Following its successful run at HOME Manchester last November, ETT (English Touring Theatre) today announces further dates for the UK tour of Museum of Austerity. The mixed reality installation – a co-production with National Theatre Immersive Storytelling Studio, and Trial & Error Studio – will open the spring 2024 tour at Live Theatre, Newcastle on 17 April and run there until 21 April before touring to No 1 Smithery Studio, The Historic Dockyard from 16-18 May and culminating with a run at Bristol Old Vic from 12 – 15 June.
Winner of Best Immersive Production at International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, Museum of Austerity combines the skills of director Sacha Wares with the in-depth knowledge of Disability News Service editor John Pring to tell the human stories of Austerity Britain. The creative team is completed with Composer Adrian Lee, Costume and Installation Design by 2024 Olivier Award Winner Miriam Buether, Sound Design by Gareth Fry, Original Lighting Design by Prema Mehta, Movement Direction by Leon Baugh, Assistant Direction by Hana Pascal Keegan and Casting Direction by Amy Ball.
Running alongside the production on tour, there will be a programme of exhibitions and workshops led by Healing Justice LDN and local partnering organisations. The first workshop Rage, grief and justice: Disabled people’s resistance to austerity will run at Live Theatre, Newcastle on 19 April.
Director and founder of Trial & Error Studio, Sacha Wares said today, “Inspired by war photographers of the past who used early cameras to capture distant battlefields, Museum of Austerity employs mixed reality technologies to record the invisible, devastating violence of austerity. Museum of Austerity is an artwork I wish we hadn’t had to make, but which needs to be seen.”
Founder of Disability News Service and Co-Editor of Museum, John Pring said, “Museum of Austerity has found an innovative and powerful way to tell these terrible stories in a way that exposes the horror of what happened to so many disabled people during the austerity period. This is a ground-breaking piece of work, and I’m relieved that this tour will allow more people to view the exhibition and understand how the actions of the Department for Work and Pensions led to widespread poverty, acute distress and even the deaths of countless benefit claimants. I hope the audience will think about the harm done, and how no-one associated with these actions has ever been held accountable for what happened and is still happening today.”
Richard Twyman, Artistic Director and CEO, and Sophie Scull, Executive Producer of ETT said, “We’re happy that ETT’s dedication to innovative storytelling and ground-breaking XR technology continues to travel the country, meaning this extraordinary and vital work will be seen across the UK’s regions. We’re honoured to have co-produced this important work alongside Trial & Error and The National Theatre Immersive Storytelling Studio and are in awe of the dedication and hard work of the artists at the centre of Museum of Austerity, particularly co-creators Sacha Wares and John Pring, and the families whose stories are told through the piece for their commitment to the project.”
