Ardent Theatre Company today announce Ardent8, a year-long programme that offers artistic support to eight recent graduates who have found it difficult to make the leap from the regions to London.
The inaugural ensemble are Sophie Coulter, Angela Crispim, Clare Hawkins, Henry Holmes, Nathan Linsdell, Jamie Parker, Garry Skimins and Sam Weston. The ensemble will perform the world première of Sacrifice written and directed by Andrew Muir at Soho Theatre, Upstairs from 31 July – 4 August 2018.
Ardent8 is an ensemble of eight young actors selected to participate in the year-long Ardent Theatre Company programme to offer artistic support to recent graduates who have found it difficult to make the leap from the regions to London. Through various workshops with carefully selected practitioners, the ensemble is able to access opportunities within the industry they have otherwise found inaccessible, but which Ardent Theatre Company believes is no more than an equal opportunity. Following a workshop from which a new play is developed specifically for the ensemble, the programme culminates in a two-week residency in London when the company rehearse and perform the word première.
Ardent8 is supported by Cockayne – Grants for the Arts, London Community Foundation, The Foyle Foundation, The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, Arts Council England, Boris Karloff Charitable Foundation and Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, and leading industry figures including Julie Walters.
Sacrifice, a play that asks the question, “Is it worth it?” Andrew Muir’s first play for the Ardent8 ensemble explores the sacrifices a group of young outsiders are willing to make in order to survive in a city that only ever seems to embrace the privileged insiders.
Andrew Muir said today, “The UK has long needed a programme such as this, which offers an invaluable opportunity to graduating students from colleges around the country, who are too often forced to stop before they’ve even started, especially in the arts industry. This programme is not another false promise of fame and fortune, rather it is a platform and an opportunity that these young people would have otherwise not had access to.”
Julie Walters said, “It is so refreshing to come across a theatre company aiming to cut through the wall of privilege and provide an equal opportunity for all regardless of background – this is a project I support.”
