New Dance-Theatre Show SHED From Northern Rascals Will Have Wakefield and Salford Previews Before London Première

Shed is a new dance-theatre piece from the acclaimed, Yorkshire based multi-disciplinary company Northern Rascals. It uses digital art, spoken word and contemporary dance performance to raise awareness of the mental health issues young people face.

It will tour selected northern venues in 2023 and early 2024 including a London debut for the company and the première for the show at the capital's home of dance, The Place.

SHED is performed by a cast of four skilled dancers in an on-stage pop-up structure. It invites the audience to stand outside and look in as real-life experiences are told in a series of three linked shorts, each giving a different insight into the stories that make us. SHED is an engaging, ultimately uplifting, beautifully written and choreographed portrait of confused emotions, love and loss and the essential humanity that resides in us all.

Prior to the London date there will be performances at Capa College Wakefield (20 Oct) and New Adelphi Theatre Salford (25 Oct). The production will tour into 2024 with dates to be announced soon including Leeds' Riley Theatre on 27 January.

Co-Artistic Director and writer Anna Holmes said 'SHED was birthed in a period of social disconnection where our lives were linked through snippets on screens, in windows, through doors. These moments felt isolated and incredibly personal; they belonged to us, our lives and our four walls. Yet, when we regrouped with our creative collaborators and our community, we found that our stories were not singular but collectively shared. SHED is a response to that. Our hope is that our audiences will leave taking a part of SHED with them, perhaps a familiar story, or one that's unknown. SHED is rooted in the messy, complicated lives that we all live.'

SHED was created by Anna Holmes and Sam Ford, co-Artistic Directors of Northern Rascals. It is written by Anna Holmes, performed by Grace Ford, Flora Grant, Ed Mitchell and Soul Roberts with voice actors Lamin Touray, Brendan Barclay and Anna Holmes. Sam Ford is also currently a member of Rhiannon Faith Company.

Shed supported by Arts Council England, CAPA College, Northern Broadsides and York St John University.

Driven by social conscience, Northern Rascals was created by Holmes and Ford in 2017. The company uses theatre and contemporary dance to lead audiences to original narratives rooted in the current socio-political climate. Nationally recognised, the company is renowned for their coherent, moving and engaging pieces, creating raw yet poetic interpretations of today's world and the people that inhabit it. The London performance of SHED will be their debut in the capital.

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