Nonsuch Studios, Nottingham’s independent fringe theatre, this week celebrates its 10th Birthday as an independent theatre making, producing and venue operating cultural organisation and charity.
First established in 2013 as Nonsuch Theatre, Nonsuch Studios has grown over the past 10 years from a small artist-led company to a landmark cultural destination in Nottingham City Centre and the City’s only Independent Fringe Theatre.
Edward Boott, Founder & Artistic Director says: “Nonsuch started life as a small collective of theatre makers, producing shows and delivering community projects across the East Midlands. Over the years our work and operation has grown dramatically to fit the scope and size of our work and also meet the needs of local audiences and artists. Fiercely independent and always artist-led, our work has changed so much in the past 10 years but always remained true to our central belief and mission that Creativity is Power.”
Formed from artists who met whilst studying European Theatre Arts at Rose Bruford College in London in 2013 with 5 different European Nations represented across Nonsuch’s team, the company’s work is inspired by a multi-lingual, physical and devising-led theatrical style.
Led by Artistic Director, CEO & Founder Edward Boott with a range of multi-disciplinary artists including Olivier Award Winning Lighting Designer, Jessica Hung Han Yun (My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Centre), movement director Catriona Giles, performer and musician Inês Sampaio and performers Carlos Mendoza de Hevia (The Band’s Visit, Donmar Warehouse).
In 2014, Nonsuch Theatre became one of the first associate artists of flagship East Midlands’ artist development programme “In Good Company” led by Derby Theatre, and in 2018 became the first Nottingham City based partner helping to lead and support the programme and wider artist development in the region.
In 2015, Nonsuch opened its first space, the only theatre-focussed artist-led space in Nottingham, which they quickly outgrew, before moving to a building six times bigger in 2019 to establish their current venue and home: Nonsuch Studios.
Based in the Hockley area of the city, dubbed the Creative Quarter and after much toil and hard graft to get the new venue ready, Nottingham’s only fringe theatre space opened its doors formally in October 2019 with a sell-out run of Queens of Sheba by multi-award-winning Nouveau Riche.
In their first season alone, Nonsuch Studios welcomed an incredibly diverse range of artists to Nottingham, often for the first time, with over two-thirds of companies being female, global majority, disabled or LGBTQIA+ led.
Nonsuch has welcome some of the boldest and most innovative theatre makers in the UK, including Boundless Theatre, Rachel Mars, Awkward Productions, Frisky & Mannish, Silent Uproar, SK Shlomo, as well as supporting amazing local talent Sheep Soup, Next Door Dance, Georgina Wilding, Inês Sampaio & Bridie Squires among others.
But when Covid struck, all the hard work looked to be in jeopardy. Having only opened for 6 months, and still very much building their audience and business, Nonsuch Studios closed for a combined total of close to 400 days over the various lockdowns. With support from various emergency funds, the organisation survived and continued to support local artists, support the development of new work and connect with over 13,500 individuals from various projects, digital creative newsletters and an at-home creative pizza making scheme for local primary schools and key workers.
“Covid was terrifying, overnight we had to refund close to £12,000 in tickets and studio bookings which for a fledgling venue was nearly everything we had in the bank. Thankfully we survived the pandemic, but being part way through ”
Nonsuch Studios is still a fully independent organisation, although now a registered charity, it still receives no regular funding to support its operation and instead has to raise funds through small project grants, ticket sales, public donations and hires for meetings and events across its six studio spaces.
“We applied to become an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation in 2022, and like many first-time applicants we were heartbroken to not receive any support. For us, over the past 10 years, we’ve been working towards the goal of becoming an NPO – it’s always been the established and expected route for an organisation like us, but there just isn’t enough money to go around, and Arts Council have an impossible job. We must be positive though as we can’t miss what we’ve never had, and as bitter a pill it is to swallow, we’ve already picked ourselves up to press ahead with our ambitious plans in new ways.”
Projects at Nonsuch Studios, stretch across its creative, community and studios programme: from large-scale youth programmes to support under 25s access creative opportunities, run festivals and events to support vulnerable adults and enabling the next generation of artists and organisations through its TheatreLab programme and In Good Company partnership, with a strong focus across areas of low arts access in Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire towns and districts, Mansfield & Ashfield.
Looking ahead, Nonsuch Studios have grand plans to expand and re-grow their programmes post-pandemic.
“For the past few years whilst setting up a venue and dealing with lockdowns, we’ve not had the capacity to produce much of our own work, but our 10th anniversary year is going to be all about this.
We’re already creating a digital version of our early-years show intotheclouds as well as planning our first international tour, our first in-house Christmas shows as well as a range of exciting co-productions and co-created projects. 2023/24 is going to be a big year!”
