Black Theatre Live and Stratford Circus Arts Centre to Tour BIG FOOT

With grime music and Guyanese folk stories, Joseph Barnes-Phillip's semi-autobiographical story is a comic, tragic and honest portrayal of becoming a man. The story follows Rayleigh as he negotiates the tensions of growing up and taking responsibility: to his pregnant girlfriend, to his sick mother, to his church, to the multi-cultural community he grew up in and somewhere in the mix to himself. The show has been created by HighRise Theatre to be the sixth touring production for consortium Black Theatre Live.

When the euphoric highs of teenage life in south London collide with his mum's terminal illness, all Rayleigh wants to do it watch anime in his pants and eat indomie. Love, life and masculinity meet head-on as Rayleigh tries to find his feet, torn between the new girl in his life and being there for his mum, while trying not to make the same mistakes as his dad.

Big Foot follows Black Theatre Live's all-black Hamlet, new play She Called Me Mother, one-woman show The Diary of a Hounslow Girl, Inua Ellam's An Evening with an Immigrant and Macbeth. The show will tour the consortium's eight venues across England, which have come together to commission and showcase excellent theatre of BAME companies. HighRise's show was selected from a range of productions by emerging artists put forward by the venues: Big Foot was championed by Stratford Circus Arts Centre.

HighRise Theatre is a collective of diverse artists with family roots that span five continents, resulting in an eclectic and dynamic approach when telling stories, keeping an ear to the street and the communities they work in. Their work has included collaborations with Arts Council England, CHICKENSHED, London Bubble, Tangled Feet, Oval House, The Yard, artsdepot, CONEY, MUJU, Fun Palaces, Croydon Council, BAC and many more. They will appear at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with The Concrete Jungle Book.

Black Theatre Live is a pioneering national consortium of eight regional theatres led by Tara Arts, committed to effecting change for BAME touring theatre through a sustainable three­year programme of national touring, structural support and audience development. Black Theatre Live is a partnership of Tara Arts, Derby Theatre, Queen's Hall Arts (Hexham), the Lighthouse (Poole), Theatre Royal Bury St. Edmunds, Theatre Royal Margate, Stratford Circus Arts Centre (London) and Key Theatre (Peterborough). Black Theatre Live works with emerging and established BAME companies across England to commission and tour high quality productions to the consortia theatres. The structured audience development and community engagement programmes will include live digital streaming and cinema relay.

Stratford Circus Arts Centre provides world-class, accessible creative experiences and performances on the doorstep of people in Newham and East London, driven by the belief that access to art brings joy, empowers people, and draws them together.Stratford Circus Arts Centre is a vibrant place to create and experience art through world-class theatre, dance, music and circus and visual exhibitions, with work for families and young people.Its extensive creative learning programme works with local schools and community organisations to introduce local people to artistic experiences through workshops and bespoke creative projects.A modern and versatile building, it receives more than 125,000 visits a year and is a key resource for the local community. Stratford Circus Arts Centre is a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England and a registered charity.

@blacktlive | www.blacktheatrelive.co.uk

@StratfordCircus | stratford-circus.com

@HighRise_UK | www.highrisetheatre.com

Black Theatre Live is supported by Arts Council England, Esmee Fairnbarin Foundation, John Ellerman Foundation and the Ernest Cook Trust.

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