Rural touring theatre returns this spring

Cheshire Rural Touring Arts, a partnership between Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cheshire East Council has launched the new Spring 2024 artistic programme taking place at various community venues across Cheshire.

Councillor Lisa Denson, Cabinet Member for A Fairer Future (Poverty, Public Health and Mental Health) said:

“Cheshire Rural Touring Arts return this Spring with another full programme with something for everyone. 

“From Shakespeare to Dickens, from Africa to Cornwall and from climate change to dance there are performances for all ages. Last season many shows sold out, so make sure to book your tickets before they’re gone.” 

Performance details and online booking is available on the CRTA website:

http://www.cheshireruraltouringarts.co.uk

Spring programme

‘Help! I think I’m a Nationalist’ by Seamas Carey.

Friday 18 March 8pm - Hoole Community Centre, CH2 3AP
Sunday 16 March 7.30pm - Audlem Scout and Guide Hall, CW3 0AL

A controversial, sell-out comedy show on identity, second homes, xenophobia, and bagpipes. Cornwall is at tipping point. House prices soar, the population shifts, gentrification sweeps through this rural town and tensions rise. Artist, Seamas Carey, wishes Cornwall was more welcoming and inclusive but watches ‘up-country’ money sew division and suspicion. Could closing borders and nationalism be the answer? Where’s the line between pride and power? What happens when it all goes too far? Seamas needs help, he needs your help.

(Suitable for 16+).

Club Origami by Seven Circles.

Friday 12 April 3pm - Tarvin Community Centre, CH3 8LY
Saturday 13 April 11am and 2pm - Theatre Porto, CH65 6QY
Sunday 14 April 3.30pm - Vicars Cross Community Centre, CH3 5LP

Rip, fold and scrumple. Dive into the magical world of Club Origami, an immersive and interactive dance show inviting family audiences to create, imagine and explore whole new ways of thinking, playing, and moving. Dance, fashion, and live music meet the magic of origami to sweep us up on a spirited and inspiring adventure in a land made purely of paper and play. A Rural Touring Dance Initiative production. Suitable for children aged 6 and under, and their families.

HAVISHAM by Heather Alexander

Friday 3 May 7.30pm - Tarvin Community Centre, CH3 8LY
Saturday 4 May 7.30pm - Kelsall Community Centre, CW6 0SB

A young woman arrives in London, it’s 1825. She is full of hope and ready to embrace a fresh start. However, she soon finds herself as ‘the leading lady in drama she can’t comprehend.’ The gaslighting is subtle, the manipulation slick. Can Miss Havisham discern her fate? Or is she destined to relive the devastation of her trauma?

“Powerful, tense, and heart-breaking” drama, HAVISHAM, offers a fresh perspective on Charles Dickens’ greatest gothic characterisation Miss Havisham from Great Expectations.
Suitable for adults and young people 11+.

Idlib by Storm in the North

Saturday 11 May 7.30pm - The Electric Picture House, CW12 1QN
Sunday 12 May 7.30pm - Vicars Cross Community Centre, CH3 5LP

We make bread, the Syrian way. We mix the ingredients, add water, wait for it to rise. We hear the story of a displaced Syrian woman. When the dough is ready, the room fills with the smell of freshly baked bread. We share it with our friends and neighbours and enjoy it with Syrian Meze and conversation. When in Turkey, writer Kevin Dyer (Theatre Porto) was told by a Syrian refugee, ‘Do not forget Syria’. With baking, and a thrilling story of hope, we keep the proud people of that country in our minds.

Suitable for 14+.

Your Bard by Nicholas Collett

Saturday 18 May 7pm - 1^st Weaverham Sea Scout Hall, CW8 3NJ
Sunday 19 May 7.30pm - The Five Villages Hall, CH1 6NT

Defending his authorship, Will Shakespeare, kicks down the pub door to confront Professor Nother, an academic who doesn’t believe Shakespeare wrote his own works. In this tell all, Shakespeare speaks his soul sharing tales of his life, family, and glory days at the Globe. You might well meet Christopher Marlow, Ned Alleyn and Queen Elizabeth I too.

Suitable for adults and young people 11+.

Right of Passage by Touki

Saturday 4 May 7.30pm - Plumley Village Hall, WA16 0TR
Sunday 5 May 3pm - Neston Town Hall, CH64 9TR
Friday 14 June 7.30pm - Little Sutton Library, CH66 1QQ
Saturday 15 June 7.30pm - Goostrey Village Hall, CW4 8EP

Touki (meaning “journey” in the Wolof language) is a tour de force in multi-instrumental musical exultation. Musicians, Amadou Diagne, and Cory Seznec joyously switch between kora (West African harp), banjos, guitars, percussion, and other instruments, deploying powerful beats, driving grooves, and silky voices that leap from East to West Africa and across to America. Their latest release draws together West African fables, personal stories and the social, economic, and political challenges facing both developing countries and western ones.
Suitable for all.

Rum Ragged

Saturday 1 June 7.30pm - Little Budworth Jubilee Hall, CW6 9BU
Sunday 2 June 7.30pm - Upton Village Hall, CH2 1HX

All the way from Canada, we have 2021 JUNO Award Nominees, Rum Ragged. This band share their bold, contemporary approach to the distinct folk music of their home, the Eastern Canadian Island of Newfoundland and Labrador. Boasting bouzouki, fiddle, bodhran, banjo, guitar, and button accordion, these new champions of East Coast music enliven and enlighten audiences. Always honest, thought-provoking, and often humorous, it’s Rum Ragged’s live show that makes them a fast favourite. Their combination of striking vocal harmonies, staggering musicianship, and captivating storytelling gives concertgoers an experience they won’t forget.
Suitable for all.

Happy Place by Forget About the Dog

Sunday 9 June 7.30pm - Gawsworth Village Hall, SK11 9QY

Weight of the world getting you down? Get down to your nearest Happy Place and leave your worries at the door. Forget About The Dog take audiences on a dystopian journey where corporations have commodified happiness into virtual reality booths called Happy Places, costing just the price of a coffee for limitless experiences. Full of bombastic comedy, puppetry, physical theatre, and live music, follow four strangers on an extraordinary journey as they find themselves locked inside their own Happy Place. Described as a Black Mirror meets Monty Python meets Jumanji adventure, this “laugh-out-loud funny” show explores happiness, friendship and the role technology plays in our world.
Suitable for adults and young people 12+.

Birdie by Mind The Gap

Tuesday 18 June 1.30pm - Neston Library, CH64 6QE
Wednesday 19 June 1.30pm - St Mary’s Creative Space, CH1 2DW

Mind The Gap present their show Birdie, a fun and poignant adventure that blends choreography and original music to tell a powerful and accessible story about climate change for families. Traveling in a mesmerising upcycled mobile home, characters Homie and Birdie navigate a world filled with plastics and pollution on a journey towards freedom and hope. Described by an audience member and teacher as “a very beautiful and visual demonstration of what we can do to help the planet”. Post-show, the audiences are invited to create their climate action protest signs.
This accessible show is suitable for ages 5-11 and their families.

Cheshire Rural Touring Arts (CRTA) is funded by Arts Council England and Cheshire East and West councils to work with an army of voluntary promoters who promote live high quality professional performance events in small intimate community spaces across Cheshire. This pilot programme has been funded through a grant from the NRTF.

This experience not only gives access to high quality performances on rural doorsteps but is a way of animating community buildings or spaces and bringing communities together safely, both physically and digitally. 

www.cheshireruraltouringarts.co.uk

National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF) networks, develops and supports the ecosystem that delivers high-quality creative experiences across communities and rural areas in the UK. The aim of the NRTF is to strengthen and support rural populations to bring professional work to their venues. https://www.ruraltouring.org/