Pop-Up Theatre
Established 1982
How it all began?
Michael Dalton and the late Penny Bernand of Theatre Rites fame, produced a one-person show for under-fives using a mechanical table-top set. Amazement at the ways it communicated spurred growth. The age ranges extended to include adults, there were exciting collaborations, stirring writers and the ?Equal Voice? programme.
Pivotal moments
? 1985 ? our first grant from GLA. Tiny, but it said ?carry on?.
? 1991 ? ?Equal Voice?, focusing on emotional well-being, for professionals working with young people, especially youth perceived as being on the edges of our system.
? 2000 ? having Gerry Robinson call us ?the hottest property in children?s theatre?
The organisation today
? New plays from David Almond, Michael Punter touring to theatres, arts centres and schools. Thrilling collaborations for our Seven Sins cross-media touring project. ?Equal Voice? funded as a resource for London and in the Czech Republic. Making theatres child-friendly with our ?First Impressions? design resources.
A big thank you to?
Penny Bernand for all her towering work; funders for their vision and support in letting small grow big; and our board for voluntarily suffering the growing pains.
Celebration events planned
Christmas is a four-week run at Theatre Royal Plymouth (also just 21) and four weeks of our first Dutch play at Theater Haarlem (even older). We?re presenting a new film with excluded young people and hope to combine that with a big party. http://www.pop-up.net will have details.