England’s largest learning disability theatre
company take critically acclaimed show to Northern Stage.
Contained
Newcastle Northern Stage
Thursday 4th - Saturday 6th May
2017
Following appearances at the Crossing
the Line Festival in Roubaix, France and West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
Mind the Gap’s critically acclaimed show Contained is heading to Northern Stage, Newcastle upon
Tyne
from 4 – 6 May.
The production, which originally toured
to small venues across the UK in 2015/16 has undergone a significant
period of development and has been transformed for larger venues
thanks to almost £50,000 worth of
funding from Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Programme.
Mind the Gap created Contained in collaboration with director Alan
Lyddiard (Former Artistic Director of Northern Stage and Artistic Director of
the Performance Ensemble) and Denis Darzacq (award-winning French Photographer)
and together, they produced a gritty, honest and thought-provoking show that
aims to reflect the lives of people with learning disabilities in today’s
society.
Director Alan Lyddiard says " I am really looking forward to
being back in Tyneside. My time at Northern Stage was an extremely exciting
period of my life. We created some amazing projects with an incredible team of
people. My last show in Newcastle was a community project 'City of Sanctuary' at John the Baptist Church in Newcastle City Centre. I worked with some wonderful
groups like Lawnmowers from Gateshead and Better Days from Newcastle. We plan to be working with both
groups again during a series of workshops and events
when visiting Northern Stage with Contained in May. My time at Northern Stage taught me a
lot and I carry those lessons with me in all the work I am doing today."
Contained features nine learning-disabled
performers, including Liam Bairstow (Alex in ITV’s Coronation Street) and Jez Colborne (lead artist of Mind
the Gap’s Irresistible, Gift and Trickster) who has written original music and
lyrics for the show. Together they present nine interwoven true stories about
family and friendships, love and loss, the everyday and the extraordinary.
Combining live performance, film,
photography, music and dance, Contained explores those small moments in life
that suddenly become meaningful: moments that teach us about ourselves and the
world that we live in.
“It forces us to rethink the dominant
narratives around disability, defiantly and joyously trashing any idea of lives
diminished and less fully lived and experienced.” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian As well as four performances of Contained at Northern Stage, Mind the Gap will
hold a series of free events for anyone who has purchased a ticket to the show
including workshops, discussion events and an exhibition (see full list below).
Following its appearance at Northern
Stage, the show will continue its strategic tour to two other venues in the
North of England: The Lowry, Salford (25 May) and Square Chapel Centre for
the Arts, Halifax (8 & 9 June).
Activities at Northern Stage
4 May 7pm – 7:30pm TBC Performance Platform for people wanting to see new work by aspiring
learning disabled performers http://northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/contained-performance-platform
4 May 7:45pm CONTAINED;
followed by Post Show Discussion
5 May 10am – 11:30am CONTAINED: The
Workshop for
artists and performers, led by Director Alan Lyddiard
5 May 1pm CONTAINED
5 May 3:30pm – 6:30pm Tea & Trailers for learning disability arts
organisations to come together and share work http://northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/contained-tea-trailers
5 May 7:45pm CONTAINED
6 May 10am – 5pm A Day of Workshops & Sharing for
everyone: a series of exploratory workshops and activities http://northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/contained-actors-workshop
6 May 7:45pm CONTAINED
For more information about these events
or the performance, visit www.mind-the-gap.org.uk/contained
Tickets:
Tickets: £15.50 / £13.50 concessions
http://northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/contained
or call 0191 230 5151
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