Midlands flagship professional artist development scheme In Good Company is “providing more opportunities than ever” in 2019, including a mid-career commission, through its artist support fund and through the European Regional Development Fund.
Led by Derby Theatre, In Good Company has announced that Ad Infinitum is to receive its mid-career commission for 2019 with its new show which has the working title of Extraordinary Wall of Silence, a collaboration between deaf and hearing creatives.
The commission includes £5,000, rehearsal space, the chance to perform a work-in-progress piece as part of Derby Theatre’s summer festival Departure Lounge and mentorship from IGC creative producer Ben Anderson.
Since In Good Company began in 2014, it has supported 14 companies through its associate artist programmes. All have received support tailored to their needs. In 2019, a new artist support fund will provide a rolling programme of bursaries of up to £1,000.
The following artists and companies will receive a bursary: Lewis Doherty’s Boar, a one-man fantasy adventure tale; Next Door Dance with The Clothes Show, a dance-theatre production that explores clothes and how they shape our identity; Laura Guthrie: Side by Side, a developing performance exploring friendship with an integrated professional cast of learning-disabled and non-disabled women; and Sheep Soup with Hoarding the Musical, a mini-musical about hoarding.
Through the European Regional Development Fund, In Good Company will support in 2019 Laura Ryder and Co, in particular the development of its new show Slow Violence; Milk Presents, which forefronts queer and trans narratives; Zoo Indigo, a two-woman Anglo-German performance company; Maison Foo, which is developing its refugee friends scheme; Not Too Tame, firmly founded on the belief in theatre for all; and Fifth Word, which nurtures regional voices.