Forward Theatre Project is an associate company of Paines Plough.
FTP consists of 25 theatre-artists including directors, writers and designers all in the relatively early stages of our careers.
We recognise the following as common to theatre-makers at this stage in our careers:
* A difficulty to bridge the gap between
training experience (e.g. assistant
directing, or play readings) and
substantial professional experience (e.g.
a first production).
* A lack of community amongst our peers.
* A natural shift in the structure of British
Theatre which necessitates a different
approach to building a career.
* A disproportionate amount of theatre
- makers in London as opposed to the
rest of the country.
We therefore aim to:
*Create a dialogue between theatre
practitioners at similar stages in our
careers which may lead to collaboration
between artists, and critical discourse
amongst each other.
* Create concrete opportunities for our
theatre-makers.
* Encourage a shift in thinking towards the
validity of working nationwide.
Our company is ultimately defined by our boundary-breaking model of creating theatre encouraging non-competitive generosity amongst peers.
On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco by Anton Chekhov
Tired husband (and enthusiastic smoker) Nyukhin, delivers a lecture, at the request of his wife on the evils of smoking...but is it really that simple?
Can Cause Death by Alison Carr
Alison Carr provides a revealing and comic portrait of Nyukhin's wife...
This is a one man double bill of Chekhov and New Writing with actor David Bradley playing both husband and wife.
Running time: 45 mins.
After debuting at the National Theatre in the Cottesloe in November 2010, this performance is touring to:
Latitude Festival - Thursday 14th - Sunday 17th July 2011, Theatre tent - www.latitudefestival.co.uk
Northern Stage Newcastle, Stage 2 - Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th February 2011 8.00pm - www.northernstage.co.uk
National Theatre, Cottesloe -Thursday 10th November 2011 6.00pm - www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
THE REGION PROJECT
Taking influence from the company's interest in different regions, three sub-groups of directors, writers and designers from FTP have chosen a different city to use as a stimulus to create three new pieces of theatre. The three region projects are currently in development and are going on and R&D attachment to a theatre in their chosen city in autumn 2010. The groups are:
MANCHESTER - on attachment to Manchester Royal Exchange 1st-5th November
Alex Summers - director
Evan Placey - writer
Rob Hayes - writer
Jess Wiesner - designer
NEWCASTLE - on attachment to the Live Theatre 6th - 10th September
The Newcastle group are doing a free public reading of their work in progress at the Live Theatre on Friday 10th September 5.30pm. Please visit www.live.org.uk for more details.
Gemma Kerr - director
Charlotte Bennett - director
Frazer Flintham - writer
Gabriel Bisset-Smith -writer
Tim Price - writer
James Perkins - designer
PORTSMOUTH
Elly Green - director
Nikki Williams - writer
Ben Ellis - writer
Signe Beckmann - designer
Fabrice Serafino - designer
Scratch My City is Forward Theatre Project's regular performance event. at the Roundhouse Theatre, Camden.
FTP are committed to creating a community amongst emerging theatre artists from all over the country. Scratch My City is our journey into cross-region collaboration.
For our next Scratch My City we are working with emerging companies RashDash from Leeds, Dirty Protest from Cardiff and Annie Brooks from Brighton. We have asked each company to send us a local newspaper story that they would like to see responses to through a piece of theatre. In return, we have sent them a newspaper story from London to respond to in their different disciplines; physical theatre, new writing and puppetry. This will result in an evening of 3 FTP short plays and 3 guest company performances from some of the UK's most exciting emerging theatre companies.
Thursday 10th February
8pm
Roundhouse Theatre Studio
£5
www.roundhouse.org.uk
A Five-Star Werewolf by Gabriel Bisset-Smith, directed by Charlotte Bennett, designed by Anna Morris.
Forward Theatre Project in association with York Theatre Royal.
A Five-Star Werewolf was performed at the York Theatre Royal as part of Takeover 09 Festival 19th September - 3rd October 2009.
"Forward Theatre Project is committed to producing invigorating new theatre for nationwide audiences and developing emerging theatre talent at national level. FTP operates as a community of emerging theatre artists, encouraging non-competitive generosity and creating a model to support more communities of emerging theatre artists to develop across the UK."
Charlotte Bennett
Titas Halder
Alex Summers
Ellen McDougall
Elly Green
Gemma Kerr
Rhiannon Jackson
Anna Morris
Lydia Denno
James Perkins
Jess Wiesner
Signe Beckmann
Lorna Ritchie
Mika Handley
Fabrice Serafino
Gabriel Bisset-Smith
Frazer Flintham
Nikki Williams
Tim Price
Nick Payne
Alison Carr
Ben Ellis
Evan Placey
"Forward Theatre Project is committed to producing invigorating new theatre for nationwide audiences and developing emerging theatre talent at national level. FTP operates as a community of emerging theatre artists, encouraging non-competitive generosity and creating a model to support more communities of emeging theatre artists to develop across the UK."
