This year has seen the highly successful production of ‘Dreamland’ at Margate’s Theatre Royal. We commissioned, developed and produced three short plays examining Margate’s past how the town is redefining its future. Almost three hundred people saw the performance and were then invited to vote for which one they felt best represented their town. The winning play, ‘First Impressions’ by Tim Stimpson, takes a satirical look at Margate’s attempt to rebrand itself as an Arts destination (a brand new £22 million contemporary art gallery is currently being built on the seafront). The play will return as a full-length production in September 2010, followed by a short tour culminating with a showing in London. Before that, however, Net Curtains will take an early draft to the Theatre Royal in April and invite various sectors of the community to comment on what has been created so far. With the changes in Margate increasingly drawing the attention of the media we feel this is a very opportune moment to bring our brand of theatre to the town.
2010 will also see Net Curtains launch our next exciting project, currently entitled ‘Cheap Justice’. Marking the 60th anniversary of Legal Aid, the project will examine the huge changes being forced upon the system during the recession, and the repercussions these changes have on those who are most in need. An intensive week-long writing session in Birmingham is planned for June, during which a select group of writers will be taken to visit police stations, law firms and courts around the city. Following these experiences the writers will work with actors and a director to create a number of short plays. These plays will then be performed at the end of the week in a special showcase in the heart of Birmingham’s legal quarter. We hope that by involving the legal community we will be better able to highlight what is an overlooked but extremely vital issue.
All of the company’s productions begin with our weekly workshops and 2009 has seen them gain new impetus. During the last few months we have had exciting workshops led by directors such as David Cottis and Eleanor Rhodes, writers, such as Matt Borgatti and Rachel Sambrooks; and most recently an evening dedicated to the acting techniques of Michael Chekhov and the Moscow Art Theatre School. Actors have had a chance to flex their creative muscles, directors have met a diverse group of artists and writers have seen their scripts analysed and brought to life. The workshops also provide the pool of talent from which we are able to draw for our productions and the schedule looks set to grow even bigger next year.
As you can see we have plenty in store of 2010 and the scale of what we are trying to achieve is more ambitious than ever. Part of the funding for our forthcoming projects will come from Art Council applications, and ticket sales will help to cover some of the cost of staging the plays. There will also be some fundraising events, including opportunities for corporates to see our work and invest in the projects. Furthermore, ‘First Impressions’ and ‘Cheap Justice’ will hopefully provoke opportunities for media coverage, ensuring our profile is raised even more in 2010.
However, we are seeking some development capital to ensure that we can at least mount the productions and cover the general costs of running the company. We would love it if you were able to help contribute towards these events, which will ensure that we have the rights to a whole new series of timely, compelling plays which will be the lifeblood of Net Curtains Theatre Company in the future.