In-house companies
INDEX : Art Bandit : Cul-de-Sac Theatre : Mediamedea : Trickster Theatre : Vista Theatre Company
Art Bandit
The latest addition to the fold. More details coming soon...
Previous productions
Miracle by Gerry Potter - Studio Salford (Sept '07)
Contact : Gerry Potter - Send message
Art Bandit, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN
Founded in 2002 by Terry Naylor and Eric Northey, Cul-de-sac Theatre is committed to producing shows which are both intellectually challenging and visually stimulating.
Previous productions
2004 - Endgame by Samuel Beckett, directed by Eric Northey. One of the first productions at StudioSalford, It also toured extensively throughout the North West, winning the Best Drama award at Buxton Fringe in 2003. "A darkly comic production with the emphasis on the humourous."
2005 - Paperboys by Cathy Crabb, directed by the author. From the writer of 15 Minutes With You and Moving Pictures, winner of the Best Comedy award, Buxton Fringe 2005. "A tragic-comedy of tangled brotherly emotions with a drunk as Greek chorus."
2006 - One Was Nude and One Wore Tails by Dario Fo, directed by Julia Nelson. A farcical slapstick commedia-style satire about class and status. "It was like watching a comic strip."
2007/8 - Cul-de-Sac are currently in pre-production of a brand new show to be performed at Studio Salford in Oct/Nov 2007, and at The Lowry in Autumn 2008. No firm details as yet but it will be an original devised piece with the emphasis on physical comedy and visual spectacle.
On hold pending funding - The Balachites by Stanley Eveling. The play was first produced at the Traverse Theatre in 1963, and is a wonderfully surreal tale of three ghosts in an old house. One is stuck in the trenches of WW1, while the other two philosophise about the meaning of life. They play God and the Devil whilst arguing Science vs. Creationism, the Garden of Eden is created and destroyed, two newly-weds become Adam and Eve, and we experience a vision of Heaven and Hell. We promise a comic/cosmic and irreverent blend of philosophy and mayhem in a delightful mix of physical/visual theatre.
Contact : Terry Naylor & Julia Nelson - Artistic Directors - Send message
Cul-de-Sac Theatre, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN
Mediamedea are thrilled to have won Best Comedy Award for their Production of Moving Pictures. Moving Pictures was written by Cathy Crabb specially for James Foster to direct Sue Jaynes and Denice Hope in a piece for theatre. The play was also very well received at the Midland Hotel in July as part of 24:7 Theatre Festival, Manchester.
We are currently looking for funding to take both Moving Pictures and Fifteen Minutes with You to Edinburgh Fringe Festival next year.
Rehearsals are now under way for the next production - Paperboys by Cathy Crabb, which will be a comedy drama about the myth of
memories and how they inform our present lives. Cathy Crabb is writing two plays to be staged at Studio Salford in the near future -
Who's Bad - two young men preparing to leave the care system attempt to come to terms with
their childhood abuse alongside the unfolding events of the Michael Jackson trial.
Construction - a couple play out scenarios of re-meeting each other in order to explore their
trust and commitment beneath a huge construction of their belongings and memorabilia in their living room.
The outcome is not what they expect.
Previous productions
Brighton Beach Scumbags - Adelphi Studio, Salford :
Fifteen Minutes With You - Didsbury Studio, Manchester :
Beckett For Children - Spa Theatre, Scarborough (The Beckett Festival) & Embryo, Studio Salford :
Media Medea - Studio Theatre, Scarborough, Salford University (SHO#1 Arts Festival) & Manchester Metropolitan University :
Writing Workshop - International Theatre Festival, Sibiu, Transylvania :
Drunken Straight Girl in the Village - Embryo, Studio Salford & Vaudeville, Greenroom, Manchester :
On Route - Embryo, Studio Salford (with Cul-de-sac Theatre) :
Portraits - Studio Salford :
The Trials - Embryo, Studio Salford :
Breast Feeding Sketch - Embryo, Studio Salford & Vaudeville, Greenroom, Manchester :
Smoking Sketch - Embryo, Studio Salford :
Trisha Sketch - Embryo, Studio Salford :
Moving Pictures - Studio Salford.
Contact : Cathy Crabb & Mike Heath - Artistic Directors - Send message | www.myspace.com/cathycrabb
Mediamedea, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN
Trickster Theatre was formed in 1996 by Cellan Scott and Conan Whelan, originally based in the Yard Theatre in Hulme, producing three shows in its first two years Rat In the Skull, Elsie & Norm's Macbeth and Hamlet. The company disbanded for a while but was reformed by Cellan in January 2006, with a new creative partner, Christopher Neil, collaborating with Artemis Theatre's award winning production of Othello (Best Male Actor, Best Production, Best Costume, Best Choreography: Studio Salford Awards 2005).
My Life's Work by James Allen & Jack Lord was the company’s next production and was premiered at the 24/7 Theatre Festival 2006, to appreciative audiences:
"I defy anyone not to like this show" - UK Theatre Network, 29 Jul '06
Patrick Marber's Closer at Studio Salford in September 2006, continued their aim of making emotionally truthful theatre that engages and ignites audiences imaginations with this controversial look at modern relationships. Trickster has recently finished a tour of Claire Berry's Under the Dirt, a co-production with fellow in-house company Vista Theatre, which was nominated for Best Actress (Donna Coleman as Jo) at the Buxton Festival Fringe Awards 2007.
"...this is a play that demands for excellent performances and Trickster Theatre and Vista Theatre provide those in spades" - Robbie Carnegie, BUXTON FRINGE FESTIVAL 2007
The company are currently developing projects for 2008.
Cellan Scott - Cellan has been working in the North West since 1991, both as actor and producer. Founder member of Trickster Theatre he has also worked as Artistic Director for Dark Profit Theatre, producing 'Relativity' by Claire Berry (Studio Salford 2004), and a benefit production of 'The Vagina Monologues', Frog & Bucket 2005. Recent credits include: Dave in 'Under the Dirt', Trickster/Vista, 2007 tour; Larry in 'Closer', Trickster Theatre 2006; Jack in 'My Life’s Work', Trickster Theatre, 24:7 Theatre Festival 2006; Iago in 'Othello', Artemis Theatre 2005 (Winner of Best Male Actor Studio Salford Awards 2005); Priest in 'Nowhere Man', Black Box, 24:7 Theatre Festival 2005; Hamlet in 'Hamlet', Trickster Theatre; Roche in 'Rat In The Skull', Trickster Theatre.
Christopher Neil - Work with Trickster Theatre includes directing 'Under The Dirt' by Claire Berry, 'Closer' by Patrick Marber, 'My Life's Work' by James Allen (24:7 Theatre Festival) and with the same production team, a multi-media 'Othello' by Shakespeare (Artemis Theatre) which won Best Production 2005 at Studio Salford. Other recent productions include 'The Book Group' by Neil Green (No Attitude Theatre Company), 'Seeds of Doubt' by Rina Silvermann (24:7 Theatre Festival).
Christopher has worked in many parts of Britain since graduating in 2000, including gaining valuable shadowing / assistant directing experience at the King's Head Theatre, Islington, Dundee Rep, Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House. Chris's most recent production was a brand new opera at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival - 'The Turing Test' by Julian Wagstaff, and is currently directing 'Karry Owky' by Michael Stewart for Vista Theatre at Studio Salford in October 2007.
Contact : Cellan Scott & Christopher Neil - Artistic Directors - Send message | www.myspace.com/trickstertheatre |
www.youtube.com/trickstertheatre
Trickster Theatre, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN
Vista Theatre Company's founding members met in 1996, whilst studying Physical Theatre and Dance at Salford University. Vista has strong roots in physical and experimental theatre, and over the last couple of years has performed a physical Shakespeare piece on a castle wall, and a ballroom instillation under a bridge. Vista believes in the power of physical performance as a universal communicative medium, and undertakes artist-led projects with community involvement. The company is now comprised of freelance physical theatre practitioners meaning the work is ever morphing and expanding. During 2003, Vista was awarded a grant from the Princes' Trust to help develop a Community and Education department.
Vista's education program is a dynamic dual connection between performers and students, which enriches and challenges the experience of both. Teaching is an important key that helps the company develop an openness of communication that is vital, alive and continually re-invented.
Contact : Phil Minns - Artistic Director - Send message | www.vistatheatre.co.uk
Vista Theatre Company, PO Box 97, Manchester, M60 3WP