Wonder Fools are delighted to announce their model new season of formidable socially engaged theatre for 2024/25 together with:
- a global participatory venture culminating in 4 main youth arts festivals that includes a number of the UK’s greatest writers
- a brand new comedy musical carried out by an expert and group forged in South Ayrshire
- an pressing, fashionable re-telling of a Greek basic with hip hop, spoken phrase and a reside digital soundtrack carried out by younger folks
- an exhilarating new manufacturing of a David Greig fashionable basic combining an expert forged alongside a specifically created group choir
- the continuation of their formidable creative growth technique
Wonder Fools continues to have a confirmed monitor document of delivering prime quality arts tasks and theatre productions with younger folks and communities throughout Scotland and past, and this season isn’t any totally different. It begins with The Bunker, a musical, in South Ayrshire in June; Òran, a hip hop retelling of a Greek basic, on the Edinburgh Fringe in August; The Events, a brand new manufacturing of David Greig’s fashionable basic, in Cumbernauld in October; and to spherical all of it off, their extremely profitable worldwide venture Positive Stories for Negative Times, a 12 months lengthy participatory venture for younger writers and theatre makers working alongside a incredible line up of worldwide artists, operating from September 2024-September 2025. This formidable and much reaching programme is delivered by a younger firm who at present obtain no common funding.
The Bunker – 26 June 2024 @ The Gaiety, Ayr
The Bunker, directed by Jack Nurse, is a compelling new comedy musical reflecting on our various experiences of lockdown. Created in collaboration with the local people, this authentic manufacturing follows 4 strangers who collect in a bunker to spend lockdown collectively. Their disagreements and totally different worldviews present loads of laughs while their particular person tales, impressed by conversations with native folks in South Ayrshire, discover themes round isolation, grief, and a craving for connection. Songs from artists equivalent to The Clash, Rod Stewart and Dua Lipa shall be carried out reside by an expert forged joined onstage by 50 group performers. This new co-production with The Gaiety has been commissioned by Greenspace as a part of the Covid memorial venture ‘Remembering Together’.
Òran – @ Pleasance, Edinburgh – 31 Jul-25 Aug 3.15pm
This pressing fashionable retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice combines spoken phrase, lyrical storytelling and a pulsating digital reside rating. The thrilling story of Òran and his journey to rescue his greatest good friend from the Underworld. Should he arrive there, Hades may grant him the possibility to steer his good friend house…however at what price? This visceral piece of up to date theatre is a collaboration with the acclaimed hip-hop artist Owen Sutcliffe in partnership with Pitlochry Festival Theatre & Pleasance Theatre as a part of the Edinburgh National Partnership 2024 with music by VanIves, creating an entertaining fashionable retelling of the Greek basic. This shall be Wonder Fools first ever manufacturing on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The Events – @ Lanternhouse, Cumbernauld – 28 Sep-5 Oct 2024
This thrilling and visceral new staging of David Greig’s fashionable basic is an thrilling collaboration between the skilled forged and a group choir specifically created for the manufacturing. Directed by Jack Nurse, it tells the highly effective story about group, empathy and resilience – about Claire, a priest who survives a mass taking pictures and units out on a quest to reply the most tough query of all: why? The Events, produced by Cumbernauld Theatre and in affiliation with Wonder Fools, is a journey that takes her to the fringe of cause, science, politics and religion.
Positive Stories for Negative Times: Season 4 – throughout Scotland – Sep 2024 – Sep 2025
Wonder Fools are delighted and extremely proud that this would be the fourth iteration of their flagship and ground-breaking participatory venture Positive Stories for Negative Times. It commissions a number of the UK’s most enjoyable theatre artists to create new work with younger folks in Scotland and around the globe.
This 12 months it would characteristic work by an unbelievable line up of expertise together with Ella Hickson, Mammalian Diving Reflex, Adura Onashile, Travis Alabanza and James Ley. Over the 12 months it would interact over 3000 younger folks and 200 youth leaders nationally and internationally and culminate in 4 main youth arts festivals in summer season 2025 at accomplice venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stornoway and Dumfries.
This venture, co-commissioned by the Traverse, may even embody a nationwide name out for a brand new younger author giving them the chance to have their first skilled fee. The new author shall be introduced on Wonder Fools social media on 20 May 2024.
PSFNT is created and produced by Wonder Fools in affiliation with the Traverse Theatre, Citizens Theatre, An Lanntair and Dumfries Theatre Royal in affiliation with Youth Theatre Arts Scotland.
Wonder Fools say of PSFNT “The project started with conversations during lockdown with young people discussing what they wanted the future of youth theatre to look like. Little did we know that those chats would be the catalyst for creating one of the biggest and far-reaching projects of its kind, with 8747 young people from 17 different countries participating. We are genuinely in awe. Anyone can get involved and stage a performance in their local community, and for 20 of the lucky companies, they’ll get to perform at one of our festivals.”
Alongside this new season Wonder Fools will proceed their formidable Artist Development technique together with:
- Their Youth Board initiative will see them working with 40 of essentially the most thrilling early profession artists in Scotland
- 20 CPD workshops for professionals who work with younger folks led by a number of the UK’s most enjoyable artists.
- Opportunities for 20 affiliate artists by way of PSFNT who will provide in-person artist growth for lecturers and instructing artists working with deprived younger folks to additional their observe and develop their work for PSFNT.
- Hosting open recommendation classes for freelancers supporting round 60 folks a 12 months.
- 3 New Year New Work occasions, a paid alternative for early profession and established music and theatre artists to check new materials at SWG3 Glasgow.
Co-founders Jack Nurse & Robbie Gordon say of the upcoming season: “We are incredibly excited to announce our first ever season of work including a rich blend of stories and forms all rooted in our socially engaged theatre-making model. We can’t wait to collaborate with all the different groups involved over the next year to create these shows – from the 50 community performers onstage at the Gaiety to the choir we’re building from scratch for David Greig’s ‘The Events’ in Cumbernauld. Live music is threaded throughout the year with well-known songs in The Bunker, hip hop beats for our first Fringe show Òran and the choir’s songs at the Lanternhouse. This is a programme combining popular entertainment, ambitious theatricality and the most pressing topics of today all made with audiences, artists and people at its heart.”
