Working together...

Our upcoming production of Sugar Daddies opened in Harrogate last Friday and will be coming to the Oldham next Tuesday 12 March. This is another fantastically acute social comedy from Alan Ayckbourn – the master of making light of social awkwardness.

The show rehearsed here during February and then up sticks to Harrogate to for the first week of performances and then you’ll get to see it next week. Sugar Daddies is another of our co-productions; this time Harrogate Theatre which is why it’s being performed at their venue as well.

Co-productions are a fantastic way of working with other theatres and the Coliseum has a long history of co-producing plays with theatres across the country. Recent collaborations include A Passionate Woman with New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, The Glass Menagerie with New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme and The Hound of the Baskervilles tour which we produced with the show's designers imitating the dog.

Collaboration has huge amount of benefits for all companies involved and is something that has become more and more popular in the wake of funding cuts to the arts industry. The clear advantage of a co-production is the sharing of costs without compromising the quality - which can only be a positive thing.

Harrogate Theatre used to be a producing rep theatre company but like many other organisations have had to adapt the way they work in reaction to the changing industry. It is now mainly a receiving theatre meaning it only programmes tours and one night events that aren’t produced by the theatre themselves – i.e. receiving the productions. They do produce an annual pantomime but being part of a co-production allows them the chance to be part of the creative process for different types of shows.

We will also get the chance to share resources, both theatres or companies will be working towards the same goal – to produce and sell a high quality play. The two different education and outreach teams will work together on the workshops and additional activities that will accompany the production, marketing teams will share ideas about how to promote the show and the production team will be sharing items such as props to be part of the set design.

This sharing of creative thinking is such a great asset to the theatre and companies who collaborate. It’s important to learn how other companies approach the whole process and take away different aspects that could be applied to the Coliseum.

See you at the theatre.

Kevin Shaw
Artistic Director