Live Theatre's Live Lab re-launches this month with a week of events showcasing new work.
"Live Lab," says the theatre's Literary Manager Gez Casey, "is an innovative and vital part of Live Theatre's talent development programme offering a forum for theatre practitioners to try out new material and gain insightful feedback, opening a dialogue between the people who watch work and those that make it."
From Sunday 25 to Friday 30 January there will be three events:
10 Minutes to... Take Off!
Sunday 25 January
Five north east based playwrights, matched with five local directors, are given the opportunity to create a 10-minute play that responds to a particular theme. To kick off the New Year, and a new Live Lab, the theme is Take Off!. The plays are:
- Trolley Boy written by Dave Raynor, directed by Anna Ryder
- The Flight by Nina Berry, directed by Melanie Rashbrooke
- Fold. Throw. Repeat by Rebekah Bowsher, directed by Morag IIles
- Coming Home Party by Josh Coats, directed by Sebastien Fumoleau
- After School Cake Club by Ali Pritchard, directed by Lewis Grey
Scratch Night
Thursday 29 January
Jointly curated with The Open Space
This edition includes award-winning poet Kate Fox showcasing a new show she is developing for the BBC, a piece from theatre maker Greg Wohead featuring unrehearsed performers using pre-recorded audio and headphones and Newcastle-based theatre collective Precious Cargo. They will also be joined by Eggman Theatre who will present a selection of scenes from their new show Baggage, which is about discovering and embracing your identity.
Finally, on Friday 30 at 8PM, there will be a special Launch Party for audience members, writers and theatre makers to informally share ideas about the future of Live Lab. Some of the region’s most exciting voices will perform extracts of their work in this night of cutting-edge theatre, poetry, comedy and music. Anyone with an interest in having their say on the future of Live Lab is invited to attend this event.