Launch Of New Production Company Portsmouth Road Productions Announced

Today saw the announcement of production company, Blueleaf Theatre, relaunching under the new name Portsmouth Road Productions.

Originally founded by Marcus Marsh (he/him) in 2016, the company was focused on producing new pieces of work, collaborating closely with emerging writers. Previous productions included Mites (Tristan Bates Theatre), Hedgehogs & Porcupines (Old Red Lion Theatre) and That Moment (National Tour). The company had been dormant since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic with live performance opportunities limited and Marsh feeling the company was out of touch with the theatre industry.

"In a weird way I felt like the pandemic was a big wake up call. On reflection the work we were producing as a company wasn't doing enough, it wasn't representative of the the current world, it wasn't challenging or dynamic enough, it wasn't giving enough opportunities to emerging artists." He reflects.

This has seen the development of the Pathways programme alongside productions, providing a range of opportunities from workshops, mentorship schemes and 1-1 career advice for emerging artists.

"There are massive issues in the industry at the moment in regards to young and emerging artists coming through. Organisations are still recovering from lockdown, audience levels are still not at pre-pandemic levels, costs are high with current inflation rates, all these issues combined means that organisations can't afford to put their resources in programmes such as mentorship schemes. This is where I hope we can help, plugging the gap between coming out of education and into the industry, in whatever role whether that be a performer or a stage manager. "

Portsmouth Road Productions will be launching their Pathways Programme in July this year with events running across the summer while their first full production will be announced in the autumn. To sign up for alerts on opportunities sign up via the company's website here https://www.portsmouthroadproductions.com/contact .