in partnership with The B-Bar
With Flying Colours – Theatre Commission
Barbican Theatre is proud to be a part of the Plymouth Cultural Education Partnership’s With Flying Colours programme who are looking to co-produce a professional production as part of the With Flying Colours programme, with a South-West based theatre company.
About The Programme
With Flying Colours is an exciting new play-making programme for young people in areas of low cultural engagement and high deprivation in Plymouth. Working in local schools, children will co-create plays based on their own ideas and words supported by professional writers. Each school will develop their ideas into performance pieces which will pop up in the local community in a whole manner of unlikely spaces and places.
These performances will have high production values. Parents and community members will have the opportunity to meet industry professionals and learn new skills which can be used to support the young people through a variety of practical community based ‘making’ workshops. This will include costume design, making props and building sets. The year will culminate with the school plays that have been developed featuring alongside a professional production in a community based festival in July.
The Brief
Plymouth Cultural Education Partnership are looking to co-produce a professional production as part of the With Flying Colours programme. We are seeking a South West based theatre company to devise and perform a brand new production co-created with children and young people (aged 8 -13) in Plymouth.
The final performances will be performed by the co-producing company and will feature a young, ensemble cast drawn from the partner schools.
The commission involves a period of research and development workshops with the schools (4 primaries and 1 secondary) participating in With Flying Colours. These workshops will develop the content, themes and narrative of the play which captures the voice of the children and young people. These ideas will then be shaped by the company into a one act play of 45 mins in length.
The piece will be performed up to 10 times in community venues as part of the With Flying Colours Festival in July 2020.
Ideally the co-production will be capable of being performed by the co-producing company alone and be used as an advocacy tool for With Flying Colours participants in future years.
