Applied Theatre Podcast

Episode 04 - Deborah Pakkar Hull (The Blahs)

I was joined by Deborah Pakkar-Hull, Artistic Director of Blah Blah Blah Theatre Company, Leeds. ( https://www.blahs.co.uk/ )

' Theatre Company Blah Blah Blah has 34 years’ experience creating high-quality participatory theatre with and for children and young people, their parents/carers and teachers. We work with multi-skilled artists and award-winning writers to explore stories that are complex, engaging and have contemporary relevance; performing in schools, theatres, community settings and museums.'

The Blahs company statement is 'Exploring Stories, not Just Telling Them!'. I was fortunate enough to speak with Deborah and unpick the companies process when creating work for Theatres, Schools and Communities. We discussed their most recent performance 'The Vultures' Song', which is available to watch here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2CbApty2xs . Deborah spoke about the need for Theatre Companies to develop regional and national partnerships, collaborating with schools, community organisations and establishing city-wide cultural partners. The Blahs plan to launch two new projects in 2021 'Stirring up The Past' and 'Gorilla Gardening' information about which can be found via their website https://www.blahs.co.uk/ .Thank you Deborah for your time.

Keiren & I interviewed Philip Morris about their experiences producing and facilitating ‘The Lightpost Comany’ during their time working for Birmingham Rep. We then spoke to Philip about his career to date and his journey from a graduate to now working for Young Vic.

Thank you to both Keiren and Philip.

The Lightpost Project. -

"The aim was simply to create a safe space where young Black men could feel acknowledged, listened to and celebrated. We had wished something like this had existed when we were younger so it only felt right to seize the opportunity and do so." - Philip Morris

"The joy of Black men couldn't always be seen through all the stigma and stereotypes, we wanted Lightpost to be a place for them to see it in each other and themselves" - Keiren Hamilton-Amos

Successfully receiving funding from MIND, at the end of the two years Philip felt that there was a real need for a young Black male theatre group. He wanted to run something that would continue beyond a limited time frame and create a group where the devised work reflected who they were. Above all, he wanted to form a brotherhood that could and would always support each other.

After securing a permanent job as Youth Theatre Director at The REP, Philip (with support of his best friend Keiren Hamilton-Amos) began a theatre group of young Black men, creating theatre in a rehearsal room.

Following the success of the 'Up My Street' pilot, the project partners successfully secured significant funding from the Lottery Community Fund for a 3 year programme called 'Shifting The Dial'. The project is a unique partnership between The REP, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust, First Class Legacy and the Centre For Mental Health.

Shifting The Dial funding enabled Philip to develop his theatre group intoLightpost Theatre Company - an incredible training ground, but also a safe space to develop confidence and resilience. Performing in shows that actively challenge social stigmas, and ideas associated with young Black men, the group used theatre as a gateway to create new plays of social and historical context. Lightpost remain a key element of the Shifting The Dial project.

The impact that Lightpost has had on The REP is immeasurable, performing work to national decision makers and commissioners in theatres and at conferences. Not only that, their alumni have gone onto many things, from becoming actors and writers to going to University or working in different sectors, but one thing remains, they have a brotherhood forever.

Today, the group continues to evolve, but it started with 2 young Black men wanting to create theatre, make change and provide support and mentorship to young Black men in the West Midlands.

With Philip'svision, Keiren's experience and their combined hard work, the Lightpost baton has been passed onto the next generation of Black male theatre makers (CJ Lloyd Webley & Mathias André), leading Lightpost into a new iteration. - Courtesy of Birmingham Rep. - https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/news/in-the-spotlight-with-madeleine-kludje.html

To find out more about ‘The Lightpost Company’ please visit:

https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/get-involved/youth-theatre/

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Ava & I caught up to discuss her Verbatim practice and MA in Applied Theatre at Derby University.

'Ava Hunt is a practitioner in theatre for young people and scholars at the University of Derby.

With a long career in acting in TV, film, and the corporate world, she also works as a director

and producer. She trained with Augusto Boal in Forum and Rainbow of Desire, worked with

Chris Johnston theatre in prison settings and with offenders, Dorothy Heathcote MBE in

Mantle of the Expert, and Dr Geoff Readman in-role practice.

Ava has published articles, is currently completing a PhD, and has toured internationally with

solo performance work including Acting Alone. She was Artistic Programmer for Hull Truck

and Associate Director for CAST, was co-founder of Tangere Arts with David Johnston, and

now runs her own production company focussing mainly on theatre with and for refugees.

She has worked internationally: Palestine, Sri Lanka, Russia, Czech Republic, Romania,

Australia, India, New Zealand, USA, Sweden, Norway, and Austria'.

Ava's Links:

- https://avahunt.co.uk/

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Applied Theatre Podcast - Episode 01 - Malcolm Jennings - The Playhouse.

I got the opportunity to speak with Malcolm regarding the skills required to create, manage and deliver Theatre in Education. We also discussed the trajectory of The Playhouse and the importance of drama/storytelling/creative learning in schools.

For more info:

https://www.theplayhouse.org.uk/

To support:

https://www.theplayhouse.org.uk/support-us

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