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Rehearsals
underway for
Live
Theatre’s Youth Theatre Festival
“Our World” - Youth Theatre
Festival
Newcastle Live Theatre
Thursday
6th to Sunday 9th August 2015
Rehearsals are now underway for Our World, Live Theatre’s 16th annual Youth Theatre Festival. The event, which will be at the quayside venue from Thursday 6th to Sunday 9th August, features theatre productions, a short film as well as an Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedy preview.
Rehearsals are now underway for Our World, Live Theatre’s 16th annual Youth Theatre Festival. The event, which will be at the quayside venue from Thursday 6th to Sunday 9th August, features theatre productions, a short film as well as an Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedy preview.
Over 70 young people, aged between
11 and 22 and from the company’s Youth Theatre, will present four evenings of
entertainment which provide a glimpse into the worlds of young people and their
place in it.
Paul James, Live Theatre’s
Associate Director of Education & Participation said: “This year’s Youth
Theatre Festival promises to be as diverse, eclectic and exciting as ever. A
fantastic event with a wide range of new work and talent on display. Our World
will be dedicated to our colleague Jackie Fielding who we had the pleasure of
working with on at least 12 Youth Theatre Festivals. Jackie was an outstanding
Theatre Maker and an inspiration to young people. She was able to draw amazing
performances from the actors she worked with.”
Kicking off the Festival is Big
Talk, Small Talk, on Thursday 6 August at 7.30pm. Featuring a selection of short plays, created
over 10 days by the Youth Theatre members and some of the region’s leading
freelance theatre makers, the event will give an alternative perspective on
what really matters to young people in the 21st century. The
performance will be followed by a free Meet the Team talk where some of
the young people involved in the production will be discussing the process of
making their plays.
On Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August eight young people will
take to the stage to give their personal, heart-warming and hilarious
perspective on what it’s like to be 11 and 12 today. For them being
eleven is tough. And great. And weird. And confusing. And funny. The show, 11
Plus, was curated by writer Laura Lindow (Rendezvous) with
assistance from fellow writer, Lee Mattinson (Donna
Disco). The pair held interviews with the young people involved to create a
piece using the interviewees’ own words. They talked about school, their
families and their hopes and fears. Directed by Live Theatre’s Associate
Director of Education & Participation, Paul James, 11 Plus is
suitable for those aged 8 and over and will be performed at 7.30pm on both days with a matinee performance on the
Saturday at 2pm.
Laura and Lee
have also been busy writing new sketches for Live Theatre’s all-female sketch
group Your Aunt Fanny who will be previewing their Edinburgh
Festival Fringe show on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August at 9pm. From the absurd
to the downright ridiculous they'll be celebrating everything that is funny and
inappropriate in an evening of original sketches accompanied by music from DJ
Mariam Rezaei. The show, suitable for audience members aged 14 and over, contains
strong language and strong women.
Closing the Festival on Sunday 9 August
is Invisible Cinema, a film like no other. Six Youth Theatre
members will be working with directors Ian Mclaughlin and Bev Fox of Magic
If to create six dynamic characters using improv techniques. Their newfound
skills will then be put to the test during filming where then, and only then,
will the storyline be revealed to the actors. Audience members will also meet
the characters in a special pre-screening performance which begins at 7.30pm. After the screening the actors and directors will
take to the stage to reveal more information about how the film was made and
how the process was for them in our free Meet the Team talk.
Writer Laura Lindow said: “Live Theatre’s
annual Youth Theatre Festival is famed for being a colourful,
thought-provoking, emotion-fuelled event. This year, as ever, the excellent
Education & Participation team has put together a festival programme to
platform the vibrant range of voices of the talented young participants, (on
the main stage no less), all with sincerity and support. I feel so lucky to be
amongst the other theatre professionals who have the chance to work amongst
these exceptional young people. The final event promises to be a celebration of
all things theatrical, (and all genuinely springing from the thoughts, opinions
and ideas of the young people themselves!) Prepare for the kind of treat which
rings with charm whilst biting with relevance as they tell you how it really
is. I for one can’t wait!”
Festival goers should also be on
the look-out for a series of wrap around events curated by Silver Arts Award
participants who are working with Live Theatre. Arts Award is a national
qualification that supports young people to develop as artists and arts
leaders.
Tickets:
Tickets for Our
World events are £8, £6 for concessions and
£3 for Youth Theatre members for each performance. Tickets can be booked
by contacting Live Theatre’s box office on (0191) 232 1232 or online at www.live.org.uk. Your Aunt Fanny will be
performed at The Fancy Room, Just the Tonic between Wednesday 19 and Saturday 29 August. To find out more
visit www.justthetonic.com.
Festival Listings
Big Talk, Small Talk - Thursday 6 August, 7.30pm
A
selection of short pieces devised over ten days by groups of young people with
support from some of the region’s leading theatre makers. These original and
imaginative plays will give an alternative perspective on what really matters
to young people in the 21st century.
Including Meet the Team - THURSDAY 6 AUGUST (after the show)
Some
of the young people involved in Big Talk, Small Talk discuss the process
to make their
short
plays. Free, booking essential.
DATE: Thurs 6 Aug, 7.30pm
LOCATION: Main
Theatre
DURATION: Approx.
1hr
SUITABILITY: 8+
TICKETS: £8, £6
concs, £3 youth theatre members
11 Plus - Friday 7 & Saturday 8 August, 7.30pm
Saturday 8 August, 2pm
Saturday 8 August, 2pm
Directed
by Paul James
Assistant
Director Rachel Glover
Curated
by Laura Lindow
Assistant
Curator Lee
Mattinson
Being
eleven is tough. And great. And weird. And confusing. And funny. A group of
young people give their personal, heart-warming and hilarious perspective on
what it’s like to be 11 and 12 years old today.
Developed through
a series of individual and group interviews this exciting new piece explores
friendships, families, politics, growing up and everything in between.
DATES: Fri 7 Aug 7.30pm & Sat 8 Aug, 2pm & 7.30pm
LOCATION: Main
Theatre
DURATION: Approx.
50mins
SUITABILITY: 8+
TICKETS: £8, £6
concs, £3 youth theatre members
Your
Aunt Fanny - Friday 7 & Saturday 8 August, 9pm
Edinburgh Festival Preview
Your
Aunt Fanny has her bus pass and
is Edinburgh bound! See her comedy nieces’ brand new sketch
show in two special preview events at Live Theatre before it heads north to the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Written by award-winning playwrights Laura
Lindow (Rendezvous) and Lee
Mattinson (Chalet Lines)
and directed by Rachel Glover, the show contains strong language and strong
women.
Your
Aunt Fanny makes her Edinburgh
Fringe debut between Wednesday 19 and Saturday 29 August at The Fancy Room
at Just the Tonic.
DATES: Fri 7 Aug & Sat 8
Aug, 9pm
LOCATION: Studio
Theatre
DURATION: Approx.
1hr
SUITABILITY: 14+
TICKETS £8, £6
concs,
£3 youth theatre
members
Invisible Cinema - Sunday 9 August, 7.30pm
An
exciting new film in which six young actors work with directors Ian McLaughlin
and Bev Fox of Magic If, to use improve to create six dynamic
characters. The storyline is revealed to the actors only during the filming,
prompting improvised performances.
Like
in real life, you never know what’s round the corner. You’ll meet the
characters during a pre-screening performance.
Anything
could happen and probably will – especially at the screening.
Including Meet the Team - SUNDAY 9 AUGUST (after the film)
Join the actors
and directors on stage to find out how the film was made, and how the process
was for them. Free, booking essential.
DATE: Sun 9 Aug, 7.30pm
LOCATION: Main
Theatre
DURATION: Approx.
1hr
SUITABILITY: 8+
TICKETS: £8, £6
conc,
£3 youth theatre
members
