Theatre Company Wonder Fools, whose aim is to present lost, unknown and forgotten stories in theatrical form, present a version of award winning performance artist Bryony Kimmings’ Revolting played by a group of young theatre-makers.
For one night only at the Traverse, Scotland’s new writing theatre, young people from fifteen different locations across Scotland will come together to present this piece that is part of the Season Two programme of Positive Stories for Negative Times. Having worked remotely on dramaturg work, the company come together in a physical space for the first time to bring the piece into a live work.
Positive Stories for Negative Times launched as a first season in August 2020 as part of the digital Traverse Festival Programme, having been created as a direct response to the lack of physical spaces for young people to participate in performance and the detrimental impact of that on their mental health and wellbeing. The number of participants rose to 2,607 young people and 282 groups ranging from the Outer Hebrides to Madrid; York to Quebec who performed the first season’s plays making way for a new raft of artists and groups to get involved later this summer.
Season Two, aimed at engaging an even broader network of people aged between 6 and 25 was created with a focus on coming together, embarking on new processes and changing the way people think about theatre for young people. Wonder Fools and the Traverse Theatre once again co-commissioned a new group of the UK’s most prominent artists, including Bryony Kimmings, to create new work relevant to the here and now, that acted as stimulus for creative projects for young people around the world. Participating groups were based in the UK and beyond with countries such as India, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and the USA taking part.
Wonder Fools said “The Positive Stories Youth Board was created to make sure that young people had a voice within the theatre landscape and specifically within the commissioning of new plays; from working with writers on early ideas to dramaturging the plays.”
Submissions for Season One of Positive Stories for Negative Times are still available to watch on the project website.
Revolting plays in Traverse 1 on Friday 22nd April at 7.30pm.
In line with the company’s ethos of making theatre accessible for all, tickets are £5, with a concession price of £3.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 