In-house companies

Balloon Head Productions

Founded by writer/producer/journalist Ian Winterton in 2009, Balloon Head's first production was a double-bill - Wednesday and Paradise Wood - at Studio Salford. Since then, the company has produced a number of short plays, including Shoelace at the Not Part Of New Year fringe festival. Wednesday has been picked up by The Lowry, Salford Quays (August 2010) and, from there, will enjoy a 21-date run at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival. Balloon Head's last play was sex comedy Tag Team, also at Studio Salford.

REVIEWS

Wednesday: "alarming but amusing... superb... remarkably well written" - City Life

Tag Team: "Terrific... sexy and sweary" - Kevin Bourke, Manchester Evening News

Tag Team: "...a thoroughly engaging evening of comic twists and turns..." - Tim Mottershead, remotegoat.co.uk

Contact : Ian Winterton - Send message | www.balloonheadproductions.com
Balloon Head Productions, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN

Breathe Out Theatre

Breathe Out Theatre is a non-profit company set up by Writer / Producer Rob Johnston to produce both new writing and rarely performed plays by established writers, in collaboration with a loose collective of actors, directors, designers, and technicians.

Rob’s own plays have been produced in Salford, Manchester, Buxton, Liverpool, Scotland, Preston, and London.

Contact : Rob Johnston - Send message | www.breatheouttheatre.org
Breathe Out Theatre, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN

Ensemble 52

THE COMPANY

In the summer of 2007 two writers Richard Vergette and David Pattison had their plays accepted by the 24:7 Festival in Manchester. Director of both productions Andrew Pearson needed a company to present the shows and Ensemble 52 was born.

Working as a theatrical collective, the company seeks to produce challenging and dynamic new work for theatre, as well as established plays and musicals, using creative practitioners from all backgrounds.

The two plays for the 24:7 Festival; Boots by David Pattison and An Englishman’s Home were enthusiastically received and An Englishman’s Home transferred to the Manchester Library Theatre in January 2008.

Also in August 2007 in association with Wotlarx, the company appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the play Dying of the Light featuring a cast of actors all of retirement age.

In 2009 Richard Vergette’s new work As We Forgive Them won the audience choice award at the 24:7 festival as well as the Vicky Allen Memorial Award, presented by the North West Branch of Equity, and was nominated for four Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards, and won Best Fringe Production. It transferred to the Bolton Octagon and then to the Young Vic Studio in London.

It is hoped to tour the production nationally in 2010/2011

The company is now developing two new plays; Bridge of Sighs by Richard Vergette and Something Hidden by David Pattison, for the Larkin 25 celebrations.

It is also developing a permanent theatre space in a warehouse in the Old Fruit Market area of Hull and was also founded by playwrights Richard Vergette and David Pattison.

THE ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Andrew Pearson

Andrew trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He has appeared in over 35 productions on stage and screen, directed 18 shows both in the UK and abroad and written the musical scores for 23 shows, including 4 original musicals. He worked as head of composition at LAMDA and was the Associate Director of NAPA until January 2008, Artistic Director of Ensemble 52, a founding member of Croft-Creative and Associate Director for the National Youth Music Theatre. Andrew has recently directed The Changeling, Death of a Salesman, Deux Jeunes Filles, and Ines de Castro all for The NTC and An Englishman’s Home at the Manchester Library Theatre and Boots for Ensemble 52 at the 24:7 Festival also in Manchester. He Directed The Hired Man for the NYMT at Hull Truck and As We Forgive Them for Ensemble 52 at The Bolton Octagon, and the Young Vic. In 2007 he co-created and directed Disposable People at the Marina Boatsheds in Hull as part of the William Wilberforce Commemorations. He is a writer and performer in the comedy group ‘Live Naked Idiots’, and has been a workshop leader for 15 years including the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2007.

Richard Vergette

Richard Vergette trained in drama at Bretton Hall College. He was Head of Performing Arts at John Leggott Sixth Form College in Scunthorpe, before becoming a self-employed education consultant and author - whilst still continuing to teach part time at the University of Lincoln. As a consultant he has been responsible for much of the training for the government's 14-19 Reform Agenda. He has written two A-level Drama and Theatre Studies text books.

Richard has worked as a professional actor, and as a playwright written the libretto for a musical version of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Northern Theatre Studios, Hull 1997), Sweet Miracles (Edinburgh Fringe 1999) Darling Bea (Edinburgh Fringe 2000), An Englishman's Home (Humber Mouth Literary Festival 2004 and later re written for the 24.7 Theatre Festival Manchester, transferring to the Library Theatre in 2008). As We Forgive Them won the Audience Favourite Production at the 2009 24:7 Festival and the Vicky Allen Award (presented by Equity) for best production. It transferred to the Octagon Theatre in Bolton and The Young Vic, London and is now nominated for four Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards. Richard is working on his next play Bridge of Sighs with Ensemble 52 and a screenplay Dangerous Gardens for Pylon Productions. In 2010 'Made in Manchester Productions' in association with The Independent Newspaper are producing a radio version of As We Forgive Them to coincide with the first anniversary of Obama's Inauguration.

Contact : Andrew Pearson / Richard Vergette - Send message | www.ensemble52.com
Ensemble 52, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN

Don't Look Up Now Theatre Company

Kate Gilbert formed Don't Look Up in 2008. Prior to that Kate has been creating and performing at different events including many different cabaret nights.

Over the past five years Kate has created and performed her own style of performance poetry, fusing song and poetry. She has performed across the north including, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield and has performed in New York.

In 2006 Kate wrote and acted in her first piece, a one woman show called Butterfly, which gained interest from both the Arts Council and The Royal Exchange Studio Theatre.

Kate has since developed her writing and produced a piece for SFX at the Royal Exchange, a one hour show with script, physical theatre and song. Kate was invited back to perform at SFX and created a piece called, Piano Keys, a story about a white woman who falls in love with a black American GI in war-time Britain. This was presented as a work in progress and following positive feedback this piece is now in further research and development.

Most recently Kate has written and produced Watching Stars which was selected for the 24:7 Theatre Festival in Manchester. Watching Stars is a two hander that explores love, sex and consent. Watching Stars was also performed at Studio Salford and The John Thaw Studio Theatre.

Kate has most recently been invited to write for Verbally Challenged at Contact and is currently co-writing a sit-com as well as working on a piece for radio and another stage play.

Mission Statement

Don't Look Up, seeks to produce and create work of a high quality and work that is challenging and exciting. I also have an interest to fuse together different art forms where appropriate. My focus is mainly to stage plays that offer the female perspective. This is not exclusive of men but is focused on creating interesting roles and more parts for women. Or facilitating and overseeing other female writers to have their work performed to a high standard.

Don't Look Up seeks to work as professionally as possible within the confines of the budget and to draw in new people and seeks to give others the opportunity to be involved as a showcase for either their acting, directing or writing talent.

Contact : Don't Look Up Now, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN

Mediamedea

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.

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

Swine Theatre

What is SWINE THEATRE? Ha! Where to begin....?

SWINE THEATRE are the shadowy cabal of freaks and mentalists responsible for twisted plays such as THE PACKAGE and BROKEN BISCUITS. They are affiliated to writer Tam Hinton - an odd, repellent man - who brought us the wonderful one-man shows THE NAKED SOUL OF KIRK GODLESS and THE TRUTH IS, I CAN'T STOP TELLING LIES.

Actors and artists associated with SWINE THEATRE include Ian Curley, Rachel Priest, Karen McLeod, and Tom Liggett. These are all gorgeous, highly motivated individuals, beautiful yet deadly.

Do you love the theatre? Are you strangely aroused by the macabre, the magical, and the monstrous?

Then come and see a SWINE THEATRE production. Do so, and feel your heart filled with joy and terror and delight.

If you don't, the Tories will get in at the next election, your husband will leave you, and your last thoughts will be ones of regret.

Contact : Tam Hinton - Send message

www.kirkgodless.com | www.youtube.com/swinethea | www.youtube.com/thetamhinton

Swine Theatre, c/o Studio Salford, The King's Arms, 11 Bloom St, Salford, M3 6AN