Derby Theatre To Present WELFARE Beginning This September

This autumn, Derby Theatre's big main house production will be WELFARE, the story of The Derbyshire Miners' Holiday Camp, a new play by Abi Zakarian, directed by Sarah Brigham and featuring Derwent Brass....a play which promises a great night out, bingo, brass bands and a theatrical vacation like no other!

WELFARE, written by award-winning British-Armenian playwright, Abi Zakarian; born and bred in Derbyshire to a family of miners, will see the theatre transformed into the site of The Derbyshire Miners' Holiday Camp in Skegness, where miners went to convalesce, and later to holiday, as it was turned into a pioneering holiday camp for Derbyshire miners and their families.

WELFARE will take audiences on a trip through the decades as we follow the fortunes of the camp through the highs and lows of history; meeting a family across the generations and exploring how time and change affects communities and individuals alike.

The Derbyshire Miners Holiday Camp was opened in 1939 and was the blueprint of the holiday camps we have today. It was seen as a pioneering venture and was part of a broad range of welfare benefits enabling miners and their families to have a week's holiday by the sea, many for the first time. WELFARE pays homage to the camp and is funny, touching and nostalgic, a play perfect for basking in precious holiday memories spent by the seaside where audiences can expect brass bands, rousing speeches, entertainment and a whole load of bingo!

Sarah Brigham (Director of WELFARE and Artistic Director and CEO, Derby Theatre) said:
"The Derbyshire Miners Holiday Camp was a pioneering part of a broad range of welfare benefits provided by the National Miners' Welfare Scheme established in the 1920s. 2024 is the 40th anniversary of the Miners' Strike and in the grips of a cost of living crisis where zero hour contracts mean holidays are scarce for many, and welfare is not a right, it feels apt to commission a play from award-winning British- Armenian playwright, Abi Zakarian who was born and raised in Derby to a family of miners, on the history and impact of this simple act of social equity.

The play began with conversations with local people on their memories of the camp - from songs to bingo, to marriage proposals to kicking back with a Babycham, the stories infused our thinking when developing this production. As did Abi's own family history and what we have ended with is a story of one family through the ages and how the camp impacted on them in every decade. From being a place of refuge for Hungarians fleeing the uprising in the 1950s, to a home where miners could let loose and enjoy their well-earned time off, the camp is rich in stories and I'm looking forward to digging into them with the company when rehearsals start this month."

We are delighted to have assembled a stellar cast and creative team for WELFARE. The cast includes: Olivia Egbunike (The Little Mermaid for Garry Starr Creative; Help! There's an Elf in my House and Fairy Finders for Scratchbuilt Productions; Indestructible for Proteus Theatre); Mya Fox-Scott (Standing at the Sky's Edge for The National Theatre and Peter Pan - A New Pantomime Adventure for Little Wolf Entertainment); Tiana Maria Harrison (a recent graduate who hails from Derbyshire with drama school credits including Sweet Charity and The Rocky Horror Picture Show); John Holt Roberts (Robin Hood and The Major Oak, The Wind in the Willows, Kes, Alice in Wonderland and The Gingerbread Man for Derby Theatre); Oraine Johnson (Robin Hood and The Major Oak, Treasure Island, The Jungle Book and One Man, Two Guvnors for Derby Theatre and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for Torch Theatre); Jo Mousley (Brassed Off and TWO for Derby Theatre, Nine Night, Be My Baby, Hamlet and A Christmas Carol for Leeds Playhouse, Electric Rosary and Today the Streets Are Ours for The Royal Exchange in Manchester, Helen for Theatre 503, plus Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and Coronation Street for TV); Ivan Stott (Romeo and Juliet for Stafford Shakespeare Festival 2022), Three Billy Goats Gruff, The Wind in The Willows, Extra Time, One Man Two Guvnors, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Jungle Book, Look Back in Anger, Pinocchio, The Odyssey, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Gingerbread Man (Derby Theatre) A Boy and a Bear in a Boat (Spark Arts) Aladdin, Cinderella, The Snow Queen (West Yorkshire Playhouse) Hansel and Gretel (Dundee Rep); Andrew Westfield (Kes for Derby Theatre, Stand Up, Stand Up! for Theatre Royal Wakefield and tour, Henry IV Part I & II, Richard II and Henry V for the RSC at the Barbican, China and BAM, plus Coronation Street, Grantchester and Doctors for TV); Rhys Wild (Foxhole for Fortuna Pictures Ltd. and Zog Live UK Tour for Freckle Productions) and Hanna Winter (Crazy Chickens, Divas and Piranas and Banas for Clowns Without Borders and Snowflake for Winter Theatre).

The WELFARE creative team includes: Abi Zakarian (writer); Sarah Brigham (Director); Neil Irish (Designer); Kelvin Towse (Musical Director and Sound Designer); Laura Ryder (Assistant Director); Arnim Friess (Lighting Designer); Jon Beney (Movement Director); Anita Gilbert (Voice Coach) and Ellie Collyer-Bristow CDG (Casting Director).

Joining the professional cast of actors will be a community company of performers including: Charlotte Bennett, Jo Blackwood, Samantha Bosworth, Ali Bramwell, Gregory Butler, Esme Carpenter, Candice Condon, Philip Cox, Kal Dhindsa, Drew Green, Bry Griffiths, Alfie Handford, Abena Halliday-Fox, Adrees Hussain, Assis Jabang, Shannon John, Olivia Kenyon, Luci Mahon, Bwalya Mulenga, Jeremy Nelson, Andi Parkin, Jennifer Salt, Heather Slonimski, Georgia Snyders, Iyisha Williams, Kirsty Williams and Marnie Wilson.

Enhance your holiday experience with on-stage seating and fish and chips
To really get you into the holiday camp feel and spirit, get ready for an immersive and unforgettable theatre experience with our exclusive on-stage seating and fish and chips.

Our on-stage seating offers audience members the chance to get up close and personal to the action by sitting on stage right up next to the action. Tickets are £35 which includes your seats, plus a drink and savoury snack. These exclusive seats are limited, so early booking is strongly recommended.

Fish and chips - savour the flavours of the British classic fish and chips as part of your WELFARE experience, with a choice between fish, chips and mushy peas for £7.50 per person, or a vegan/vegetarian-friendly options of chips and mushy peas for £5.45 per person.

Featuring the powerful sounds of Derwent Brass, WELFARE promises to be a profound and captivating journey through the history of the Derbyshire Miners' Holiday Camp in Skegness.

Tickets and how to book

Tickets range from £15 - £35, Friends receive 50% off preview performances (and £5 off all other performances), schools £12.50. To book, simply call the Derby Theatre Box Office on 01332 593939 or you can book online at www.derbytheatre.co.uk.

Access performances

BSL interpreted performance - Wed 9 Oct, 7.30pm
Dementia-Friendly performance - Thu 10 Oct, 2.30pm
Captioned performance - Thu 10 Oct, 7.30pm
Audio described performances - Thu 3 Oct, 2.30pm & Sat 5 Oct, 2.30pm

For more information and WELFARE updates, including casting information, trailers, photos, holiday memories and more, visit the Derby Theatre website here: Welfare - Derby Theatre.

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