Stretch
Artist: Sophia Clist with Nick Burge
Location: St Mary’s Church, Fratton
19–24 November 2026 | Free – see poster for timings
Encounter Stretch, where thousands of strands of elastic become an extraordinary artwork creating a wall across St Mary’s Church. It becomes an invitation to engage, transforming through sound, projection, movement and the people who experience it.
As part of the We Shine Community art festival, come along to St Mary’s Church to see Stretch! You may think of elastic as something which belongs in rubber bands, but here it is transformed into an installation that invites the audience to play and explore. Thousands of strands of elastic will be stretched into a wall across St Mary’s and visitors are encouraged to come up and pluck, bend and stretch the wall in whatever way they like. As they do so, sounds and projection will respond to their movements and interactions.
This extraordinary piece, developed by artist Sophia Clist and her long-time collaborator Nick Burge, has travelled the world. But, each time it is installed, it takes on a different character as it responds to the venue it’s in and the people who come to see it. Previous exhibitions, in places like Perth, Chicago, Toronto, Birmingham, and even Exeter Cathedral, have received rave reviews. While it resides in Fratton, Stretch will also be re-interpreted by several local movement and digital artists who will learn from and work with Sophia and the wider Stretch creative team.
Stretch’s appearance will also coincide with Fratton Together’s annual lantern parade. Local schoolchildren and community groups will once again be invited to make their own lanterns. Residents are then invited to join a parade through Fratton, led by Batala Portsmouth samba band, that culminates in a community celebration in St Mary’s churchyard. This will be on Friday 20th Nov – leaving Victory Business Centre at 7pm to walk along Fratton Road,
Fr. Bob White, vicar of St Mary’s Church said “We are delighted to once again transform our church into a space for people to stop, pause and engage with something creative and unexpected. I look forward to seeing the unique ways people interact with Stretch and its limitations and opportunities.”
Anna Potten, Fratton Together’s events organisers, said
“We are very excited to have Stretch at St Mary’s. No two visits to Stretch will be quite the same but each one will be memorable. Stretch is part of this year’s We Shine Community and is free for all to enjoy for 6 days
Thursday 19th November 5.00pm -9.00pm
Friday 20th 5.00pm -9.00pm
Saturday 21st 1.00pm -4.00pm & 5.00pm -9.00pm
Sunday 22nd 12noon -3.00pm & 4.00pm-7.00pm
Monday 23rd 4.00pm -7.00pm
Tuesday 24th 4.00pm-7.00pm”
Stretch was conceived and designed by Sophia Clist and developed with long-time collaborator Nick Burge. They are joined by electroacoustic artist Theo Jackson Clist and movement artist Jane Mason. .
Presented by Fratton Together CIC as part of We Shine Community 2026, with support from Crying Out Loud. Stretch: Creative Exchange, the associated artist development programme, is led by Crying Out Loud.
There is a link to a film of Sketch at the Nottdance Festival in 2025
https://www.sophiaclist.co.uk/stretch-film-2025/
Artist bios
Sophia Clist is an artist and designer with a background in sculpture. She creates installations, sets and objects for audiences and performers to inhabit, manipulate and transform, often working collaboratively across theatre, dance and music.
Her theatre and performance work includes collaborations with Good Chance, Gecko, Oily Cart, Told by an Idiot, Kneehigh Theatre, Bristol Old Vic and Theatre-Rites, where she was an Associate Artist for ten years. The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award in 2017.
Sophia’s independent works include Stretch, Hands Full and Purl, multi-layered projects which continue to evolve through new site-specific iterations.
Nick Burge is a sound designer and artist whose practice draws on his background in dance, sound design and technical theatre. He creates objects and devices that invite physical intervention to produce sound, exploring the relationship between movement, interaction and technology.
After many years working as a dancer in the USA and UK, Nick studied sound design and music technology at the London College of Printing. His collaborative projects include The Trembleators with dance artist Amparo Badiola, presented at Manchester International Festival and BilbaoArte; sound devices for Oily Cart’s Space to Be with Sophia Clist and Joe Wright; and Echo Effect with guitarist and composer Dom Bouffard.
Best wishes
Father Bob