An annual “unconventional convention” for performing arts people at every point in their careers is to take place at Northampton’s Royal and Derngate in January 2019.
Devoted and Disgruntled allows everyone from audiences to artists and chief executives to front-of-house staff to focus on the future of theatre and the performing arts.
Theatre company Improbable is organising the event. Co-artistic director Phelim McDermott describes it as a “slow but persistent revolution of meaningful dialogue and emergent action for our arts and culture”.
He said, “it feels like in the past year there’s been a huge amount of change for theatre and the performing arts. We have new artistic directors starting their tenures, we’ve been scrutinizing our traditional working practices and are working on more transparency, better environments, being kinder. What are we doing well? What could we do better? What can we share? Come and be part of it.”
James Dacre, Royal and Derngate’s artistic director, added, “I’ve never known a time when our industry has more to gain from the kind of open discussions, debates and displays of solidarity and collective problem-solving that Devoted and Disgruntled can provoke, helping all who attend to start to envision the kind of future we want for our industry, our communities and ourselves.
“I know that this will be an invaluable resource to our community of local artists and audiences.”
Devoted and Disgruntled will be held from Saturday 26 until Monday 28 January. Tickets cost £27 (£17 for concessions).