All that said here’s my current but ever changing top ten favourite theatre ever:

The Cleansing of Constance Brown (Stans Café)

https://stans.cafe/project/project-constance-brown/

Angel Meadow (anu)

https://homemcr.org/production/angel-meadow/

Dragons Trilogy (le Page)

https://www.epidemic.net/en/art/lepage/proj/Dragons_Trilogy.pdf

Hibiki (Sankai Juku)

https://www.sankaijuku.com/hibiki

The Shelter (en masse theatre)

https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/shelter-rev

Aurelias Oratorio (Aurelia Thierrey)

https://aureliathierree.com/oratorio/

a machine they're secretly building (Proto-type)

http://proto-type.org/projects/current/a-machine-theyre-secretly-building/

Translunar Paradise (theatre adinfinitum)

https://ad-infinitum.org/translunar-paradise

Crash of the Elyzium (Punchdrunk)

https://www.punchdrunkenrichment.org.uk/project/the-crash-of-the-elysium/

Sept Doigts (Traces)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j88FII7lB4g

What kind of stories / plays / theatrical experiences are you drawn to?

I'm loving spoken word more and more thanks to people like Edalia Day, Cheryl Martin, Rose Condo and Luke Wright. Documentary Theatre from the likes of Proto-Type. I love the intimacy of smaller performance spaces because it helps suspend disbelief – things like The Woman in Black are great pieces of theatre, but for me they get spoiled by large hysterical audiences whose reactions just take you out of that world. I’m becoming more and more alienated by large scale drama and the heightened performance style that comes with it. I love Ghost Stories and Horror theatre too, I think it really works as a genre for storytelling theatre.

I’m not very tolerant with the lack of originality of film rip offs (The Producers, Kinky Boots, Calendar Girls et al). But I do love spectacle and highly visual grandeur, so large scale circus pulls me in like a magnet – I love the thrill of it and really find it exhilarating.

To date what is the piece of work that you are proudest of?

Tough one – gosh!

Cie Artonik’s Colour of Time was an amazing piece of engagement we delivered at Cast, Doncaster – previously one of the most culturally deprived towns in the UK.

Yaa Asantewaa at West Yorkshire Playhouse and on tour with the mighty Geraldine Connor, Pan African Orchestra Ensembe and Adzido Dance combining forces for a wonderful carnival themed spectacle.

Wizard of Oz with Jude at WYP with its genius use of Pepper's Ghost projection and film with Patrick Stewart as the Wizard.

Blood and Chocolate in York with Slung Low and Pilot for the sheer community theatre scale of it. And similarly Our Gate most recently in Harrogate produced in really trying (Covid) times.

And from the Developed with The Lowry initiative The Dancer and the Devil which went on and on through so many (5??) incarnations, & Kill The Beast’s brilliant work and legacy.

What kind of strategies do you employ when supporting new & emerging companies / artists?

Give them permission to fail – its simply just a slightly longer route to success with the bonus being more lessons learned on the way.

Try not to force an end product – especially during R&D – don’t have “Fridays sharing” as the focus of the week. Just do what you're doing and on Friday tell people what you’ve done and found out.

Encourage companies to learn by watching others – see as MUCH AS YOU CAN – (speak to venue programmers if ticket price is an access issue).

Share my little black book of contacts with them all and pair people up and recommend people to talk to or observe.

If you could give three pieces of advice to new & emerging companies / artists what would they be?

Join a union or trade body – despite the overcrowding it can be a lonely business – being in a union or group can help you feel someone has your back. BECTU and ITC are great for this.

Don’t be cocky – admit when you don’t know something or are out of your depth. Be generous and supportive and see as much as you can of other people’s work, You’ll learn as you go & forge valuable relationships

Persist! Keep going. Opportunity will ALWAYS be outstripped by the demand for it. But keep going.

What support do you offer to new & emerging companies / artists?

Harrogate – 4 call outs per year, at least 1 unknown to us previously.

Small seed money for individuals working on an idea for a week. Ongoing learning with workshops online and in person. Advice, guidance, look at work.

Dukes – currently ad-hoc case by case basis but in the process of being formalised and structured.

EnableUS Sheffield – 2 resident companies a year access to rehearsal space and £1k cash.

All above include advocacy via Venues North.

As a freelancer I'm at capacity and not currently looking to take on more projects. But I'm always up for a coffee and a chat, signposting on to others who might help if I can't.

How do you meet / discover the above – do they approach you or do you look for them?

Both really – responding to call outs, by them cold calling, by me seeking and by peer recommends. I do respond to invites to see work (it's in my job description!) If I can't travel I will ask to see recordings. I look to other venues especially on the fringes and on the peripheries. I find Twitter great for finding out about new companies.

How when supporting work do you identify the audience? Or is this something that is worked out post sharing / performance – how is this reflected to ACE?

ACE – or for that matter most investors – are ALWAYS going to immediately want to know about engagement – who it's for, how will you reach them, what experience will they have, and to my mind this should always be at the core of the project from the outset. As should “Why Now? Why is it relevant”. That might seem obvious, but “who is going to come” is the first thing I think about when approached about a new piece of work.

Think about what are the themes and identify target audiences from there.

What’s the “like for like” either the form of the show or the themes it explores (what other things would this potential audience like, regarding films books other shows).

Please don’t tell me this is for “fans of new writing / fans of devised theatre” – its not enough!

Do try to think in segmentation / audience finder terminology.

What was the best and most challenging elements of now being a freelance producer?

Definitely the immediate knock-on effects of Covid and closure which we are still feeling – reschedules will take out most of 2022 and possibly first part of 2023. It’s also been one of the best aspects, in that its given much needed time to think plan, reflect and give yourself decent timelines for things. Take stock.

Covid has left a chasm. There's never really been enough producers but many have left the industry because of the pandemic, so more will be needed.

And funding is always an issue. But ’twas ever thus!

What kind of plays/work would you like to see develop and be part of developing in the future?

Shows and experiences with integrated tech.

What’s going to be the new “using projection” or the new “immersive” or the new “playful audience interaction”?

Things that work outside of theatres – found spaces, libraries or galleries. And things that don’t need you to start by building a black box in these spaces.

Work that plays with its audience and gives them a role rather than passive observer.

Work that challenges the perception of “theatre going” to non-theatre goers, snares them and wants them coming back for more!

Tip – Don’t apologise for where you are when delivering offsite. Better a damp railway arch or empty shop that delivers amazing experiences, rather than a second-rate black box space with limited tech.

What are your thoughts on the development of new play / new work currently?

I think the question of “what is development?” is an interesting one. Does pure talent just rise to the top regardless. I've had experiences of “good stuff” not wanting feedback or refinement – it just wants money and programming opportunities. This then leads on to that question of “is class a barrier?” and I’m not sure it is. I think money and finance is a barrier. And that no longer synonymous with class. Money will always buy you space and will therefore buy you an opportunity to be seen. Anyone can hire a studio space if you’ve got the cash to do so and then pay for good PR that will make people come…

I’ve had a couple of bad experiences in the last two years where I've been “locked out” of the process and its made me think “why are you part of this initiative? You don’t want / need me or my experiences or skills”…

The best experiences I’ve had with companies are when people have come to me with problems or when somethings “not quite there yet” or needs fixing in some way. (I don’t think this properly answers your question! But felt it worth saying).

Is small scale touring broken?

Another really good question- Yes it probably is , or if its not yet then its definitely at breaking point. Solos and 2-handers can probably still pull it off. At a squeeze maybe a three-hander. Beyond that, you're really walking the line because of a bad combination of low fees offered by venues and competition for funding and that cycle of submitting being out of alignment with venues programming patterns. Will the new ACE threshold fix it? Remains to be seen.

I have friends who think it broke a long time ago.

I’m keen to challenge venues treating artists, performers and companies differently depending on which part of the building they are working in, which is REALLY out of order (ie. deciding you're fine paying a high profile company £10k guarantee vs a split for a week in the main house but you’ve decided a £700 fee in the studio for a company of three performers and a technician is “too much of a risk sorry”…

Mark should tell you more about his experiences with Spike – I think they were a good example of a company producing strong work with a network of good venues, but still struggled…

You have vast experience of working indoors and out and for a vast array of organisations – which is experience has been the most fulfilling for you personally?

The Colour of Time at CAST Doncaster as mentioned before for its participation programme and community feedback

Love on the Dole at The Lowry for similar reasons which was a six month programme from workshops to large scale community production.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-news/love-on-the-dole--the-lowry-1122006

The “Developed With The Lowry” initiative.

The Lowry Studio receiving the Peter Brook Empty Space Award.

https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/lowry-studio-recognised-with-p-761

Developing the HUB to the point where it featured prominently on the UK touring circuit.

https://www.slunglow.org/past-hub-events/

Developing the Pay What You Decide model successfully and seeing others adopt it.

http://www.bigimaginations.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/PWYD-Notes-for-website.pdf

Festivals – from the outside there appears to be a huge proliferation of festivals – why do you think this has occurred?

I don’t know – is this just people doing it themselves and creating their own opportunities and autonomies, in an anti-establishment approach?

Is it identifying the audiences for their work and then going for maximum buy-in? Do you get a greater audience base if you go for a nice festival – incorporating trendy and cool hang out areas, a nice beer garden, that “latest thing” that everyone's talking about?

Interesting that ACE traditionally looks down on funding festivals or things that are doing the same thing year after year or repeated activity without growth. They often don’t want “more of the same”. So is it the lack of reliance on ACE that’s driving people to it?