Positive Stories For Negative Times Offers Schools Chance To Perform New Plays By Top Playwrights This Summer

Wonder Fools in association with Traverse Theatre, Ayr Gaiety, Eden Court, Perth Theatre and Youth Theatre Arts Scotland with plays co-commissioned by Wonder Fools and Traverse Theatre present Positive Stories for Negative Times: Season Three

The flagship youth theatre programme launches its third season and celebrates its previous iterations in person at the Traverse Theatre

Positive Stories for Negative Times Festival Launch: Sunday 12 February 2023, 3-5pm, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Sign ups for the Positive Stories Festival closes Friday 17 February 2023 via www.positivestories.scot/sign-up

"It is a clever idea, the plays - judging by the extracts - are brilliant, and the way care is being taken to involve isolated, vulnerable and marginalised groups is laudable." - The Herald on Positive Stories for Negative Times: Season One

Critically acclaimed theatre company Wonder Fools launch the third season of their innovative participatory programme, Positive Stories for Negative Times with a highly interactive launch event at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh on Sunday 12 February from 3-5pm.

The launch event, curated by the Wonder Fools Youth Board, is aimed at anyone involved in previous Positive Stories seasons, those already signed up to participate in Season 3 or curious about what this summer's Positive Stories Festivals will look like before sign-ups close on Friday 17 February.

Any group of young people between 8 and 25 years of age can sign up to Positive Stories, and no experience of drama is necessary. Groups can participate remotely or in person via one of Wonder Fools' regional hubs. Sign ups to participate in one of the four Positive Stories Festivals close on Friday February 17 2023, whilst those wanting to participate remotely are able to sign up until Friday May 26 2023.

The two-hour launch event at the Traverse, curated by the Wonder Fools youth board, will celebrate previous seasons of Positive Stories for Negative Times live with performances, Q+As with a selection of the playwrights involved in Season Three of Positive Stories including Tim Crouch, Robert Softley-Gale, Sara Shaarawi, Leyla Josephine and Lewis Hetherington, as well as a chance to meet other groups of young people who have signed up to the programme and speak to the Positive Stories team before the Festival sign-up deadline.

For the very first time, Season Three of Positive Stories will bring their young participants together for a series of festivals in Edinburgh, Ayr, Inverness and Perth over Summer 2023, in association with Youth Theatre Arts Scotland. Each festival weekend will feature six performances and bring together young people from across Scotland to perform, meet and share their creative interests on their local stage. The weekends will feature workshops on the day for the youth groups involved, and a chance for friends and family to see performances in the evening at each location.

Teaming up with some of the UK's most brilliant theatrical minds, the third season of Positive Stories for Negative Times, includes texts from award-winners artist and writer Bryony Kimmings, poet, screenwriter and performer Leyla Josephine, and a collaboration between playful physical theatre ensemble ThePappyShow and acclaimed writer, director and performance-maker Lewis Hetherington. Wonder Fools and Traverse Theatre have co-commissioned an exuberant series of new works for young people to be inspired by and create their own art from. Whether youth groups choose to stage these plays or simply use them as a stimulus for other forms of expression (an art exhibition, podcast, short film), all involvement is celebrated and shared on the project's website.

Throughout the previous seasons of the programme, 16 new pieces of writing have been created and over 7000 young people have taken part. Participants have come from 16 different countries, including South Africa, India, USA, Canada, Italy and Sweden. Previous playwrights include Stef Smith, Douglas Maxwell, writer/deviser Chris Thorpe and writer/poets Hannah Lavery and Sabrina Mahfouz as well as Wonder Fools' very own Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse.

Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse of Wonder Fools said: "We couldn't be happier to be working with such a brilliant selection of artists including some of our favourite voices in the UK today on the next season of Positive Stories for Negative Times. All six of the works featured are all really different, but speak to a huge range of issues that young people are trying to navigate today.

"We have been blown away by the success of the project so far and we're all excited to see what comes of it a third time around. This season is the most ambitious yet and we are thrilled to be working with four brilliant partner venues to bring young people together in person to celebrate their work and meet each other at the four new festivals taking place next summer. We can't wait to see the community of people involved in the project grow, but more importantly we hope it continues to provide a platform for young people to connect, create, inspire and celebrate each other."

Bryony Kimmings, author of Revolting, said: "The best thing about being part of this collection of works is that access to the plays is free! Young people are the key to saving this planet... if I can inspire them to take a stand and change things that aren't right,then my job as an activist writer is working!"

Outreach Producer at Perth Theatre, Katie Mitchell, said: "We are super excited for Perth Theatre to be a host venue for this brilliant festival from our friends and Wonder Fools. We can't wait to see what the young people of Tayside can bring to our stages this summer. Perth Youth Theatre have loved being involved in the previous Positive Stories for Negative Times and we are looking forward to sharing this experience with them again."

Linda Crooks, Traverse Theatre Executive Producer said: "We are delighted to be working in association with Wonder Fools on this extraordinary project for the third year, and are thrilled to see it continuing to grow and connect with more participants around the world. We are thankful to our co-commissioned playwrights for creating pieces which are so inspiring, challenging - and above all, great fun for all those involved, including audiences! We're looking forward to seeing the brilliant work of this year's participants across all of the partner venues' festivals, and getting an exciting look into the next generation of creative talent."

Sophie Jacome, Wonder Fools Youth Board Member, said: "I am just so continuously impressed by the heart and values at the core of Wonder Fools, everyone who is a part of WF or works with you has been so lovely, every production and project seems to hang on questions of story and accessibility, and I can't think of a single other company whose name is so synonymous with fun and hope. No one else is doing theatre like you guys and the impact you have in people's lives is huge. Just, thank you."

Plays co-commissioned by Wonder Fools and Traverse Theatre. Supported by Creative Scotland.

For Wonder Fools

Co-Founder Robbie Gordon

Co-Founder Jack Nurse

Executive Producer Steph Connell

Positive Stories for Negative Times: Season Three texts:

Tim Crouch - Are You a Robot?

Sara Shaarawi - The Day the Stampers United

ThePappyShow & Lewis Hetherington - Thanks For Nothing

Bryony Kimmings - Revolting

Robert Softley Gale - And The Name for That Is...?

Leyla Josephine - Ms Campbell's Class Fifth Period

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