With an increased emphasis on the natural world around us, on a local as well as global level, we’re at a crucial point in time in terms of conversations had about climate change, questioning how best to look after our home. Observing the beauty of his hometown Kilnsea, situated in East Yorkshire, writer Tom Wells explores his locality and its vulnerabilities, recognising a need for better care. Directed by Tessa Walker, Big Big Sky is currently showing at the Hampstead Theatre. Tessa tells us more about the show’s collaborative process and what to expect!
The Central Nervous System – consisting of the brain and spinal cord, is responsible for the complex functions and various systems that power the human body. The brain, an organ of soft nervous tissue contained within the skull of vertebrates, functioning as the co-ordinating centre of sensation, intellectual and nervous activity. Diagnosed with incurable cancer around the time she’d been cast for a show at the National Theatre, in the part of the brain responsible for speech, language and memory, writer and director Phoebe Frances Brown, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy, explores her health journey so far – The Glad Game focused on Phoebe “finding herself in 
Hero – (noun) a person who is admired for great brave acts or fine qualities. The ‘hero’ is an archetype often portrayed within our literature, from fairy tales, to fantasy novels, to comic books as being the idealised embodiment of perfection, the one that ends up defeating the bad guys and saving the day. I’m sure, however, within our daily lives, we all have our very own ideas as to what heroes look like to us, and what this concept means within the real world. Exploring this concept of the ‘hero’ within his show Catching Comets, writer and director Piers Black tells us more about revisiting the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe piece, working with the creative team to realise the production and what we can expect!
Our life experiences shape who we are and how we observe and connect with the world, stories of womanhood evermore important to share and to continue conversations about. Exploring the experiences of seven women in their latest show GIRLS, The PappyShow return with an inter-generational cast, spanning the ages of 17 to 70, to bravely highlight their own stories via movement, dance and song. Ahead of the show playing at the New Diorama Theatre, Director and Associate Artist of The PappyShow Josie Daxter tells us more about what to expect!
Having created a platform for performance artists – offering ‘space, time, community, critical feedback, free financial access to events and other resources’, ]performance s p a c e [ have been integral to the journeys of many who’s work may have been ‘locked out, in-between and seen as being too experimental’. Born out of the Occupy movement of 2011, a decade on, the venue celebrate their continued and vital support within the arts industry, showcasing the work of Alastair MacLennan, Anne Bean, Chinasa Vivian Ezugha, Elvira Santamaría-Torres, Joseph Morgan Schofield, Martin O’Brien, Rubiane Maia, Poppy Jackson and selina bonelli with a 10 hour durational performance on Saturday 21st August. Ahead of the show, taking place at the Ugly Duck, co-founder and director of ]performance s p a c e [ Benjamin Sebastian tells us more about the artists taking part in the event, what it means to continue providing this much needed space for artists and their hopes for the event.
An important time for highlighting the stories of the often underrepresented, as the industry emerges post pandemic, we’re witnessing more of these take to our stages. Debuting at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe to sold out audiences, Tokyo Rose tells the real-life story of American radio broadcaster Iva Ikuko Toguri D’Aquino, the show’s title, the nickname given to female broadcasters believed to have been spreading propaganda to the Allied Forces during WWII – of which Iva was wrongly accused. Two years after the show’s initial run, Tokyo Rose returns, starting off at the MAST Mayflower Studios before going on tour. Co-written by Maryhee Yoon and Cara Baldwin, the pair have re-worked the show into a two act, full length format. Ahead of tour, co-writer Maryhee tells us more about what inspired the team to explore the narrative further, how she’s worked with Cara to realise the show and what she’s taken away from the process.