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An incomplete guide to mainstream

After a week of discussion around mainstream, this afternoon I have taken the step of shifting the Mainstream Level to Critical status. I was having trouble getting my head around what exactly this whole mainstream ‘thing’ is. Then it twigged. People cannot conceive of detachment as being part of artistic appreciation: this criticism is practical, active and positive. There is no reason that critical detachment must result in a negative approach. As far as I see it regional theatre has been *rightly so* punching above its weight for years.

This week I took a trip to Bristol to watch Iphigenia in Splott. On the way home I visited Salisbury to watch Hedda Gabler. Both of these fine shows are being performed outside of London. What struck me was the geography of two excellent producing venues (Bristol Old Vic and Salisbry Playhouse) and the exceptional production values on display. It would be moronic to suggest that Iphihenia in Splott might be too challenging for any regional audience because it is ‘alternative’. Regional theatre is often real value for money.

It’s a tricky one – if The Almeida were to go bust, it would be quite sad. But ultimately people would go to another of the many venues in town. If Salisbury Playhouse were to dissapear what provision would there be on that level?

We need a fundamental rethink.

I suppose at a push I like extremely and quite unfashionably traditional productions, yes. We all understand the artistic manouverings that are a fact of life for every subsidised arts organisation in England. Bums on seats etc. But there is a bigger thing going on here. This is a monumental time for British theatre.

Well i’m going to give the mainstream thing a rest… for now. Matt Trueman will do another blog soon, there’s bound to be something funny in that.

April 1, 2016/by Carl Woodward

Chris Sonnex, Royal Court: Is it possible to engineer social change using theatre as a medium?

Interview with Chris Sonnex : Tottenham and Pimlico Residencies at The Royal Court

Theatre as a weapon of revolution

Chris Sonnex has come back from the jungle and is clearly unsettled. How did the Royal Court’s Community Producer come to be in Calais? When we meet, recent clashes between police and migrants have erupted, after authorities moved in to dismantle the part of the refugee camp known as The Jungle. I learn that Chris is working as an Associate Artist with Good Chance Theatre; a company at the heart of an international crisis.

“I walked into the office and Vicky [Featherstone] asked ‘Can you go out to The Jungle?’ It was a case of right place wrong time or wrong place right time, whichever way you look at it. However, it was the most incredible experience for me. As soon as I got there I realised that food and housing are their basic needs to live, but that it is the theatre that makes them feel alive.” Chris is a social activist and he clearly shows theatre to be a weapon of revolution.

Tottenham and Pimlico Residencies at the Royal Court

We discuss Tottenham and Pimlico a Beyond the Court residency project launched in 2015 in two dissimilar areas of London. He explains,“The work is similar to the National Theatre Scotland’s model; go into a community, find out what that community wants and create something for those people.”

The London postcodes were chosen specifically for social improvement within the locality of The Royal Court. “Tottenham was a place that was heavily on people’s minds because of the riots. In Pimlico it feels like there is less of a community. We set up a market stall and engaged with people who made five minute plays and offered workshops to those people. ”

Using drama and theatre to explore the personal and social issues

Is this work reactionary rather than radical? It seems the best kind of contemporary community theatre reflects the ruling-class control. There is a clear mission to use drama to explore the personal and social issues in Chris’s work. He demonstrates that theatre is political because it is a universal weapon. This holistic approach to participation draws on a range of disciplines including forum theatre, youth work and conflict resolution. This model is adaptable and progressive within diverse groups of people to create broader experiences. I wonder what facilitating opportunities such as these feel like. He laughs, “The best part of the job is the people. There’s always a danger that this work can be token-istic. We want to make quality work with a personal, social and political conscience.”

The work he describes appears wonderful, but I ask what the tangible outcomes are. Is the Royal Courts’ Tottenham and Pimlico project an add-on? Chris doesn’t think so. “First and foremost I see participant’s confidence and communication skills improve greatly, more broadly they find their voice about their lives and express a new found truth to power. But they also find each other, establish friendships: they come to know empowerment. We are the Royal Court of London; we should be reflecting what is going on in society.”

Group play-making and participation, critical to cultivating social change

For all the many utensils in the hands of those cultivating social change, whether community practitioners, teachers or outreach workers, one of the most vital elements is that of group play-making and participation. It is about building a community, where each member has equal rights and responsibilities. Sonnex has quietly grown in stature at his own pace, but it’s why being part of the company has been so invaluable. “Innovation and new voices are at the heart of what the Royal Court is for.” He adds, “For 3 weeks in July, Open Court will see thrilling new events, performances, talks and projects taking place throughout the theatre. It’s thrilling.”

What you start to sense is a theatre outreach programme not just giving a voice to its local community but a programme that is truly complimenting the bold work on its stages. Case in point, “I See You ” is presented as part of the International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project. This work is not dealing with vague ideas; it is ambitious and rooted in a lived experience.

Note: It was 5 weeks ago that I did this interview with Chris Sonnex. Goodchance Theatre, which had been the harbinger of joy and hope for the refugees at Calais for the last six months shut down last week. This was necessitated by the displacement and destruction of the community due to destruction of the camps at Calais by French authorities. You can read more details related to the closure below.
‘Influencing’ – How can the Arts make a difference in the world?

March 20, 2016/by Carl Woodward

Interview

Mark Wheeller Interview: “The arts have a general thing of surviving no matter what… as well as a good thing that can be a bad thing… as with or without funding arts will thrive… because people enjoy participation.”

Mark Wheeller is a writer and part time Executive Director of Arts at the Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill and director of the Oasis Youth Theatre. Although his name is not well-known outside of schools and colleges, he is one of the most-performed playwrights in Britain.

He is a champion of young people’s work and theatre in education more broadly. I thought it would be nice to catch up with Mark to see exactly what’s happening. And I was right – it was very nice indeed.

Hello Mark! What are you doing at the moment?
Literally at this moment I’ve just returned from a school who have some GCSE students working on one of my plays “One Million to STOP THE TRAFFIK” and I was there to have a look at what they’d done and to offer them some ideas as to how they might improve their response to it. I haven’t seen or thought about that play for about six years and it was, as it nearly always is great to see fresh pairs of eyes on the play presenting it very differently from how we did. So it made me re-examine those words and find new things. I’ve also just bought a new car and for the first time have a hybrid car where is runs partly on electricity… this has led to a number of learning curves.

What is ‘I Love You Mum’ about?
It’s the tragic story of Daniel Spargo-Mabbs a sixteen year old lad from Croydon who went to an illegal rave without his parents knowing, took MDMA, unknowingly a double dose and two days later his parents were at his bedside giving permission for the Dr’s to turn off the life support machine. Dan was a popular and able boy and it was a surprise to everyone that he had become a victim to MDMA. His parents are determined that some good should come out of this dreadful situation and through the Foundation set up in his name (Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation) commissioned me to write a play telling the story. The original idea was that his school would put the play on but it soon became obvious that some distance (emotionally and geographically would benefit the project) and so my Oasis Youth Theatre were offered the chance to premiere the play. We have been working on it for the last year and a half. It has been in incredibly powerful project to be involvement. It has been about stickability rather than ability in terms of those who will be in it. They have had to be so committed over such a long period of time. We also have incredible back up with a professional set designer (Richard Long), musician (Paul Ibbott), who has written a musical underscore, and multi-media expert (Danny – Gagging for It – Sturrock). This team have worked tirelessly to produce the most incredible support to our work and add so much to the final result. I think the professional Theatre would do well to compete with the time we have been able to find to put into the production… and therefore the result.

Do you think about National Curriculum potential when you’re writing? Of that catalogue of 100 plays you have, how many are mega successful?
I never think about the National Curriculum. My productions have been written because I found it so hard to find scripts I liked for my Youth Theatre work. It seemed a daunting task to find a script that was just what we need as a group. It seemed to be easier to write what I fancy directing and then, as they are brand new, everyone in the production feels a greater sense of ownership. It has been other peoples idea to include them in the curriculum.
It depends on the definition of “mega successful”. I have never had anything on the West End. I’d love that to happen. I have never had a professional adult group perform any of my plays in a major provincial Theatre. So… who has been performing my plays. Mostly a few Theatre in Education groups (professional) touring schools, prisons or the workplace. Also, as a result of these groups drawing attention to my work Youth Theatres and school have picked up on my plays and presented their own versions of them. In the late 1990s they started to be used in GCSE. A/S and A’Level exams (mostly unbeknown to me) and from that two (Missing Dan Nolan & Hard To Swallow) have been taken on as set texts by two of the four boards offering the new GCSE Drama (9-1) exam. I guess that’s pretty successful to have these plays emerging from an unfunded provincial Youth Theatre where all the other contemporary plays have come from the professional world. I’m very proud of that!
Numerically… I have some plays that have been performed (licensed performances) a massive number of times. Here’s my top 5 as of today 8/03/2016
1/ Too Much Punch For Judy (1998) 5,998
2/ Chicken (1992) 5,654
3/ Legal Weapon 1/2 ((1999) 2,546
4/ Arson About (2004) 1,442
5/ Hard To Swallow (1990) 365
(Amazing!)
Of all my others (there are 28 in all) only two have notched up more than 100 performances, but that’s partly the fact they haven’t (for the most part) been out as long! I would be intrigued to know whether any of these would qualify as the most performed contemporary plays?

Are the arts doing enough to nurture and support young talent?
Not sure that “the arts” can do this. People can do this… people who are in the arts. I imagine they are. Are those people given enough support/resources? No. The arts have a general thing of surviving no matter what… as well as a good thing that can be a bad thing… as with or without funding arts will thrive… because people enjoy participation. I’d love to see a more foams programme that is well funded from the grass roots. I think football has a great model, where, with football in the community there are lots of opportunities for young people. It would great for this to be applied to Theatre and the arts… but it’s beyond me to know how to organise this.

Do you think decent theatre needs an undercurrent of sorrow?
It seems that mine does. I’d love to write a good comedy. I don’t have the ability. No I don’t think it needs it. I think my work does it because that’s what I think I do best. As I say I’d love to be able to do a good comedy. I have been so pleased to see my son Charlie working with his Barely Methodical Troupe on some wonderful comic moments, and my Daughter Daisy in her musical Theatre work being much more light hearted than my better known “stuff” is. All power to them.

And what else do you have coming up this year?
I have two premieres in one month. I Love you Mum (The Brit School 29th March 3pm) and Scratching the Surface at a One Act Play Festival in the Midlands on March 6th), which is about self harm.
In May I have been told there will be a premiere of my verbatim play Kindness – A Legacy of the Holocaust written with Voices Director Cate Hollis, who directs this production.
A couple of International Schools have asked me to visit them in the next academic year… which gif it happens will be very exciting. I’ve never been to Malaysia… and before that my wife and I are off on holiday to Cypris where Daisy is singing in one of the Thompson Gold Hotels! So… and exciting year in prospect.
Thanks for listening!

Adios, Mark!

March 8, 2016/by Carl Woodward

Artistic Director Interviews, Interview

Derby Theatre, Sarah Brigham Interview: “It’s vital that every young person is given access to high quality arts experiences and able to realise their own creativity.”

Sarah

Sarah Brigham is Artistic Director and Chief Executive at Derby Theatre. Sarah is a powerhouse. Previously the Artistic Director at The Point, Eastleigh, and The Berry Theatre, where she developed a unique programme of support for established and emerging artists. Amazing.

We had a discussion about life in general and more. See below.
Hello! You are a hard-working person. If you were to draw a graph of the last ten years, how would it look?
Hello, that question made me smile – my graph is probably like everyone who works in the arts – pretty crazy most of the time but high on fulfilment and enjoyment and a high peak in feeling very lucky to do a job I am passionate about.

You are currently in Tech week for Look Back in Anger. What’s going on?
Well its an interesting tech week as we are actually in tech for 2 shows at once – yes we are mad – Its going to be a full on week! Alongside Look Back in Anger we have commissioned a response piece from the female perspective. Its called Jinny and its the third in our RETOLD series which sees us cracking opening the classics from the female perspective. Whilst working on Look Back in Anger I began to wonder when do we ever hear the working class voice on stage now? And when is that voice ever female. So we decided to commission another writer who has lived and worked in Derbyshire (as Osborne did) to bring this voice alive for 2016 – Jane Wainwright was born in Chesterfield and spent a research and development period meeting women aged 25 (Jimmy Porter’s age) across Derby asking them for their take on class, feminism, love, dreams, ambitions and what they were angry about now. Interestingly many felt similar to Jimmy there was no an open door to a good job no matter how talented you were, they felt frustrated by the life plan they felt society still imposed onto them and they were frustrated that the voices they heard on their stages, in newspapers and in films didn’t represent their experience. Jane has taken their wit, their fears, their ambitions and created a female Jimmy Porter for 2016.

So right now we are in a lighting plotting session for both shows ! Lighting Designer Arnim Freiss is working wonders and Neil Irish’s set is looking fabulous. We’ve built further into the auditorium than usual so I’m constantly checking sight lines as its changed the dynamic of the space in an exciting way.

Look Back in Anger induced a step-change in British Theatre didn’t it.
In many ways yes although sometimes this is overplayed a little as there was lots going on then , Waiting for Godot opened a year earlier for instance but you are right it is often heralded as the play which changed the face of British Theatre, it is studied by students of theatre across the UK, it helped put The Royal Court on the map and often the industry talks about plays prior to 1956 (the year the play premièred) and post as two distinct eras.

It certainly put on stage a voice which had not been heard before; the voice of the working man and he had a lot to say, heralding the movement of “angry young men”. I don’t think we would be in the same theatre landscape if Look Back in Anger had never been produced. Its a great play – full of complexities but great none the less.

Brassed Off, Derby Theatre. 2015.

You’ve been a pioneer for artist development locally. What is the next corner to be turned?That’s very kind of you. Gosh I’m not sure – there are lots of challenges ahead I think we all know that – the latest settlement for ACE was great but its not a time to rest on our laurels – we need to keep making the case for the arts. One area that really worries me is the destruction of arts in education. It’s vital that every young person is given access to high quality arts experiences and able to realise their own creativity. At the moment that seems hugely under threat and if we don’t do something about it then we will be all the poorer not only in 20 years when we are looking for the next generation of artists but also straight away as our children and ultimately our society will suffer.

We also need to turn a corner on diversity – its not good enough that our creative leaders, our artists and our audiences don’t represent the world we live in.

On a more positive note there are so many exciting things happening in the industry at the moment – everyday I meet new artists, new companies who are making work in new ways and thinking about how to take new audiences on a journey so on that score I feel pretty chipper about our future. I guess my role is to ensure those artists are nourished and supported.

Regional theatre appears to be in mighty shape. What are the biggest challenges to sustain this?
That’s so nice to hear as often the regions get treated like the naughty child and told they aren’t good enough. Yes there is great work coming from the regions – I’ve had some of my best theatre experiences in Manchester, Edinburgh, and a small village hall in Leicestershire. Of course funding is a challenge as always and the disparity of funding I think is an issue which needs solving. Maxine Peake made a great speech recently where she pointed out that the (brilliant ) work she makes in Manchester is judged on the same platform as work from london which has three times the resources to rehearse and make the work. I totally agree with her – give any director or theatre 3 times the funding and I’m pretty sure you’ll see bolder choices being made and a more consistent product produced.

There is disparity within the regions too. The Northern Powerhouse and the Midlands Engine idea is great but we need to remember the cities on the edges of that also. Putting a show on in Derby costs the same as putting on a show in a big city although the distribution of funding doesn’t always recognise this. The smaller cities also often don’t have access to the same level of possible philanthropy or audiences. Having said all of that I absolutely recognise that it would be mad to just drain London or the bigger cities, these are our jewels … It is a conundrum but one we need to crack.

What is your least favourite emoji?
I’m probably not cool enough to be able to answer this question but just looking at them on my phone now I’m not very keen on the angry one and there’s one with dollar signs in its eyes which looks vile! generally my rule is if you’re really bothered by something say it to the persons face to face , don’t text it or Facebook it and if you daren’t say it directly then be quiet!

MONEY

And what else do you have coming up?
Lots of projects but immediate things I’m excited by are The Departure Lounge festival which will be held at Derby Theatre again this year in July – curated by Ruby Glaskin it allows us to turn our stage into a Glastonbury (we astro turf it and the audience sit on deck chairs and picnic blankets) and we programme the most exciting work going up to Edinburgh.

I’m also excited about putting Look Back in Anger and Jinny in front of an audience – we open on Friday for 3 weeks then transfer to Bolton octagon.

To conclude, then, is there anything you would like to say to the people (plural) reading this?
Just if you work in the arts keep up the good fight and if you’re an audience member go to your local theatre today and see what’s on.

Thanks for chatting to me, Carl.

Byeeeeeeee, ducky!

February 29, 2016/by Carl Woodward

Artistic Director Interviews, Interview

Brian Logan, Camden People’s Theatre Interview: “it seems the stars are aligning nicely for people who make performance in unexpected ways.”

Camden People’s Theatre is a performance space in a former pub, with a dynamic programme supporting new writing and innovative productions.

I had a chat-slash-interview with Brian Logan, CTP’s Artistic Director.

Here’s how it unfolded…

Hello Brian. Camden’s People Theatre is very good isn’t it.
Hello Carl. Thanks for saying so. We try to be very good: I’m glad to hear you think we’re succeeding.

With the way the industry’s changing, do you worry about the future for unconventional theatre makers?
I don’t worry too much about the future of unconventional theatre-makers. I think today’s unconventional theatre-makers are tomorrow’s influential and often (by then) mainstream artists. I look around CPT at a generation of playful but dedicated innovators who’re more resourceful than my generation ever seemed to be, and they fill me mainly with hope. And delight.
I also think one of the most significant changes in the industry, or the culture, over the last decade has been the mainstream’s adoption of what used to feel like unconventional ways of doing things. The kind of leftfield, hyper-creative, non-hierarchical, bloody-minded theatre-making habits that CPT has always championed are now commonplace in organisations that used to be the sole preserve of, ahem, new writing and Oxbridge-educated directors. So to me it seems the stars are aligning nicely for people who make performance in unexpected ways.
I do worry, it’s true, about where in London these artists are going to live. I do worry about how they’ll support themselves – although we’re here to help with that in whatever way we can. But I also see plenty to be optimistic about.

Tell us about SPRINT Festival?
It’s London’s biggest and best established carnival of new and unusual theatre. It started in 1997 and this is its twentieth incarnation, which I think is pretty extraordinary. Unlike the other festivals we present at CPT, there’s no theme. It’s just a concentrated, adrenaline-charged shot of what we do year-round, which is support and present the most imaginative, provoking and unpredictable new theatre we can find, usually made by artists at the start of their careers, often engaged with critical questions about how we live now. The Sprint festival is always lively. It’s programmed as democratically as possible – we invite applications from as wide a range of artists as we can. Its shows burst out of our theatre space and into other nooks of our building, and beyond. Visit on any night and we hope you’ll leave with a quickened pulse and a vivid sense of what’s happening right now on theatre’s cutting edge.

As for this year’s Sprint in particular, it’s got a satisfying mix of CPT rookies, old friends, hard-hitting shows, playful diversions and lots else besides. We’ve got the award-winning Atresbandes with their new show Locus Amoenus, the cult Kings of England maverick Simon Bowes with Ding and Sich, and Conrad Murray – star of last year’s CPT hit No Milk for the Foxes – with his council estate-set hiphop theatre piece DenMarked. We’ve got the first ever performance of the winner of our inaugural People’s Theatre Award, Emily Lim and Gameshow’s Grown Up, we’ve got the five brand new projects emerging from our unique Starting Blocks artist support scheme and we have a whole new Sprint strand, called Freshers, showcasing new student and graduate work. So: it’s exciting, and way too sprawling to encapsulate here.

Joe Boylan and Gemma Rowan in This Is Private Property

How would you describe your perspective on life?
I’ve never been asked nor ever considered an answer to that before. I think I have lots of different perspectives depending what aspect of life I’m currently engaging with. I hope I’m good-humoured, optimistic and egalitarian, but my family, colleagues and arch-enemies may well say otherwise.

Bloody hell. Your ambitious devised production ‘This Is Private Property’ was a bit of a fiasco. What are your thoughts on how it was received by critics?
I’m curious to know why you consider it a fiasco, Carl. Did you see it? It handsomely outstripped its box-office targets, engaged an audience who hadn’t been to CPT before, and – judging by our feedback forms and the cast’s conversations with those audiences – was very much appreciated by many of the people who saw it.

As for the reviews, I thought – as usual – that some of them were on the money, and with some of them, I strongly disagreed. Politically and in terms of their aesthetic assumptions. Obviously, we’d have loved everyone to like the show. But it wasn’t made to appeal to the cultural cognoscenti, it was made to engage with a wider audience, including those living at the sharp end of the housing crisis. Those are different constituencies with sometimes contrasting values and tastes. So – while nobody enjoys getting bad reviews – we were happy to get good reviews as well, and very pleased in general with how the production was received.

I didn’t see it sadly… What is your advice for emerging artists in their late 20s and early 30s?
It depends where they’re at in their career, what they’re working on, what kind of help (if any) they’re asking CPT for. We definitely don’t have a one-size-fits-all artist support thing happening here. Supporting artists is the most important thing we do here, and it’s very important to us that we tailor that support to what any given artist or company needs at a particular time.

What’s the best part of your job?
There’s lots that’s good about my job. Seeing great theatre (for free!). Being in a position to help super-smart and talented artists make their work – and being personally inspired & refreshed by their fearlessness and their new ways of seeing and doing things. Not having to travel at rush hour. Working with my fab colleagues Amber and Anna. The single best thing is the feeling of being at CPT on one of our buzzy festival nights, when the whole place crackles and hums with artists meeting audiences meeting artists, all having new conversations about significant things. And drinking, and feeling alive. It’s a thrill to feel that in some way we’ve helped make that happen.

Is there anything that you’d like redacted?
D’you mean from the answers above? Nope. Publish and be damned.

Bye bye (!)

And that, ladies and gents, is where our chat ended.
Sprint Festival features adventurous theatre from across the UK and beyond and runs from Tuesday 2 – Saturday 26 March.

February 26, 2016/by Carl Woodward

Artistic Director Interviews, Interview

Labels, Joe Sellman-Leava Interview: “There needs to be greater diversity in the arts – in all senses of the word.”

Worklight Theatre’s award winning show, Labels is going on a UK Tour. The show draws on writer and performer, Joe Sellman-Leava’s mixed heritage to explore racism, immigration and displacement.

I had a chat with Joe. See below.

What’s the point of this UK Tour of Labels?
We want to engage more people with the show and the discussions around it. The issues that it covers are, unfortunately, not going away any time soon, and we feel it’s important that people feel empowered to continue shaping the discussion

Which event in your life made you the person you are today?
It’s hard to pin down one event, but I had a few brilliant teachers in my late teens who challenged and encouraged me in equal measure. I would say this is where the passion and determination for the work I do comes from.

What are the consequences of trivialising racism?
The consequences are that people suffer. In some cases this might be bullying in school or at work, but in other extremes it can mean we see people as less than human, and then treat them as such.

What would you do if you were banned from making theatre?
I’d try to find other ways to ask similar questions, through writing, film or visual art.

What’s wrong with the industry today?
It’s incredibly challenging for people in the early stages of their careers, and concerning that this may not change even as you become more experienced. I personally think there needs to be greater diversity in the arts – in all senses of the word.

Time and time again we are reminded that diversity is key to creativity. What more needs to be done?
Perhaps thinking about it in a more joined up way? Trying to use the arts as a way of engaging young people from diverse social, ethnic and financial backgrounds. Ensuring that people aren’t shut out from training opportunities because of their school or their parents income. Thinking about more ways for emerging artists to develop their skills and showcase their work. Thinking about ways regions and the UK as a whole can retain, rather than drain talent, as artists become more experienced. Thinking about the wider value of the arts and greater diversity within it; consider how all of these things link together.

Is there anything else we need to discuss?
No.

That’s that then. Ciao, Joe!

February 23, 2016/by Carl Woodward

Artistic Director Interviews, Interview

New Diorama Theatre, David Byrne interview: “Everything we’re offering is directly set up to meet a need that our artists have.”

The New Diorama Theatre is an 80 seat theatre just off Regent’s Park in London. NDT is champion for the development and support of emerging and established theatre companies. The Artistic & Executive Director at New Diorama Theatre is a man named David Byrne.

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He has just launched an pioneering Artist Development Programme which includes a cash-fund that is funded by booking fees (currently 40p a ticket). The fund is aimed at companies that the theatre has previously worked with, and aims to help them take their work to festivals such as Edinburgh or larger venues around the UK. New Diorama Theatre is one of London’s best Theatres, we’re talking Grade A excellence; so well done NDT.

I had a chat with him about this exciting scheme…

What three things should every amazing artist development scheme have?
If a theatre or organisation is truly serious about artist development their programme should be:

a) Take the lion’s share of the risk away from the artists they are supporting. Too many organisations are risk averse while saying they are supporting theatre-makers who are, often literally, risking everything to make their art. Venues need to ask themselves – is this providing enough money and resource for these artists to make this work viable and can the artists pay themselves?

b) There are NPO theatres out there offering 50/50 box office splits with early-career groups – which they’re marketing as equal risk with their artists. It isn’t. These venues have funding and support that artists at the start of their career can only dream of. For an artist development programme to be really brilliant venues have got to stick their necks out.

Devising new ideas that really tackle problems – rather than just ‘artist development by numbers’. When we at New Diorama are looking at new ways we can support theatre companies, we start with the problems that we want to help overcome: identifying the hurdles our groups are facing time and time again. And then we find creative, new ways to help our theatre companies overcome these obstacles. Over the last year, I’ve read pretty much every Artist Development Programme in the whole country. And, on the whole, it was a pretty drab read. Most of packages boil down to a bit of free rehearsal space and a small opportunity to “scratch” work. Of course, theatre companies do need rehearsal space – but as an industry we need to be providing so much more.

While researching, I came across schemes aimed at start-ups in other industries and, wow, a lot of them offer whole comprehensive toolkits of support for entrepreneurial people starting up new ventures. Yet here in the creative industries, ironically, we seem to be low on new ideas. So to be really exceptional at artist development I think you’ve got to be listening to your theatre-makers and finding new ways to make their visions and ambitions a reality.

c) Really clear what they’re actually developing artists for. When I’ve been touring the country and on my travels in London talking to other Artistic Directors and Artist Development Producers I always ask one question about their programmes: “what are you developing artists for?”

Once we knew our goal, everything else was clear. But it’s essential that these conversations be had. How else can you focus your attentions and resources? How else can you be sure what you want as an organisation for your artists actually matches the ambitions artists your working with? Surprisingly, there are many that seem to have no clear goal. To run a really effective programme you need to know what you’re endgame is. For example, at New Diorama, it’s about making each group sustainable and securing a long-term future for their work. So we work on their organisational skills which, when taught, will stay with them for a lifetime. We’re investing in leadership skills alongside helping with the artistic. We’re building audiences for each group – whose tickets sales will be the basis of their income for years to come.

Wow. Tell me more about the ND Artist Development programme. Where did it come from?
Our Artist Development programme has come from years of listening to the groups we support. All theatre companies are different – they make art in unique ways and they often have a intricate relationship with each other – so they all do things in their own ways. However, many of them find themselves facing the same problems. When you read through the offer we’re making to early-career theatre companies you’ll notice we always start by talking about the problem we’re overcoming. Everything we’re offering is directly set up to meet a need that our artists have.

There are a few strands of work that aren’t just targeting at fixing things for our supported artists but are there to solve problems we have as an industry as a whole. For example our new Female leadership Fund and our 30 weeks of free BAMER rehearsal space is our contribution towards two of the big issues the arts is currently facing. But most of all, it came from the love of the work our supported companies produce. I feel like I’m both the Artistic Director of a venue championing these groups while also being their biggest fan. Everything we do to help them is selfish on my part – as I get to see more and more of their inspiring theatre.

Some people take issue with the fact that female artists speak words written by men. How do you feel about that?
Some of the best performances I’ve seen from female artists have been in production of Shakespeare and some of the best performances by men in plays by Caryl Churchill or Timberlake Wertenbaker or Lucy Prebble. I don’t think the argument holds water. It’s not who has written a play that matters – it’s what the characters are saying.

Do you think good theatre people should be following trends or trying to establish them?
Depends on the trend! There are movements in theatre, and it’s great when we, as an industry, come together to push in a certain direction to improve things and get things done. I wish it happened more. It’s also fun to create new ideas and be at the top of the agenda. The best people do both.

The commitment to emerging talent via Incoming Festival is extraordinary. It must have been planned months in advance.
Yes, it is. Working with Eleanor and Jake is one of the highlights of my year.
I love what INCOMING does for artists – paying them for their performances with a proper fee AND giving them half of their box office.
I love what the festival offers for audiences – with all tickets just £5 it means they can take a risk and they do: in previous years over 70% have never seen work by the company they booked for.
And for the for the sector as a whole – the free workshops are great, it has a truly nationwide programme – with many groups performing in London for the very first time – and a huge number of regional programmers and artistic directors come and see the work. It’s a chaotic, creative and wonderful ten days.

What’s the best emoji?
Is there a wizard one? That. Or the cheese one.

Cheese emoji

What do you see at the moment, theatre wise, that excites you?
Right now I’m looking at the programme for 2016’s National Student Drama Festival. The last few years they’ve been really punching above their weight. I can’t wait to see what this years group do.
I’ve been standing back with pride at Rhum and Clay’s latest show, HARDBOILED, directed by Beth Flintoff that’s been performing at NDT to such enthusiastic audiences (and a great five star review in Time Out).

Rhum and Clay, HARDBOILED

And I’m excited at not just delivering the Artist Development Programme we’ve just launched but growing it – we’ve already got ideas of how to make it even better and more exciting.

BYE DAVE.

February 15, 2016/by Carl Woodward

Blog

Young Critics Autumn Season

Theatre Royal Winchester is extending its industry-leading project into the Autumn season, due to popular demand. Workshops are led by national journalists and leading theatre critics. There are exciting opportunities to review shows at regional theatres and participants will be provided with mentoring and an opportunity for their work to be published in The Big Issue. A number of regional theatres have been supporting the scheme with an offer of press tickets for participants. Michael Ockwell Chief Executive of The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton said: “We are delighted to be working with our colleagues at Theatre Royal Winchester on this wonderful initiative. Informed, relevant and considered criticism is crucial to the development of arts appreciation and Issue. Mayflower Theatre is pleased to play a small role in facilitating enriching discussions for all the participants in the Young Critics scheme.’

Young Critics has been attracting a stellar lineup of contributors including The Guardian’s Michael Billington: Britain’s longest-serving theatre critic. He is undeniably a fixture of British Theatre. Michael said: ” I’m delighted to be taking part in a workshop for Young Critics.. So I’m very happy both to talk about the critical trade and hand on whatever practical advice I can.”

The six week course begins in September and costs £90. The course fee includes all sessions and additional ticket offers to shows at other regional venues (including Theatre Royal Winchester, The Mayflower, Southampton, Salisbury Playhouse and Nuffield Theatre) To book call Theatre Royal Winchester box office on 01962 840440.

For further information visit http://www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk/

For press information please call 01962 844 600 ext. 208

July 27, 2015/by Carl Woodward