Guest Blog: 'It is So Exciting to See a Theatre Company Doing Something Radical': Rob Drummer and Cherry Eckel of Boundless Theatre Talk Exciting Future Plans

Rob: At Boundless we put a lot of energy into finding all the ways to work with 15-25-year-olds and central to those efforts are the 20 Advisory Group members who keep us honest, scrutinise our thinking and co-create a wide range of work.

When thinking about the next 12 months and putting together some thoughts for readers of BroadwayWorld it felt like a great opportunity to introduce Cherry, one of our longest standing members of the Advisory Group. Below in Cherry's own words are some of the many ways Boundless works with our community and the perfect context for our 2023/24 plans which I'll introduce at the end of this piece.

Cherry: I first came into contact with Boundless in 2017 when they were looking for young actors for a read-through of a play. It was my first ever paid theatre gig which (while maybe shallow) was so incredibly affirming. I was a naive 16-year-old absolutely desperate to work in theatre with no idea of how to do so. Over the next few months, I regularly emailed/bothered Boundless Artistic Director Rob until he suggested that I put my eagerness to good use and join the Advisory Group.

I had never encountered something like the Advisory Group before. Being met with a theatre company that not only let me in the door but was keen for me to stick around and voice my opinion was a revelation. Over my time in the group, I have had some incredible experiences; taking part in meetings, discussions and panels, learning to code, travelling to a small city in Germany to build a larger-than-life size origami horse. What I feel has been the most invaluable has been the unending support.

Boundless has been one of the most significant factors in my development as a creative and I can confidently say I would not be where I am without them. So often we hear of 'unprecedented times' but it is so exciting to see a theatre company doing something radical to aid the issues facing the creative sector and emerging creatives especially.

Rob: Over the next 12 months we're going to be working in more places and with more young adults than ever before. We'll be supporting the theatre-making of even more early career artists and changing our leadership structure to explore how power can be dismantled and then reassembled in entirely new ways. Cherry and other members of our community have already played a huge role in shaping these plans and we can't wait to set new ambitious goals for how our work impacts 15-25-year-olds across the UK.

Right now we're recruiting for two new Co-Leaders at Boundless as part of a two year process of reimagining the leadership roles at the company. Our new Co-Artistic Director/CEO and Co-Executive Director will be aged 18-25 and through an equitable job share taking responsibility for the organisation. We hope that this new way of working will inspire others to accelerate the careers of young people in the arts and can't wait to share our findings.

This summer we'll be in Croydon, Leicester and Lambeth with Boundless Boxes. This flexible, temporary structure designed by architects U-Build and co-created with early career theatre makers and young adults will provide much needed physical space for creative activity and cultural engagement. All programmed by our community and designed to go wherever it is needed, this is a major new exploration of how teenagers and young adults can create their own space and I hope in turn have massive benefits to creative careers and personal wellbeing.

Seeing Cherry grow with us at Boundless has been deeply inspiring and I can't wait to create space with the Boundless team, our Advisory Group and the wider community for so many more people to connect around powerful cultural and creative experiences.

For more information on Boundless Theatre, click here.

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