National Portfolio Funding

Red Earth Theatre is delighted to have been awarded National Portfolio funding from Arts Council England.

This is an exciting opportunity for us to continue our work with partners across the Midlands and nationally and to develop dynamic and inclusive theatre that reaches wider audiences.

We feel very sad about the loss of funding to many strong and creative organisations, to colleagues and friends.

The impact of this government's cuts to the arts, coupled with cuts in public funding for humanities teaching in higher education and the absence of the arts from the new baccalaureate, will be most acutely felt by children and young people - the lifeblood of our cultural future.

"Of all the cuts, those to libraries and the arts are particularly heartbreaking. It's in places such as libraries and theatres that people learn to think of new ideas, and dream of different ways of living."

David Peace, novelist

Photo copyright Robert Day

simorgh symposium, Tuesday 10th May, 2011

simorgh - a network supporting access and inclusion in the arts - is hosting a symposium at Arena Theatre Wolverhampton on May 10th, 2-5pm.

The core members of the network will be welcoming new recruits, launching phase 2 of the network's development and sharing their personal and collective learning of an 18 month leadership project funded by Meeting the Challenge (Cultural Leadership Programme).

The Lost Happy Endings - Revived at mac Christmas 2011

Photo copyright Robert Day

We're delighted to announce that The Lost Happy Endings, co-produced with mac Birmingham, is to be revived at mac this Christmas prior to a national tour. So ...

"Once upon a perfect," ( 5 stars, The Birmingham Post) becomes

"Twice upon a perfect"...

(And, since in all good fairy tales, things happen in threes, a tour makes it thrice!)

Tickets soon on sale at mac. See website link.

Lit Fuse - First Strike

A discarded piano on Ellis Island. Immigrants to the USA brought with them, many precious things from home: music, cooking implements, songs, stories and poems.

Sunday 27 March, 2011 - Amanda

I have been working with 3 dynamic, committed, talented and tireless performance poets on the Lit Fuse project, initiated by Apples and Snakes and mac Birmingham, exploring how far the boundaries of performance can be pushed for spoken word artists.

For Red Earth this is a project working outside our comfort zone and that's a good thing; it energises and gives us new perspectives. Collaboration is at the heart of Red Earth's work and I have learnt so much already from working with Fatima Al Matar, Jodi Ann Bickley and Matt Windle.

Performance poets are really brave.

They bear their souls in performance.

Unlike actors, they don't have the luxury of hiding behind a character.

Now, the poets will develop work with Bohdan Piasecki from Apples and Snakes to develop their ideas and write a new poem for performance at the Lit Fuse event on:

Saturday 16th April @ mac, 7.30 p.m Tickets £7 (£5)

Sales and Information 0121 446 3232

Check out Fatima, Jodi Ann and Matt on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEEzHpQVWjA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9LOtEj3aj4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka9R1vOzf2E

Amanda Wilde (Co-Artistic Director)

The Lost Happy Endings - Touring Spring 2012