News – Beacon for the east

A new framework for the delivery of theatre provision for children and young people has been created in the East of England, in response to the findings of an independent review of provision in the region, commissioned by Arts Council England, East (ACEE). From April, a new organisation, with the working title Vertical Horizons, will become a beacon organisation with responsibility for the strategic development, commissioning, creation and distribution of theatre for children and young people across the region.
The company has been set up by Tim Freathy, Stuart Mullins and Gill Bloomfield from Snap Theatre Company, which was one of two organisations facing the prospect of closure. Stuart Mullins said, In partnership with our stakeholders, regional producers and the young people of the East of England our intervention will invigorate a regional ecology of theatre makers for young people&. The new organisation will work across the six counties of the East of England, though its base location has yet to be decided. It will be supported by ACEE with additional investment from Hertfordshire County Council. Tiebreak Theatre, which announced last year that the new beacon organisations remit would require an ethos and way of working substantially different to its own, has lost its core funding as a result of the new framework. Its board has taken the decision to close when its spring tour closes on 2 April.