Guest Blog: YOU ME BUM BUM TRAIN's Morgan Lloyd On Supporting War Child's Emergency Coronavirus Crowdfunder

You Me Bum Bum Train (YMBBT) is a very personal show, focused entirely around one audience member who travels alone through a series of scenes and experiences. The less that person knows what to expect, the more 'in the moment' they are and the more authentic their experience will be. For this reason, we keep a very low profile and have a very unusual yet refreshing marketing approach: say nothing, swear everyone involved to secrecy, don't focus on promotion, just protect the experience for future audience members.

As artists, Kate and I are only too happy to work like this. So many things don't live up to their hype, so we would rather let the experience speak for itself. Despite the 'Willy Wonka gates' being closed, we are regularly contacted by corporate companies who would like to meet with us and talk about how to make profitable immersive ventures. We seldom stray from producing our own independent shows, but when War Child Global Ambassador Vanessa Kirby and War Child advocate Ben Caron reached out to us to see if we would be interested in working with them, we felt drawn to find out more.

Kate and I met with the CEO of War Child UK, and within five minutes were already committed to wanting to raise funds for the charity and awareness of its work. He spoke about what War Child was doing, how it began, and their work with children and families in conflict areas all over the world. Kate and I have always felt passionate about the injustice of war, so when the charity spoke about how they reunite families who have been separated by conflict, and how they provide long-term support through education and psychosocial support rather than just aid, our hearts were in.

We were very fortunate to accompany the charity on a field trip to northern Iraq. We found the injustices experienced by those we met overwhelming, and it left us feeling powerless - an emotion humanitarian workers face regularly. But we saw firsthand how much the lives of those in the camps could be so dramatically improved. The War Child staff on the ground engaged with them in such a meaningful way; they inspired us with the level of care and professionalism they showed. The children we spoke to in the programme had such hope for their futures, a central aspect of War Child's work.

Our own experience of the Coronavirus pandemic has been frightening enough. But for those displaced or refugees in circumstances much worse than our own, going through this without a health care system is a terrifying prospect. When War Child told us they were doing an Emergency Coronavirus Crowdfunder, we were very keen to help in any way we could. In addition to donating goody bags brimming with signed YMBBT merchandise, we have also donated our expertise in the form of a two-day workshop on creativity, a two-hour, behind-the-scenes YMBBT lecture on Zoom, and dinner with ourselves as YMBBT creators. We are really excited to have created these opportunities for direct contact with those who support us and appreciate what we do.

The format of the show with one audience member to many cast feels like a kindness and a privilege for each audience member. In the past, we have had hundreds of performers featuring as extras in a scene to help convince them of that reality. This has only been possible because volunteers want to make these scenes impactful for an anonymous audience member. There has always been a spirit of giving in our shows and the reward for the people making it is the impact these scenes have on the audience.

We have engaged all sorts of groups in our volunteer community, provided training, and raised money for charities including Against Malaria, Water Aid, Standing Voice and Freedom from Torture. It seems fitting for us to help these causes because our show is a humanistic venture. This is evident in the themes of compassion in its content, the training and skilling of volunteers, and its ability to raise funds and awareness of humanitarian charities. Contributing to War Child's Coronavirus Crowdfunder with 'experiences' for us feels like a fitting donation for a very important and worthy cause.

War Child's Emergency Coronavirus Crowdfunder runs until 1 September. To find out more, visit warchildcrowdfunder.co.uk

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