The Record 2014 - 2015

The North Wall Amy Walters, Theatre Manager

Home-grown Productions This year, alongside the public receiving programme, The North Wall produced two plays, each a product of our residential outreach work. Fast Track (October 2014) was originally written in 2012, and was developed by young writer Catriona Kerridge and The North Wall’s artistic director Lucy Maycock. The production grew out of the brief to explore the impact of the recession on today’s younger generation, and the project received our first ever Arts Council funding, and premiered here to near sell-out houses. Song of Riots (April 2015) was a co- production with Swedish company, Awake Projects, and was written and directed by Lucy Maycock. Following its premiere in Oxford, the play toured Europe in the spring. In October 2015, it went on to Battersea Arts Centre in London, where it received critical acclaim in the national press, and the Stockholm Fringe Festival, where it won the Audience Choice award. The casts of both plays featured young actors drawn from previous residential projects, and were designed by Alex Berry, an alumna of the 2011 Summer Residency

take place outside of St Edward’s term time, to take advantage of an otherwise empty space. ArtsLab projects help us to achieve our core mission: to remove barriers that prevent talented young artists from achieving meaningful careers in the arts. In Easter 2015, we ran TheatreCraft , our first ever residency focusing on emerging writers and directors. We had a huge response to the callout, reading submissions from over 100 writers and 30 directors. After a lengthy assessment process, we selected six writers and three directors, who came together to work for two weeks with two professional directors and two professional writers. July and August 2015 saw a number of projects unfold at The North Wall. Internationally-renowned company Theatre Ad Infinitum worked on a new piece of political theatre, Bucket List , looking at the conflicts of life in a Mexican border town, as well as leading a residency with young actors to develop an adaptation of the Norwegian epic novel, Kristin Lavransdatter . Awake Projects’ Christopher Sivertsen was also back in residence, working with playwright Tom Wainwright and a small group of actor-musicians on a new play. Future Plans In Spring 2016, to coincide with our 10th Anniversary Year, The North Wall plans to launch StageWrite , a new year-round programme for talented young writers. This will also coincide with the creation of a Writer-in-Residence post.

who has gone on to train and work professionally as a theatre designer.

Arts Laboratory at The North Wall The North Wall’s outreach residencies for young artists, masterclasses, and collaborations with professional theatre companies now exist under one umbrella, Arts Laboratory (ArtsLab). These activities

29