BALDERSBY PARK, TOPCLIFFE, NORTH YORKSHIRE | 28TH - 31ST JULY 2023
stand & be counted theatre in residence at Deer Shed Festival
STAND & BE COUNTED THEATRE IN RESIDENCE
An outdoor venue like Baldersby Park provides an amazing space to showcase the very best in contemporary theatre!
This summer we are thrilled to be named as Deer Shed Festival's first ever Theatre in Residence. We are the UK’s first and leading Theatre Company of Sanctuary, committed to making work with and for people seeking sanctuary (refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants).
We proudly sit at the intersection of arts, culture & social activism. Founded in 2010 with a passion for platforming the voices we need more of. Our work is adventurous and highly political, merging lived experience with new ideas. Art is activism and by changing hearts and minds, we can change policy too.
HAVE YOUR PASSPORT READY
Have Your Passport Ready is a virtual experience that puts the audience directly in the world of the UK's hostile environment.
Led by brothers Khaled and Mohammad Aljawad from Syria, now based in Sheffield, Have Your Passport Ready explores an unknown city without an interpreter as audiences become players collecting evidence to prove their right to remain.
This short film-meets-video game challenges the viewer to put themselves in Khaled and Mohammed's shoes as a means of changing the narrative on how we view immigration in the UK. Have Your Passport Ready was named ‘Game of the Week’ by The Observer, commissioned by Knaïve Theatre and supported by Arts Council England.
SOAP BOX COLLECTION
As if we weren't bringing enough content to showcase across the festival weekend, we’ll also be presenting Soap Box Collection too - our series of interactive photography exhibitions across our Soap Box and Young People Together programmes in Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield and Barnsley.
Soap Box Collection captures the passions and imaginations of our brilliant participants. Audiences can enjoy ‘Becoming Us’ made in partnership with the University of Sheffield and ‘My World, My Story’ supported by Leeds2023. They say an image can speak a thousand words, well this incredible co-created gallery of visual content speaks volumes.
SECRET SUMMER
SBC Theatre's headline show at Deer Shed is the interactive, multilingual story walk Secret Summer.
A co-created immersive theatre show made with members of our Youth Theatre of Sanctuary (refugee & asylum seeker children aged 3-15) alongside acclaimed Syrian writer Anan Tello, Secret Summer was commissioned by The Space and Theatre in the Mill, with funding from Arts Council England and support from The Montgomery Theatre.
A brand new, digital-meets-live immersive adventure, Secret Summer is available in English and Arabic and can be enjoyed by the whole family. Using unique geolocative technology, the binaural chapters are triggered as the audience immerse themselves in the secret world of Squirrel, Unicorn and The Beetles.
SANCTUARY BROADCAST CINEMA
SBC will present an hour of short films including documentaries, animations, music videos and digital performances made by members of our programmes for people seeking sanctuary of all ages.
Included in the exciting line-up is ‘Help Each Other!’ - a brand new, co-created short film created by ourYouth Theatre. of Sanctuary The group explore everything they have learned and lived through the Covid-19 pandemic. Children from across the globe, aged 3-15, who now call Sheffield home, share some big ideas and great advice to bring us all together, celebrate what we have and keep us safe today and in the future.
SANCTUARY ZONE
This year, alongside our Theatre in Residence, we have joined up with City of Sanctuary Leeds to provide a Sanctuary Zone onsite at the festival. It's a space for arts and craft as well as learning resources for young people on what it means to be a sanctuary seeker living in the UK.
This space will be run by those who have sought sanctuary in the UK, supported by numerous organisations from Leeds who are part of the City of Sanctuary network. For many on this project this will be the first time individuals have been to a music festival, so we are super excited to welcome the team to Deer Shed this year.