Robbie Gordon – Co-founder
Robbie is a theatre-maker born in Prestonpans specialising in making work with and for communities. He trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduating in 2016 with the Drama in Education Award. He is the joint Artistic Director of Wonder Fools alongside Jack Nurse. And formerly the Creative Engagement Director at the Traverse Theatre and The Ayr Gaiety.
Jack Nurse – Co-founder
Jack is a director and theatre-maker. He co-founded Glasgow based theatre company Wonder Fools in 2014. Training at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the National Theatre Studio Directors’ Course, Jack has been an Origins Artist with Headlong, Creative Engagement Director at the Ayr Gaiety and staged work at the Almeida Theatre, Citizens Theatre and Traverse Theatre alongside his work with Wonder Fools.
Glasgow based theatre company, Wonder Fools, will be teaming up with the Traverse Theatre to launch the 4th iteration of their ground-breaking project Positive Stories for Negative Times (PSFNT) that will culminate in four major Youth Arts Festivals across Scotland in June and July 2025
Five of the UK’s newest voices in theatre, Ella Hickson, James Ley, Travis Alabanza, Mammalian Diving Reflex and young writer Hannah Low, have been commissioned to create new plays for and with young people aged between 6 and 25 in Scotland and around the world. Over the next year, the project will engage with over 3000 young people and 200 youth leaders nationally and internationally before culminating in the summer festivals.
Participants can be schools, drama groups, youth theatres or any group of young people with each group choosing one of the new plays and receive free professional support with workshops. They can perform the play in their local community or school, create digital responses or put themselves forward to perform at one of the festivals across the country, when 24 groups will be selected to perform across the four partner venues – five from the local area and one international group for each festival.
Wonder Fools said “The project started with conversations during lockdown with young people discussing what they wanted the future of youth theatre to look like. Little did we know that those chats would be the catalyst for creating one of the biggest and far-reaching projects of its kind, with 10,000 young people from 24 different countries participating. We are genuinely in awe. Anyone can get involved and stage a performance in their local community, and for 24 of the lucky companies, they’ll get to perform at one of our festivals across Scotland.”
In the last 3 years this international participatory project has engaged over 10,000 young people in 24 different countries and commissioned 22 new plays including Tim Crouch, Robert Softley Gale, Leyla Josephine, Bryony Kimmings, Hannah Lavery, Sabrina Mahfouz, Douglas Maxwell, The PappyShow with Lewis Hetherington, Sara Shaarawi, Stef Smith, Debris Stevenson, Chris Thorpe, Bea Webster, Wonder Fools and Traverse young writer Ellen Bannerman.
The project has reports of groups developing new skills new skills, had increased young people’s access to culture and allowed young people felt more comfortable participating in drama activities.
PSFNT is created and produced by Wonder Fools in association with the Traverse Theatre, Tron Theatre, Citizens Theatre, An Lanntair, Theatre Royal and Youth Theatre Arts Scotland.
Find out more about the project at www.positivestories.scot
2025 Festival dates:
Tron Theatre, Glasgow: 7th – 8th June
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh: 14th – 15th June
Theatre Royal Dumfries: 28th – 29th June
An Lanntair, Stornoway: 4th – 5th July
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 