What We Do

We engage audiences in compelling, inventive and provocative new theatre devised to reflect on contemporary experience. We want the work we make to respond to present day experience, not as a realistic reflection but as an attempt to speak clearly to the heart of the landscape we are working in.  We want to communicate generously with audiences about questions, themes and experiences of truly contemporary concern

The theatre we create is something that needs to be live, something that generates energy and tension from its presence in a room with other people. We’re interested in making performances that explore the contemporary world, performances that excite, challenge and entertain other people. We’re interested in ideas at the same time as seeking to create confusion, silence, questions and laughter.

As well as performance works, we’ve made gallery installations, site-specific pieces, books, photographic collaborations, videos and even a mischievous guided bus tour.  The work makes a strong link between form and content, reflecting our belief that the form of a project – the kind of experience it presents, the contract it makes with its audience and how – is an inseparable and significant part of its meaning.

Often described as being experimental or innovative, our work shifts approach from project to project, taking influence from movies, internet, stand-up, dance, bad television, performance art, music culture as well as from theatre itself. What ties the various strands of our work together is that the projects always strive to be vivid and original, demanding a lot from audiences and giving lot in return.

We typically develop projects through improvisation and discussion; for us simply trying things out in the rehearsal room is often the best way to find out more about the ideas we are exploring and what the performance potential of the material is. When projects demand it and when resources allow, we expand our team by inviting other artists and performers to join us, bring fresh energy and new ideas to the table.

Our participation work is an integral part of our programme of activity, as is our engagement with other artists in mentoring and development work, all of which informs our own work and future planning. You can read about our participation work here.