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Sonic theatre podcast Soundworlds returns with a season of brand-new immersive audio experiences

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Sonic theatre makers Soundworlds have today announced a new season of their podcast offering listeners an immersive audio experience combining theatre, poetry and music. Far more than radio plays with music, Soundworlds projects are created by musicians, writers, theatre makers and artists who blend together music and storytelling, sound design, documentary and fiction to give listeners a true escape from the everyday.

From November 2021 to April 2022, Soundworlds will release a new episode fortnightly, on the first and third Thursday of each month. Each episode is its own, unique world: a piece of theatre for your ears, that can be enjoyed anywhere, any time. The eclectic mix of episodes has been created in collaboration with acclaimed international artists, each with their own story to tell, in extraordinary ways. 

Join us for a Christmas party like no other, share some classic children’s books in new ways, and explore issues of our time from sex work to universal childcare, all without leaving your house, or staring at a screen.

Artists featured this season include: Canadian theatre group Quote Unquote Collective; Erased Tapes’ Douglas Dare; award-winning librettist and playwright Stephanie Fleischmann and Pulitzer Prize finalist composer Christopher Cerrone; French electronic musician Aho Ssan aka Désiré Niamké, collaborating with Emptyset member James Ginzburg; acclaimed theatre maker Joana Nastari; adaptations of children’s books Town is by the Sea and Birdsong; as well as new commissions from artists Aminita Francis (BAC Beatbox Academy’s Frankenstein), Travis Alabanza (Burgerz) — who will both be matched up with musicians — and Verity Standen, who will each create new, immersive audio pieces, directed by Soundworlds’ own Patrick Eakin Young.

Patrick Eakin Young, director of Soundworlds, said: “Podcasts have become one of this century’s quintessential new forms of media, yet the creative and expressive potential of the form is still being tested. I think of Soundworlds as a sonic stage on which to present some of the boldest innovations in audio storytelling: a space for musicians, theatre-makers, writers and sound designers to explore, experiment with, and expand upon the familiar podcast formula.”

Soundworlds is directed by Patrick Eakin Young and produced by Eleanor Turney and George Warren. Artwork for Season Two is provided by illustrator Sydney Smith. All episodes are free to listen to on Spotify, iTunes and other podcast platforms, or on the Soundworlds website.

Season Two will open this November with two episodes that reimagine existing albums as narrative pieces, Liminal Highway and Simulacrum. On Thursday 4 November, librettist and playwright Stephanie Fleischmann adapts Christopher Cerrone and Tim Munro’s Liminal Highway, an album for solo flute, inspired by John K. Samson’s poem of the same name. Fleischmann’s overlaid narrative tells the story of a woman chasing down a mysterious double through an urban dreamscape. Later that month, Simulacrum, from French Ghanaian musician Aho Ssan, is reimagined by James Ginzburg as the story of a boy trapped in his own apartment in a near-future society, stratified into a very strict class system, cut off from music and the outside world. It blurs the lines of reality, asking what and who is real? 

One very special episode in December sees us invited to Douglas Dare’s Christmas Party. Listeners will be sonically guided through the festive party you wish you were invited to, eavesdropping on conversations between artists and radical queers, drag queens and East London scenesters, soundtracked by Dare’s rearranged carols.

The New Year will see a series of episodes working with and inspired by incredible Canadian artists. On Thursday 6 January, feminist powerhouses and multi-disciplinary performance company Quote Unquote Collective look at universal childcare as Canada comes out with one of the most comprehensive childcare laws in the world following the pandemic. Based on verbatim interviews with parents about childcare. 

From January 20 our mini-series of Canadian children’s novels will begin, with an audio adaptation of Birdsong. Written by Cree-Métis author and illustrator Julie Flett, it is a subtle, sensitive story of intergenerational friendship, growth and loss. It is soundtracked by K.K. Rose-El (aka Kris Harper) of Polaris Prize-nominated nȇhiyawak, which translates to Cree People, People of the Plains or Free People. Releasing on Thursday 3 February is an adaptation of Town is by the Sea, written by Joanne Schwartz and illustrated by Sydney Smith. It follows a young boy throughout his day spent by the sea, all the while thinking of his father digging for coal deep underground, creating beautiful contrast between the two worlds. Soundworlds uses its immersive audio experience to perfectly capture in sound the beautiful visuals found in each story. 

From Thursday 17 February, Joana Nastari’s award-winning debut play Fuck You Pay Me will be turned into a soundworld. A love letter to strippers, the episode will feature special guests from the community and a live score of Brazilian music. It is a play by strippers, for strippers and about strippers, a celebration that will be captured in Soundworlds’ impeccable audio.

Season 2 will wrap up with another mini-series which sees three new sonic theatre commissions created by Black, female, and nonbinary theatre artists, released throughout March and April. Bristol’s Verity Standen taps into the power of ASMR. Emerging artist Aminita Francis, a break-out member of Battersea Arts Centre’s Beatbox Academy, creates a Bo Burnham-like piece about the isolation of lockdown using only her voice and a looper. And British performance artist, writer and theatre maker Travis Alabanza teams up with Canadian (Polaris Prize-nominated) musicians Bonjay, to create a dancehall inflected fantasy as four trans friends head out into the streets of London together. 

You can also listen back to Season One shows, including adaptations of four Raymond Carver short stories from What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, and a piece based on Courtney Angela Brkic’s The Stone Fields, her memoir of joining a UN forensics team helping to excavate the mass graves at Srebrenica in Bosnia. 

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Positive Stories for Negative Times – the national participatory project gifting free plays and resources to young people across the world returns for a second season

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Open to schools, colleges, youth theatres or anyone working with young people.
Sign ups open now at positivestories.scot

Positive Stories for Negative Times created by Wonder Fools in association with Traverse Theatre is back with an incredible lineup of the UK’s most exciting voices. Seven brand new plays, written specifically for the times we are living in, will be made free and available to young people from September 6 through to March 2022, with groups from anywhere in the world being encouraged to join in. 

Working with those from isolated areas, marginalised groups and vulnerable young people, Positive Stories for Negative Times is providing a new outlet to nurture creativity, encourage the exchange of new skills and ideas and provide a safe space online that could have a genuine impact on young people’s experience of the world as they recover from the effects a global pandemic has had on their education, their connections and the world around them as a whole. 

The first season – launched in August 2020 as part of the digital Traverse Festival Programme – was created as a direct response to the lack of physical spaces for young people to participate in performance, and the detrimental impact this is having on their mental health and wellbeing. A staggering 2,607 young people and 282 groups spanning from the Outer Hebrides to Madrid, and York to Quebec performed the first season’s plays, which ended last month – making way for a new raft of artists and groups to get involved from this summer onwards. 

Season Two, aimed at engaging an even broader network of people aged between 6 and 25 has been created with a focus on coming together, embarking on new processes and changing the way we think about theatre for young people. Wonder Fools and the Traverse Theatre have again co-commissioned a new group of the UK’s most prominent artists to create new work relevant to the here and now, which will act as stimulus for creative projects for young people around the world. 

As students in Scotland and across the UK return to schools, colleges and universities, 948 young people have already registered since the initial announcement was made back in June. 

On the projects return, Wonder Fools said: “Being able to engage so many young people around the world through Season 1 was an utter joy, but the project has been designed with the aim of responding to the current times we are living in no matter whether young people are in or out of the classroom. Theatre provides huge benefits to children in all creative environments. Season 2 has been designed to help bring young people back into that physical space to explore their creativity, as well as adapting to the ways education has been changed throughout the pandemic and how young people are recovering from that, reembracing their creativity, communication and connection with others. 

“This season we have opened up the project to invite submissions from all kinds of groups across different art forms allowing young people to flex their creative muscles and celebrate the process of what they make. That may be performance, film, creative writing, blogs – you name it. We have also responded to the needs of youth group leaders and incorporated a programme of free professional development into the programme for them to engage with remotely throughout the project, learn new skills and share best practice. We can’t wait to meet groups from around the world and to see what they come up with.”

All participating groups will be sent their chosen script to perform rights free and a handbook of exercises to help their group explore the play. No set outcome or end result has been defined, it’s all about celebrating creativity inspired by the plays and sharing what is made. Groups have the freedom to create anything they want: a piece of music, a film, creative writing, poetry, outdoor work – there are no limitations. For those brand new to performance, the handbook provides a step-by-step guide through the process. The plays are a starting point created to inspire different kinds of work. These can live either live in the space, through blended learning or completely online.

Works include: 

Spyrates (Spies vs Pirates) 2: Journey to the Forbidden Island by Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse (6+) – From the Co-Founders of Wonder Fools, comes Spyrates, a play for up to 100 6+ year olds.  Featuring spies, pirates, robots, talking animals and everything in between, in an interactive, playful and imaginative adventure story. 

At First I Was Afraid (I Was Petrified!) by Douglas Maxwell (11+) – When things feel too tough moving up into a new school, to manage her anxiety, Cleo starts to get creative in an old Descendants’ diary – her worry book – but everything she writes starts to come true, so she tries writing down positive ideas…. A fast-paced comedy drama with loads of bright characters, big set pieces, twists and turns and a huge sing-a-long happy ending… oh, and a mad bit with a Fairy Godperson.

The Raven by Hannah Lavery (11+) – Lament to Sheku Bayoh writer and director Hannah Lavery’s The Raven is both an adventure and an exploration of what shapes and what divides us, exploring issues of blended families, bullying, depression and isolation.

Thanks for Nothing by The PappyShow (11+) – Celebrating life’s quiet moments of gratitude and joy, Thanks for Nothing will be a blueprint for a show encouraging loads of devising and playing with narrative and form from the playful, physical and visual ensemble that is The PappyShow, created in collaboration with award-winning playwright Lewis Hetherington. 

Revolting by Bryony Kimmings (13+) – Multi-Award winning playwright, performer, documentary maker and screenwriter Bryony Kimmings’ Climate Crisis play Revolting asks, if we’re agents of the revolution – how do we revolt? This ‘paint-by-numbers’ play will put the control firmly in the hands of the creators – let’s imagine a new system (there may be flying cars and free money and loads of dancing and pizza parties) but also positive solutions to climate change. 

The Skirt by Ellen Bannerman (15+) – Traverse Young Writer Ellen Bannerman’s The Skirt is an absurdist parable for the next generation of feminists, based on Gogol’s short story: ‘The Nose’. Wearing a short skirt to school on the day of the Head Girl election should be an irrelevant outfit choice – but when Kay is sexually harassed on her way to school, she pulls out of the race, but her short skirt has other ideas and much like Gogol’s The Nose, enters the race for Head Girl in its own right. 

Write to Rave: Step Pon by Debris Stevenson (18+) – Grime poet, dyslexic writer and working-class academic Debris Stevenson presents Write to Rave: Step Pon – a play about the political power of rave. Who has the right to rave, to dance and move freely? What is it to feel truly free in their own skin? It tells the story a queer group of humans trying their best to rave whilst the world tries its best to stop them.

Each writer has been working with the newly established Positive Stories Youth Board to ensure that the plays are not only made for young people, but with them too, the aim to create something for everyone no matter their size, age or experience of making theatre. 

As part of the project, participating group leaders will have access to regular online workshops with the seven artists and the Wonder Fools team to build on ideas, provide some pointers on best practice and allow for sharing and discussion between groups and their projects.

Wonder Fools are inviting any teachers, groups or organisations working with young people to get involved and utilise the free resources. Participating groups  will be given a pin on a virtual map and page on the project’s bespoke website where their work will be celebrated with other participants around the UK and beyond. 

To sign up or to find out more visit positivestories.scot.

Positive Stories for Negative Times Season 2 is produced by Wonder Fools in association with the Traverse Theatre and is supported by Creative Scotland, Chance to Succeed, Foundation Scotland Response Recovery & Resilience Fund, William Syson Foundation, Gannoch Trust, Christina Mary Hendrie Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust and the Inchyre Trust. 

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THE DROP

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A past betrayal. A sunken fortune. And one moment that changes everything. From the makers of the smash-hit trilogy – Plymouth Point, The Mermaid’s Tongue and The Kindling Hour – comes a brand new live show in central London this Autumn…

Presents

The Drop

OPENS 13 NOVEMBER TO 31 DECEMBER 2021 
A STRICTLY LIMITED NUMBER OF TICKETS ON SALE
THIS FRIDAY 24 SEPTEMBER AT 10AM

PRESS NIGHTS 9 AND 10 NOVEMBER 

‘He who has one enemy shall meet him everywhere’.
– Omar Khayyam, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám 

Following the success of the Isklander trilogy of online mystery experiences – which saw 65,000+ people play detective across the UK and the US over the past eighteen months – multi-award-winning immersive theatre makers Swamp Motel will transport audiences into London’s criminal underworld this November with the world premiere of live, heart-pounding adventure, The Drop.

In 1912, two London bookbinders were commissioned to create a luxurious jeweled binding for a book that became known as The Great Omar. Hugely valuable, the book was purchased by a buyer and was packed safely aboard a boat bound for New York. On the 15 of April 1912 the HMS Titanic sank along with the book and a sea of secrets were never recovered. Until now…

In this theatrical thriller, audiences will explore a hidden world created for a maximum of just four people at a time – a uniquely intimate show to share with friends, family and some unexpected characters along the way.

The Drop is Swamp Motel’s most ambitious production to date, created within their trademark mould of interactive, exhilarating experiences that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. They will transform an abandoned East London location and using cutting edge technology and inventive storytelling, audiences will be planted onto the set of their very own visceral thriller.

The Drop and its storyworld will expand further in early 2022, with an interactive film experience, created in collaboration with The Lowry as part of its Live Now commissioning programme. This online counterpart will allow for audiences across the world to step into Swamp Motel’s latest theatrical conspiracy from a different perspective, from the comfort of home. More details to be announced in the coming months.

Creators Ollie Jones and Clem Garritty formed Swamp Motel in 2017. Both co-founders of the critically acclaimed comedy theatre company Kill the Beast, they have been weaving immersive storytelling webs for the stage and screen around the world together for over ten years. Now for the first time, The Drop will give UK audiences the opportunity to experience a full-scale live Swamp Motel production, in their home city of London.

Clem Garritty and Ollie Jones commented: “We can’t wait to make our return to live entertainment with The Drop. It’s an ambitious and elaborate production that explores the rich history and tale of tragedy surrounding one of the world’s most famous texts, The Great Omar. Like all our work, audiences will be right at the centre of the story, a story we hope will leave them questioning what was real and what wasn’t long after they leave.

This has been a long time in the making for us so we’re particularly excited to premiere it in our home city of London this autumn as the culture scene bounces back to life.”

Alongside The Drop, Swamp Motel recently secured a deal with Gaumont UK (British arm of studio behind Narcos and Lupin) with their online Isklander trilogy now set for TV adaptation, and by popular demand the online trilogy – Plymouth Point, The Mermaid’s Tongue and The Kindling Hour – relaunched with some brand new added features and challenges all available to experience online anywhere across the UK and internationally now.

The Drop is strictly limited to 20 sessions per day. A limited number of tickets go on sale this Friday 24 September 2021 at 10am. Previews will commence on 28 October. The official opening is on Saturday 13 November and runs through to Friday 31 December 2021. Visit thedropexperience.co.uk. 

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Northern Lights Festival

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A brand new outdoor projection and arts festival celebrating the far north coastline of Scotland – announces its inaugural programme

8 – 16 October 2021 

Northern Lights Festival is a brand-new arts festival produced by Lyth Arts Centre, celebrating the stunning Wick Harbour and Caithness Coastline in the far north of Scotland, taking place from Friday 8 October to Saturday 16 October. The festival will blend together film screenings, exhibitions, performances, talks and a showcase on local, sustainable food, all centred around a show-stopping, free series of outdoor projections, running throughout the eight day event. 

Charlotte Mountford, co-director of Northern Lights Festival said: “We’re really excited to be able to host this event as part of Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020/2021. More than ever people are looking to celebrate their local landscapes and come together as a community – Northern Lights Festival is really a chance to shine a light on this most beautiful corner of Scotland.”

At the centre of a diverse and exciting programme is Northern Lights, a light and projection installation that will bring Wick Harbour to life with visually stunning projections across the harbour. Created in collaboration with Moray based Wild.bird, using archive footage and contemporary material, a new film will be turned into seven distinctive, striking installations that will be projected at iconic locations across the harbour. Each visual feast for the eyes will be accompanied by audio installations that will share stories and music for a truly immersive experience. Each night of the festival, from 7:30pm – 9pm, audiences will walk through the harbour, from old former salt stores of the Herring boom, modern day oil tanks, the iconic  lighthouse and the historic  Herring mart,  for a journey through Caithness’ coastal history marking Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020/2021. 

Carrying forward the message that we must protect and care for Scotland’s Coasts and Waters, Vision Mechanics 10 metre tall mythical goddess of the sea, Storm, will walk through Wick harbour on Monday 11 October, as part of her tour around Scotland. Made from entirely recycled and natural resources her eyes are the colour of oyster shells, her hair thick strands of kelp, her voice the chorus of the waves. Storm is accompanied by a beautiful soundscape created by the pioneering Scottish folk singer Mairi Campbell. 

The festival will have a strong focus on local food and drink, showcasing local suppliers and sustainable seafood. Running throughout the festival, The Printer’s Rest Pop Up will provide pop-up food by the harbour, inspired by the Caithness Coastline, all from The Printers Rest. The Dunnet Bay Distillery presents Coastal Botanicals: Gin-tasting with Rock Rose which will explore the botanics of their award-winning gin including kelp, rhodiola, rose and berries. 

Much of the festival is inspired by the harbour itself, created to draw on and celebrate the local community and existing arts and culture in Caithness. Nucleus: The Nuclear and Caithness Archive centre will curate an exhibition offering a rare chance to delve into the Harbour’s archive, including the Harbour Master’s Log Books  – WK: History of a Harbour, running each weekday throughout the festival. Tours around the harbour from local groups will include a historical tour from The Wick Society and the Wick Riverside Tour of the Solar System from Caithness Astronomy Group. The newly-reopened Victorian sea-bathing pool North Baths will host Tunes in the Tides – your swim soundtrack by a local folk trio – and local storyteller and wild swimmer Alex Patience will lead an afternoon Family Storytelling Dip, as well as an evening of Storytelling & Starbathing. 

Further performances will include George Gunn reading from his new collection Between Two Beaches – his first poems since becoming Caithness Maker. Local singer, songwriter and ‘cultural crofter’ Nancy Nicolson will share stories and songs from Wick. Culture Collective Artist in Residence Sinéad Hargan will share a participatory, audio performance from We Can Move With The Sea If We Like which takes audiences on a journey of appreciation and reflection of our seas. 

A series of online talks and events include director of Seawatch Foundation Dr Peter Evans, who  will give a talk exploring how we can protect our local marine life – How to Conserve and Protect the Caithness Marine Environment – while Chris Aitken of Caithness Broch Project asks, were the Iron Age inhabitants of Keiss broch really cannibals? in The Coastal Cannibals of Keiss Broch. Shetland poet Roseanne Watt will read from her award-winning collection Moder Dy / Mother Wave and Lyth Arts Centre Associate Artists Morna Young and Catriona Lexy-Campbell will discuss their new play Salt Quines, inspired by the East Coast Herring Girls. 

The film programme will include a programme of ocean-inspired films at Pulteneytown People’s Project, including: Launch! On The Sea With Scotland’s Lifeboats, which dives into archive film and videos of RNLI crews and communities, accompanied by an immersive soundtrack from some of the UK’s best contemporary musicians. Shore Short Film Night will see an evening of short films inspired by the sea, featuring new Scottish documentary and international animation. A screening of Vitamin Sea follows Cal Major’s 2 month long journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats by stand up paddleboard, and Lyth Arts Centre Artist in Residence Morag Currie will premiere her new audio visual exploration into the Pentland Firth tidal streams. 

A series of family-friendly workshops and crafts which celebrate our seas will take place throughout the October half term festival, including nautical themed drawing and family friendly sea-watching around Wick Bay. 

Northern Lights Festival takes place from 8 – 16 October 2021. For full programme information and tickets visit https://lytharts.org.uk/northern-lights-festival/. 

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Daisy Hale and Matty May present If You Love Me This Might Hurt

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An uncensored and funny debut from Matty May about
rage, suicide and so-called self-care.

Part of Camden People’s Theatre – Autumn Season 
Tuesday 19 – Saturday 30 October 2021 

Press night Wednesday 20 October 

Matty May was conceived during a drunken one-night stand on his Nan’s settee in July 1988 since then, he has tried to kill himself three times. This October, the working-class queer artist and Barking babe performs his debut solo production. If you love him, this show might hurt. 

An uncensored and funny show about rage, suicide and so-called self-care, If You Love Me This Might Hurt explores mental health, council estates, the trauma men can inflict and the magic of having a brilliant nan all through a queer lens. 

Matty May lipsyncs audiences into the show with the warm welcome of a nan asking you in for tea. Are we all settled in ok? Has everyone got a bev? Audiences are invited to leave the room and return whenever they feel the need to. The show is designed to create a comfortable and safe space for audiences with care and connection at its core. 

Some conversations will always be uncomfortable. Society wants change for our mental health care system, but the system doesn’t want to make the necessary changes within society that will allow us to take these needed steps forward. In this show, Matty dismantles the roots of the problem that would actually enable everyone to put their mental health first. 

Matty May is the Associate Director of Scottee & Friends and lead artist on ‘The Queer Wall’, ‘Bleeps and Bloops’ and ‘Be&Do’ – and no stranger to socially engaged work. They make their on-stage debut next month with a show that has been three years in the making, but is more timely than ever. 

Unashamedly common as muck, sometimes funny and often anxious, Matty May’s If You Love Me This Might Hurt is honest, vulnerable and real. This show ain’t gentle, babes. 

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