This Is Us

Published: 25 January 2021
Reporter: Peter Lathan

This Is Us
Natalie Ibu Credit: Pamela Raith
Shandyland: Pint Size

It is unusual for newly appointed Artistic Directors to announce their first full season’s work in the first three months of their tenure, but that’s just what Natalie Ibu, who was appointed as Artistic Director and CEO of Northern Stage in November, has done.

“I think it’s fair to say,” she said, “that none of us—me, the organisation, artists and audiences alike—thought I’d be announcing my very first season so soon into the role. But—whilst a surprise twist—it’s provided a brilliant opportunity to hit the ground running, collaborating with artists, with place, with the personal and the political to meet audiences wherever they are and then lead them back to our building when it’s safe to do so.”

She has called the season This Is Us and it’s in three parts, each defining one way in which the theatre can engage with its audience during the pandemic.

In January, Can We Come In? will visit audiences in their homes, Out on the Toon will take them into the city from March, and then Housewarming will bring them back into the theatre when it reopens from April.

Can We Come In? launches on 27 January with Scroll, an antidote to 'doom scrolling' (continually scrolling through negative news articles and social media posts). There are nine short digital stories, three every week from 27 January to 8 February.

Much anticipated was the 2020 première and tour of Gareth Farr’s Shandyland, but of course the pandemic put paid to that so now Shandyland: Pint Size offers audiences a chance to meet some of the characters, feel the spirit of the pub where the play is set and get a taste of its humour and energy. Directed by Hannah Bannister and Zak Harney, this short film, launched on Valentine’s weekend, is "a love letter to the northern boozer."

There’s work from Gecko, Fevered Sleep and The Actors Touring Company and in February, Natalie Ibu is convening a special Zoom Devoted & Disgruntled discussion about the future of theatre talent development in the North East.

Then there’s a blend of opera, street art and animation, a double bill of outdoor video projection:

  • He Did What?
    A comic story of passion and revenge played out by octogenarians on zimmer frames. He’s been playing around with the next door neighbour. She’s going to "shoot the fecker in the pecker" with his daddy’s own gun.
  • Two Angels Play I Spy
    Two angels stand high up on a building overlooking the city, peering into the past and the future as they wait for their duties to kick in. To pass the time, they play I Spy but as only angels can…

In contrast, members of The Young Company take to the streets meeting young people where they are for a series of Young Company Walk and Talks, taking the creative team to spaces and places that have taken on new meaning to them during 2020 as they gear up to making brand new work together.

And after 60 pop-up performances in Byker in Newcastle in summer and December 2020, Doorstep Music returns there this spring. Musicians will play live while residents are encouraged to come out onto their doorsteps, gardens or balconies to listen, make requests and sing along.

The final part of the season, Housewarming, features another 2020 production which was cancelled, The Invisible Man. Griffin is a frustrated young man from the North East, with a troubled past and violent thoughts inside his head. He claims he has discovered the power of invisibility. But Griffin’s ‘powers’ have led to him being placed into government care. After all, a normal, ill-educated kid can’t just invent invisibility. Even Dr Sara Kemp, a promising young therapist, can’t convince him to tell the truth about his talent. Griffin is thrown into a downward spiral of anger and eventually into a fatal ‘reign of terror.’

Throughout the year, Northern Stage will also work with English Touring Theatre to explore the stories and colonial past embedded in the city’s architecture.

“We’re serious about our commitment to being anti-racist,” Natalie Ibu says, “and we want to hold space for the city and this region to think and talk about its colonial past, so we will be working with English Touring theatre and North East artists throughout the year to explore what that means. Watch this space.”

Northern Stage is also working with Vici Wreford-Sinnot from disabled-led theatre company Little Cog to make the new programme as accessible as possible. This will include captions, audio description, BSL at live events, content warnings and relaxed approaches to the programme and time frames for workshops.

“It’s vital that theatre companies and venues take creative experimentation to their hearts as we navigate unknown territories in the future of theatre," said Wreford-Sinnot, "and that we think about everyone in our audiences. Northern Stage’s bold programme is an exciting, rich adventure into what is possible when we include everyone. I’m delighted to work with them, as we let them come into our homes, as accessibly as possible.”

You can find all the details of all three sections of the season on the Northern Stage web site. Many are free to download but some require a small payment.

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