CALLOUT FOR NEW THEATRE FROM THE SOUTH WEST 2nd April 2025
The search is on for a new piece of touring theatre from a South West based company or artist as part of national arts project, Create Tour Connect.
Applicants much be based in the region and available to develop a new show relevant to rural adult audiences. The chosen piece will be toured across the country in Autumn 2026. Three other new shows will be touring between 2025-2027 as part of the project.
Rural touring scheme Artsreach will lead on the selection process for the South West, in partnership with Carn to Cove (Cornwall), Beaford (North Devon), Villages in Action (Devon), Take Art (Somerset) and Air in G (Gloucestershire).
Deadline for applications is 29 August. More information can be found at Create Tour Connect | Artsreach
Create Tour Connect (CTC) is a new innovative partnership project commissioning, developing and touring theatre and drama across the rural touring network in England. CTC supports the regional creation and touring of new work and connects this with a network of partners dedicated to small-scale touring.
Led by Applause, CTC is a unique collaboration of 17 partner organisations from the rural touring network, with four regional hubs (consortia) covering the North, Midlands, Southwest and Southeast. They represent a diverse range of small-scale community spaces including village and community halls, libraries, pubs, and other locally led venues. Each regional hub will offer a commissioned opportunity for new contemporary theatre and drama pieces for national touring.
Community touring is facing an increasing lack of suitable performance work, particularly 2-4 hander drama and theatre which is relevant to contemporary rural audiences. This is evidenced by the current touring offers available nationally and is caused by a multitude of factors including the pause in production during pandemic, high costs associated with making and touring currently and the lack of available funds to underpin them.
CTC addresses this by developing a nationwide network of localised commissioning consortia that will work together to source and develop new, relevant, multi-hand touring products and strategically maximise its reach and impact through a joined-up approach.
NORTHERN THEATRE COMPANY JOINS NATIONAL ARTS PROJECT 31st March 2025
Manchester-based theatre company, Just Some Theatre, will represent the North as part of the new national arts project Create Tour Connect. Eyes Down will tour nationally in Spring 2026 performing up to 45 dates.
FIRST PRODUCTION ANNOUNCED FOR NEW NATIONAL ARTS PROJECT Dec 2024
Wild, a theatre production from Black Country Touring, featuring the personal stories from over 70 people across rural, urban and seaside locations, will launch the start of a brand-new national touring project to bring new theatre to rural communities throughout the country.
