Connecting Through Reflection:
How Conversations Over Pudding Helped us Understand the Value of Cultural Experiences
Photo by Paul Blakemore
Evaluation can sometimes feel like a necessary, but somewhat dry part of the creative process – an exercise in ticking boxes and gathering data. At MAYK, we’ve always believed that the true value of live performance lies not in statistics but in the deep, personal experiences it evokes – something you experience, reflect on and carry with you.
So it’s been great to collaborate with Pudding for the second time on this year’s Mayfest, as part of the Emergent Value research project led by Dr Astrid Breel at Bath Spa University. Pudding is a playful post-event forum that creates space for meaningful reflection, through informal chats after our shows. Pudding offers a unique opportunity for our audience to gather after a performance, indulge in some literal pudding, and reflect on what they’ve experienced. It’s more than just an evaluation tool; it’s a way for us to deepen our connection with you, our audience, and to understand the emotional and intellectual impact of the work we present. Through informal conversations, these sessions allow us to get closer to what truly matters: how art moves, challenges, and inspires people. The Emergent Value project, which runs until August 2025, has given us the chance to collaborate with other arts organisations and dive into what makes live arts meaningful. You can find out more about the project here.
During Mayfest we hosted three Pudding sessions with over 25 audience members; one after The Making of Pinocchio, one after Sleight of Hand, with a final reflection event focused on the festival as a whole. A week later, participants were sent an ‘After Dinner Mint’ - an email with the space to share an idea or action they want to hold on to following Mayfest.
A huge thank you to the Pudding team and all the audience members who participated in the sessions. The results have been both affirming and incredibly helpful for us as an organisation, showing that the work we do truly makes a difference to those who experience it.
Who joined us for Pudding during Mayfest?
A range of people participated in the Pudding forums, from residents of Bristol and artists who were familiar with Mayfest and MAYK, to those who were new to the festival. A few participants had travelled from Ireland for the Tales of Two Cities exchange programme. One participant present had attended Mayfest “on and off” throughout the years and many were in some way already engaging with or connected to Bristol’s arts and culture scene.
Photo by Christa Holka
How did audiences feel after The Making of Pinocchio?
“It was very spiritual; we’re just blobs in the universe…” one participant expressed, fascinated by the way Cade & Macaskill explored gender identity. One woman found the show “emotional” and “really human”, appreciating “the larger ripple effect of one person’s story” on the many people who experience it.
One person was reminded of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, particularly because of the cricket imagery that is used in the original story of Pinocchio. Participants also found the use of hand-held cameras to portray perspective really fascinating, one person exclaiming, “how did they manage to create scenes without using props or set?” One of the artist attendees was very interested in the different ways they used tech in the show: for them it was “one and a half shows at once” and “twice as much bang for your buck”. Another agreed that there were more sensory dimensions in the show, which alluded to how people are also multi-dimensional.
In their After Dinner Mint, an audience member wrote: “what [transitioning] means for us, for individuals, the complexity and the questions that come from it… So invitational. So questioning of us as the audience, to us as witnesses, in a great way. I loved that. The tender stories, the lives, the love. Seeing art and performance that is so beautifully, carefully made - it was complete, integrated, with nothing left undone. Brilliant design and sound and performances. So well realised and crafted meaning the stories are deeply resonating and so powerful. I loved it so much.”
These reflections showed us how audiences engaged with both the emotional core of the show and the technical craft behind it, giving us insight into the multi-layered nature of their experience.
Photo by Paul Blakemore
How did audiences feel after Sleight of Hand?
Many participants described Sleight of Hand as possessing an otherworldly quality. One participant, in her After Dinner Mint, wrote that experiencing the show felt like “exploring a unique little universe”, which to others had felt like “entering a world of sensations lined with pink velvet” and “a journey through heightened awareness of touch.” Some of the participants found themselves thinking of others more deeply, getting an idea of what it might be like to be without one of their senses. They felt invited to “consider their body in relation to the world, the circles of environmental influence and worldly impact, with your body at the centre of it.”
For one person, “the immersion of the experience really made me feel like I'm a part of someone's idea, baking with it and at the same time it touched on topics and ideas that I'm personally interested in, so it feels like they started baking inside of me as well.” Another participant felt she was "triggered and reminded to be more consciously connected with my senses (especially touch) and to slow down, observe and feel the environment around me.”
An element highlighted by participants after Sleight of Hand was the joy found in playing, one noting that that it was a “great chance to let my imagination run wild.” It made another person “feel like a child”, because of the tactile nature of the show, which invited you to explore touch and sound together and separately. “Your brain shuts down, like following mummy again.”
Everyone spoken to at length were locals who were interested in Bristol arts organisations, and a couple were producers and leaders of organisations themselves. For one person, the piece brought into relief “how brilliant it is that artists make art”. Overall, audience members left Sleight of Hand with an appetite for more; more thinking, more playing, more understanding; “The experience was dense and powerful and I felt in a really different space to when I went in… Full up but still curious and thoughtful.”
These reflections not only speak to the individual experience of the performance but also highlight the communal nature of attending live arts. Through shared reflection, the audience discovered new layers of meaning and deepened their understanding of the performance—and of themselves.
How did audiences feel about the festival overall?
Asked to complete the sentence “experiencing Mayfest feels like…” an audience member wrote, “finding spaces for meditation, unusual and impactful experiences. Finding new ways of looking at the world, finding others who think in other ways, showing us new worlds and possibilities, and different types of community feeling.”
Another audience member, after reflecting on watching Habitat at Mayest 2022 said, “It is great to remember there is still space for work like this somewhere, so thank you for holding that, even when it’s difficult”
These reflections capture what Mayfest is all about—the creation of a space where people can come together, experience something new, and leave with a fresh perspective on the world around them.
Photo by Paul Blakemore
What are audiences taking away from Mayfest?
The Making of Pinocchio
“Love evolves and transitions just like people”
“I enjoyed the unusual nature of the show”
“The power of love”
“The scene where they stroked themselves and talked about things they secretly wished”
“Perspective of visual presentation makes the biggest difference”
“The pace and repetition of shows can really make or break performances”
Sleight of Hand
“Being attuned with my hands and sense of touch”
“The feeling of being immersed in a creative, questioning and kind world”
“The experience of visual impairment and how touch translates the world”
Mayfest 2024
“Remembering that the work that situates and reorients the/my body in relation to the world and others are the ones that stick with me the most”
“A reminder to return to Mayfest”
How these reflections shape our next steps
These reflections don’t just end with the festival—they inform how we think about future programming and help us make the wider case for the importance of culture in people’s lives. Beyond traditional metrics and statistics, sessions like Pudding allow us to dive into the emotional and experiential impact of our work.
In an age where everything moves fast, these sessions offer something different—a rare moment to pause, reflect, and connect. It’s in these shared conversations that audience members begin to discover new meaning in what they’ve experienced, not just as individuals but as a collective.
Hearing how audiences are moved, challenged, and inspired pushes us to keep exploring new ideas. It reminds us that the value of art isn't just in numbers but in the personal connections, memories, and feelings it evokes. It contributes to our learning about how to better articulate the transformative power of live performance, helping to shift the focus away from abstract data and toward the lived, felt experiences of our audiences.
And of course, reinforced our strong belief that the best conversations happen over food.