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We are delighted to announce that our Playhouse Plays Out Tent tour is returning this summer with an original family show, Story Seekers.
Our Playhouse Plays Out Tent will be back on tour across the county this summer with a brand-new family production, visiting a range of community venues and schools across Oxfordshire from Monday 3 June to Sunday 14 July.
This year, the travelling tent will bring to life lesser-known tales from around the world in an interactive, musical show, celebrating Oxford’s diverse communities. Focusing on unity and collaboration, Story Seekers is an original production written by Oxfordshire-based theatre maker Tristan Jackson-Pate and directed by Amelia Thornber. Bringing the tales to life are two storytellers, Priscille Grace and Tomoko Komura.
During the tour over 2,000 school children will see the show on site within their primary schools and take part in creative workshops with practitioners from Oxford Playhouse. Around 3,000 audiences will also see the show in community venues which this year include FloFest, Oxford Children’s Hospital, Blenheim Palace, and The Leys in Witney.
Artistic Director & CEO of Oxford Playhouse, Mike Tweddle said:
“We are delighted to be taking the Playhouse Plays Out Tent back out on tour this summer with a show that celebrates such a wonderfully diverse city like Oxford and explores the mutual learning potential of different cultures. With an increased percentage of Oxfordshire children dealing with social, emotional, and mental health needs post-pandemic, it’s a privilege to bring this piece of theatre to communities across the county, including the young people at Oxford Children’s Hospital.”
The Playhouse tent will visit a different school each week throughout its tour, covering a range of postcodes from Abingdon to Bicester. After each performance, The Playhouse team will facilitate a range of workshops for all school pupils, from Years 1 to 6. This will include musical sessions for younger ages and practical theatre workshops using themes from the show for older pupils.
Participation and Learning Officer Alice Jessop, who coordinates the school visits, said:
“Through this vital project, we aim to use creativity and theatre to enhance learning within the school curriculum, consulting with schools around Oxfordshire about the themes and stories they would like to address in the classroom. We believe that theatre should be accessible to everyone no matter their geographical location or social circumstance.”
Now in its 12th year, the Playhouse Plays Out Tent is free for all participating schools due to generous funding from Trusts & Foundations and Playhouse supporters. The tour for the tent is focused on areas with low cultural provision or schools where attending the theatre might be more difficult. The project is a vital part of the outreach and community work that Oxford Playhouse undertake, in line with its vision to be A Playhouse for Everyone.
Following an around the world research trip, two Story Seekers return to Oxford, both hoping to secure the same job at the local university with hopes to show off their best storytelling skills to win the role.
One Story Seeker likes to tell stories through music and words, whilst the other enjoys telling stories through acting and dance. Together, they share the stories they’ve collected on their adventures, from Ancient Chinese folklore to stories of the mythical Mayan Hero Twins, even legends created a little closer to home…
With so many differences between them, what can the Story Seekers learn from one another, and will they find that they have more in common than it seems?
