30Fest (2014)
About the show
Our 44th production was our second major festival, created to celebrate our 30th anniversary. 30Fest was a free family theatre festival hosted at Barton Hill Settlement on Sunday 8 June 2014.
For 30Fest we re-staged some of the plays we put on in Celebration (co-produced by Show of Strength) as well as commissioning some new ones. These plays were performed by a mix of professional actors and young actors from our youth theatre. Each of our youth theatre groups performed some original plays as a part of the day and our specialist group Louder Than Words premiered a short film they had made. Our Community Choir performed a medley of songs and our Community Dance Group both performed and danced with their audience. In addition we ran storytelling, dance and craft workshops as well as unveiling a specially commissioned mural that had been designed by local young people.
Over the day around 400 people came as audiences, participants and curious well wishers.
The performances were:
Bin Day by David Lane, performed by Cerianne Roberts and Jaden Bardouille, directed by Emma Williams
Two Things by Shiona Morton, performed by Jordan Whyte and Jade Kearns, directed by Aaron Parsons
The Path by Mike Akers, performed by Craig Edwards and Jasmine Gwatkin, directed by Sally Cookson
Dance Class written & performed by Saikat Ahamed, directed by Sally Cookson
Drowning in the Sky by Rebecca Lloyd, performed by Cerianne Roberts, directed by Craig Edwards
Jessie & Me by Tracy Alexander, performed by Francis Asare-Lawrence, directed by Craig Edwards
Neck & Neck by Tyler Alabanza-Behard, performed by Craig Edwards, directed by Emma Williams
The Bone by Oscar Furness, performed by Aled Roberts, directed by Aaron Parsons
Yaay! by Natasha Sutton-Williams, performed by Saikat Ahamed, directed by Lee Lyford
The Scar by Lilith Wozniack, performed by Jordan Whyte, directed by Emma Williams
Our Day Out performed by Travelling Light Youth Theatre (aged 7-10), directed by Rachael Cross
The Prince's Bash performed by Travelling Light Youth Theatre (aged 11-13), directed by Remi Tawose
Tir Na N'og, performed by Travelling Light Youth Theatre (aged 14-19), directed by Aaron Parsons
Travelling Light Community Choir
Travelling Light Community Dancers
30Fest was supported by a team of brilliant volunteers who gave up their time to help the event run smoothly. It was made possbile with a grant from The Big Lottery through Awards for All England.
As well as the actors, writers and directors above, 30Fest would not have been possible without:
James Helps - Desiger
Kerry Russell - Mural Painter
Sarah Moody - Choir Leader
Remi Tawose - Dance Leader
Katie Dunn - Stage Manager
Rachael Isaacs - Stage Manager
Tash Peter - Stage Manager
Mike Akers - Storytelling Workshop Leader
Rachael Cross - Drama Workshop Leader
Laura Street - Dance Workshop Leader
And all of the volunteers who helped on the day.
