Supported Companies 2024
Hopeful Monster is a three woman ensemble, creating playful visual theatre inspired by the natural world and informed by science. In Mini Beasts the audience will witness humans attempting an impossibly odd feat of empathy: crawling inside insect skins, limbs and sensory things. We approximate and we are clumsy but we do our best -and fail hilariously- in the hope of better understanding some of the smallest, strangest and most important creatures we share our planet with.
i.e. theatre:
i.e. is a Southwest based theatre company that lurched into being in 2017 when we were inspired by the open access, art-for-all ethos of Barnstaple Fringe Theatrefest. Our work shuffles unceremoniously between music, poetry and comedy, often loosely stitched together with a historical thread.
Elliot Grant (of i.e. theatre)
I am an early career Southwest based Creative. I have worked as a writer, actor and musician as part of Theatre Workhouse, i.e. theatre and Made In Bristol; and as Stage management with Rhum + Clay, Kook Ensemble, Wise Children, Burn the Curtain and RED entertainment.
Cavalier! (current work in progress)
After over a decade of tyranny, England is divided. Parliament is a mess, religious fear is driving the country apart, and after more and more scandals, growing numbers of people are sick of the royals and want them out of the picture.
It’s 1642, or thereabouts – the beginning of the Civil War (the English one) and one way or another, things must come to a head…
After all, something has to change, right?
Jess May-Cox:
Jess is a Southwest based theatre maker and performer, having grown up along the North Devon coast, and loves weaving together storytelling and music in her work.
Jess is currently a member of Made in Bristol, working in residence with 11 other young creatives at Bristol Old Vic; her professional credits include work with North Devon collective Theatre Workhouse, and Devon based Burn the Curtain.
The Bottom of the Deep Blue Sky is a solo piece Jess will develop, inspired by Barnstaple’s St Anne’s Chapel, tales and songs from the sea, and all the people who travel on and in it.
Photo credit: Southwest Theatre Photography
Jody Medland:
Jody Medland is a local playwright whose work is renowned for its strong characters and original concepts. This year, Jody and his company, Penworks Media, are collaborating with the actors from Awkward Pigeon, who bring us a new black comedy / drama, titled The Uninvited.
The Uninvited – a one act play (60 mins)
After emigrating to Australia to run a new guest house, the future looks rosy for a young couple – until an unwanted guest checks in to make them face an atrocity from their past.
Molly Gooch:
My name is Molly Gooch and I am a 22 year old creative and performer. I was born and raised in North Devon, until I left to attend university to study Performing Arts at the age of 18.
‘Seasons’ is a play that explores the issue of domestic abuse in rural communities, in order to help raise awareness and inspire social and political change, to prevent its continued presence in rural society in the future. The piece is a one-women show that presents a realistic representation of domestic abuse from a female perspective, creating space for feminine narratives in rural settings where they are often overlooked.
Nia Powell:
Nia Powell, who is of Welsh and Danish heritage, was born in Wiltshire and now lives in North Devon. Nia graduated from the ALRA (Academy of Live and Recorded Art) BA Acting programme in 2020 having previously completing a foundation course at READ Dance and Theatre College. She has also successfully completed the National Youth Film Academy summer course and Young Pleasance. Nia has recently undertaken a Writing for Performance/Dramaturgy MA at Goldsmiths and is on the Pentabus writing programme. Also a keen producer of her own work, Nia writes scripts across Radio/TV/Theatre as well as poetry.
Photo credit: Jake Stewart
Tears of Joy
It follows three women (a Daughter, Mother, Grandmother) as they negotiate the ebbs and flows of motherhood, grief and intergenerational care.
‘Scoop her up, tuck her in, hold her hand and I put her in my pocket’
It interrogates the mental health of the mother whilst the Daughter undergoes severe health problems. Written with expression of care and support through a struggling mother, daughter and grandmother and their endless intergenerational giving. It touches on my South West heritage and the importance of this engrained self and I believe it is invaluable to see work that reflects smaller and often forgotten communities.
It is lyrical and poetic and contains ebbs and flows like the sea. This work will be multi-discipline and explore non-traditional theatrical forms.
This piece is written in memory of a dear friend/family member.
Pidge:
Jess and Sapph formed PIDGE in 2011 after meeting at college and becoming friends. They made their first piece of theatre as two wide-eyed 19-year olds, trying to figure it all out, and here they are, still friends and still trying to figure it out.
Over the last ten years they have written and performed 5 shows, toured fringes and taught workshops. They’ve been invited to some unexpected places; from performing ‘Still or Sparkling?’ at the Royal Geographical Annual International Conference, to singing songs about Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall in a pub in Penryn.
They’ve developed their own unique style of storytelling that explores semi-autobiographical narratives with a refreshing open-heartedness and sense of fun.
What’s time got to do, got to do with it? takes a funny, yet poignant look at how we experience time passing.
From personal memories to the history of humanity, What’s time explores how we mark occasions and create meaning together.
Is time a list of things you’ve done, or is it a collection of mistold stories?
Restless Successors:
Restless Successors are a new theatre company founded by writer and dramaturg Natalia Riga and composer and sound designer Peter Buffery. Through their theatre practise, they explore what it is to reflect, be present and act.
‘Fox and Sparrow’ is their debut play. A new, original drama tells the story of an impossible relationship, torn between two sides. Fox enters a place she doesn’t belong. Sparrow will do what it takes to protect her. Their relationship is under attack. How can they find intimacy when all else is lost? How can they communicate emotion and authenticity in a mechanical world of violence and divisiveness? Endure or confront?
Susan Luciani:
Susan Luciani is a British writer and director. Her work has won multiple awards, reaching an audience of over 1 billion people, in 85 countries worldwide.
Susan has worked with a host of celebrated actors including Benedict Cumberbatch, Jim Carter, Joanna Lumley, Charles Dance, Lindsay Duncan and Liam Neeson.
Full bio here – http://susanluciani.com/?page_id=2