Young Vic Theatre Announces New Work From Taking Part and The Creators Program

The Young Vic Theatre has announced brand new work from Taking Part and the Creators Program. 

MANTELPEACE is a free immersive exhibition from Taking Part providing an eye-opening glimpse into the worlds of young men growing up in London today (9 – 20 July); Annie Kershaw will direct an electrifying new production of Stef Smith's The Girl in the Machine as part of the Creators Programand Genesis Future Directors Award program (16 – 26 October), and Taking Part'sNeighbourhood Theatre launches The Collective, bringing together 50 artists to create an epic new show staged at the Young Vic in 2025.

Shereen Jasmin Phillips, Director of Taking Part, said: “Our new Taking Part projects promise to bring light and fun to the Young Vic. MANTELPEACE focusses on the joy of journeying through teenage years to manhood, creating a space where young men from our community can be brave, support each other, and build and share connections through illustration, music, sound and movement. The Collective will explore and redefine the co-creation of a show, utilising varied artistry from people's everyday lives in an epic new production showcasing that everyone has the potential to explore their creativity. Working with Lead Artist Adam Karim on MANTELPEACE and Director Michelle Payne on The Collective, I can't wait to see what all our participants will discover, create and curate for our audiences.”

 

Sue Emmas, Associate Artistic Director of the Young Vic said: “We are excited to be working with Annie Kershaw on Girl in the Machine, an exceptional play by Stef Smith.  We've been lucky enough to work with Annie as an assistant director and we're looking forward to collaborating with her as an artist as she continues her Young Vic journey.  With the valued and continuing support of the Genesis Foundation, Annie will realise her vision for this new production opening in the autumn.”

 

Taking Part, the Young Vic's Creative Engagement Department, works with young people, adults, schools, and the local community in Lambeth and Southwark, engaging with over 15,000 people a year and providing free tickets to all shows and free creative and artistic opportunities to participants. Taking Part's three strands, Learning, Participation, and Neighbourhood Theatre, create work that is the beating heart of the organisation.

 

The Young Vic's Creators Program for multi- and anti-disciplinary artists is the only scheme of its kind. Launched in 2001, and formerly known as the Directors Program, it offers artists and producers a unique opportunity to develop their craft through opportunities that range from trainee and assistant director roles to a two-year residency through the Genesis Fellow/Associate Director position. The Genesis Network provides an online community to over 2,500 artists and producers. Each year, the recipient of the Genesis Future Directors Award directs a show in the Clare Theatre with full support from the Young Vic team.

MANTELPEACE

A Taking Part Exhibition from Young Vic

Maria and Clare Theatre 
Tuesday 9 – Saturday 20 July

This summer get an eye-opening glimpse into the worlds of young men growing up in London today. MANTELPEACE is a free immersive exhibition that celebrates the transition from boyhood to manhood and breaks open the stereotypes of masculinity to embrace boundless possibilities. 

 

The exhibition will draw on the thoughts and experiences of young men in Lambeth and Southwark and is curated by a group of local Young Curators and Young Consultants, working with Lead Artist Adam Karim, Sound Designer and Composer Duramaney Kamara, Set Designer Finlay Jenner. With contributions from Untold Creative Training, Southwark Inclusive Learning Service, Arco Academy and Lansdowne School. Young Curators, Young Consultants and Guest Artists to be announced.

 

Adam Karim is a freelance theatre director and facilitator. As Donmar Warehouse's Resident Assistant Director '23, his credits include Clyde's, When Winston Went To War With The Wireless, Trouble In Butetown. Directing Credits include Platform (East15), Pressure Drop (Immediate Theatre), The Yard, Schools Tour. Second Person Narrative (RBSW / Clapham Omnibus). Other Assistant Directing includes: The P-Word (Bush Theatre), Sorry You're Not A Winner (Paines Plough).

 

Finlay Jenner is a performance designer and theatre maker from South London. He trained at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and was a 2023 recipient of The Linbury Prize.  He works across various fields of performance, including dance, opera, and diverse forms of theatre.  

 

Duramaney Kamara was born into a family of afro-jazz musicians, becoming infatuated with instruments, live music and production from a young age. Reggae, jazz and afro-beat continue to influence his composition, sound design and music production, in addition to hip hop and electronic influences. Duramaney is also a recording artist and producer who releases music under his indie label ‘BE FREE 888 REPERTOIRE'. Credits include; Shifters, August in England (Bush Theatre), Cinderella(Brixton House), Clyde's (Donmar Warehouse),Suckerpunch (Queens Theatre Hornchurch), Bootycandy (Gate Theatre), Anansi The Spider (Unicorn Theatre).  

Tickets for MANTELPEACE will be available later in the year.

Girl in the Machine

By Stef Smith
Directed by Annie Kershaw

Clare Theatre
Wednesday 16 – Saturday 26 October

Genesis Future Directors Award 2024 recipient Annie Kershaw brings an electrifying production of award-winning Stef Smith's Girl in the Machine to the Young Vic this autumn.

 

The gap is getting smaller between the human and the hardware.

 

Polly loves Rowen but lately that hasn't felt like enough. Then Rowen brings home the Black Box, with its promises to cure depression, and a flick of a switch changes everything. As Polly becomes more distant from the person she planned to share her life with, will her love for Rowen be enough to resist the draw of eternal bliss that the Black Box offers?

 

Annie Kershaw is currently the Carne Deputy Director at Jermyn Street Theatre. She was Associate Director on Best of Enemies in the West End after being the Jerwood Assistant Director of the Young Vic and Headlong co-production, as part of the Young Vic's Jerwood Assistant Director Programme, supported by Jerwood Arts. Her credits as Director include Hedda Gabler, Safe (Reading Rep); Light(Five Shorts at the Young Vic); It's A Flawed World After All (Flawstate); THIS IS NOT A PROTEST(Reading Thames Festival); Ulysses (Jermyn Street Theatre).

 

The Genesis Future Directors Award program is made possible by the Genesis Foundation and provides early-career directors with the opportunity to explore and develop their craft by creating their first fully resourced production at the Young Vic, with mentoring and support from the theatre's core artistic team. 

 

Girl in the Machine is designed by Khadija Raza, casting is by Jacob Sparrow. 

 

Tickets for Girl in the Machine are on sale today at www.youngvic.org

Neighbourhood Theatre Presents: The Collective

A Taking Part Project from Young Vic 

Neighbourhood Theatre is launching The Collective: 50 artists from Lambeth and Southwark who will create an epic new show from scratch which will be staged at the Young Vic in January 2025.  

Led by Director Michelle Payne and supported by creative consultants, members of the group will collaborate in learning key skills in devising, curation, design, and the building blocks to creating a show. 

The Collective is open to anyone who has been part of a Neighbourhood Theatre project or production in the past 5 years. It will be a multi-disciplinary group of 50 that reflect key moments in the creative process and aims to bring together people covering a range of artistic skills and interests, for example, anything from acting, writing, sound and lighting design to DJing, hairdressing, make-up artistry, baking, floristry and more. 

With commitment, community and collaboration as the central focus, the group will embark on this chapter with openness and creativity. At the start of the process, Taking Part will pose the question to The Collective: “What does co-creation look like when we interrogate the traditional conventions of making multi-disciplinary art that centers creative exploration and joy?”

Members of The Collective will be recruited through a series of workshops and will meet weekly for 8 months from June 2024. 

Michelle Payne was recipient of the Regional Theatre Young Directors’ Scheme, based at Mercury Theatre Colchester, and worked on Future Forms with The Donmar Warehouse. Directing credits include The Good Enough Mums Club (UK Tour); To Have & To Hold (The Bush/Mercury Theatre); Jess by Stephanie Silver (Digital Theatre); Find Me (VAULT Festival). Writer & director credits include Squad Goals (Dagenham & Redbridge FC); Full Circle (Brewery Fringe Festival, Best in Fringe 2019). Associate/Resident Director Credits include UK tours of The House With Chicken Legs, Bugsy Malone, Pigs Might Fly

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