ETT (English Touring Theatre) announce the full programme for Trailer Story – a travelling outdoor performance space touring across the UK, a joyful, and safe, way of bringing communities together in their local public spaces to celebrate theatre.
Inspired by ETT’s origins as Century Theatre, who toured the UK in a pop-up space, Trailer Story performances will be housed in a truck, usually used to tour production sets around the country, but reimagined as a space for artists and audiences to meet. Designed by Jon Bausor with Tina Torbey, and Lighting Design by Natasha Chivers. Trailer Story opens in Newcastle, 30 July – 1 August, before visiting Keswick 5 – 8 August 2021, in partnership with Northern Stage and Theatre by the Lake.
The touring programme includes theatre with Nouveau Riche’s dance-theatre piece, Resonate, written and performed by Ntonga Mwanza; Lung Theatre’s Who Cares by Matt Woodhead which explores the experience of young carers; the bike-powered family comedy, How to Save a Rock, written by Conky Kampfner, Alex Rugman and Pigfoot; and Tim Crouch’s reimagining of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night from the point of view of its most notoriously abused steward in I, Malvolio.
There is comedy with the country’s best comics performing for an audience of children and their families in Comedy Club 4 Kids.
Figs in Wigs host cosmic game show, Astrology Bingo; and there is A Rain Walk, a self-guided tour accompanied recorded voices of children from across the UK and Ireland.
With music and beatboxing from Grace Savage who performs her award-winning beatbox routines and distinguished back catalogue of songs; and Testament also brings his spoken word, rap and beatbox show.
In addition, the programme offers a platform for local artists in each area to take over the space, including The BonBons Cabaret, Mam Tackles The Climate Crisis, BRASH’s Raising Shame and A case in point by What’s That Dance in Newcastle. Keswick’s local programming to be announced.
Richard Twyman, Artistic Director, and Sophie Scull, Executive Producer of ETT today said, “This programme curated by the team at ETT and our partners at Northern Stage and Theatre by the Lake offers audiences a rich selection of entertainment for all ages, from theatre and dance to comedy and spoken word. In this, its inaugural year, we hope that our touring truck will provide the opportunity for artists and audiences to reconnect and celebrate the communal act of theatre-making. We, and all the artists involved, are so excited to be back making work, touring and meeting audiences in their local community again.”
Trailer Story is made possible with support from the Cultural Recovery Fund, the Weston Culture Fund, Urban Green and the National Trust.
