
Scope and Contents

Black and white photograph of Rebecca Truman during a Firebird performance, and the performance name in white type on the front, and on the reverse white type describing the act and performer, and contact information, on a black background.

Dates: c1994

Handbills

 Series
Reference code: 178T44
Scope and Contents

Flyers advertising Skinning the Cat shows.

Dates: 1988 - 2018

International Festival of Visual Arts: Theatre Festival programme, 9 November 1996

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.16
Scope and Contents

Green and white type on green background on the front cover, inside lists of events and white and blue photographs of companies and performers with text, 26pp.

Dates: 9 November 1996

La Piazza Theater festival International Augsburg: Pressespiegel letter, 4 October 1993

 File
Reference code: 178H28.8
Scope and Contents

A letter addressed to Becky Truman and photocopies of press reviews from La Piazza '93, inside a La Pizza colour paper folder, 24pp.

Dates: 4 October 1993

Leaflet for Varieté Rheinhalle, 1994

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.9
Scope and Contents

Cologne, Germany. Leaflet with white type on blue background on one side and white type on a green, red and purple background on the other, featuring colour photographs of the performers and descriptions of their acts, including Eric und André, Bob Bramson, Trio Gaspar, White Diamonds, Donimo, Michael Genähr, and Becky + Rachel, a floorplan of the venue, ticket information and contact information.

Dates: 1994

London International Mime Festival programme, 14 - 29 January 1995

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.3
Scope and Contents

London. Gold type in red box above a photograph of Rebecca Truman and a caption in white type on a black background on the cover, inside a running order of the festival, introduction, black and white and colour photographs of the acts with descriptions on white and black pages, workshop and box office information, featuring Skinning the Cat on page 25, and a festival diary on the back cover, 31pp.

Dates: 14 - 29 January 1995

Newark and Sherwood District Council presents: Reclamation, 11 June 2000

 Item
Reference code: 178T44.6
Scope and Contents Newark. Colour photographs of Skinning the Cat during their performances, white and yellow type giving the name, date, time and venue of the event, and logos of related associations on a red and white background on the front, and on the reverse a white Skinning the Cat logo, a description of the Reclamation performance in yellow type, information about the date and time of the performance in white type, and colour photographs of Skinning the Cat performances on a black, red and purple...
Dates: 11 June 2000

Newark and Sherwood District Council presents: Reclamation, 11 June 2000

 Item
Reference code: 178T44.7
Scope and Contents Newark. Colour photographs of Skinning the Cat during their performances, white and yellow type giving the name, date, time and venue of the event, and logos of related associations on a red and white background on the front, and on the reverse a white Skinning the Cat logo, a description of the Reclamation performance in yellow type, information about the date and time of the performance in white type, and colour photographs of Skinning the Cat performances on a black, red and purple...
Dates: 11 June 2000

Newspaper Cuttings, 1988 - 2005

 Series
Reference code: 178G48
Scope and Contents

Various scrapbooks assambled by Rebecca Truman containing press articles an other information about Skinning the Cat and a magazine containing an article.

Dates: 1988 - 2005

Palatino - Die Tour '96: Die Comedy und Musik, Varieté, Kabarett & Artisten Show, 1996

 Item
Reference code: 178K48.2
Scope and Contents

Germany. Silver border and colour photograph with blue type giving the tour name, black type above and below giving a description of the tour, three logos on the bottom with a white background on the cover, inside black and white and colour photographs of the acts with short descriptions in white and black type, with a fold-out colour page in the centre, featuring Skinning the Cat on page 4, and tour dates and locations on the back cover, 15pp.

Dates: 1996

Photographs, c1989

 Series
Reference code: 178C120
Scope and Contents

Black and white and colour photographs and postcards from performances by Skinning the cat, rehearsals, stage set-ups and others.

Dates: c1989