Bristol-based Roustabout was formed in 2019, after ten years of collaboration in theatre for families, young audiences, and in educational settings. The core members, Toby Hulse, Shaelee Rooke, and Robin Hemmings, are committed to theatre that places young imaginations at the centre of the creative process. Their first play, Luna, an exploration of the science, history and stories of the Moon, was developed in close partnership with five primary and secondary schools, and toured to schools, libraries, festivals and theatres.
Their second play, This Island's Mine, a sequel to The Tempest that explores colonialism, migration, and land rights, was written with the active involvement of over 200 students, aged from Year 1 to Year 12. Although scheduled for production this autumn, it is still very uncertain as to whether the tour can go ahead as planned…
As was the case for so many others, Covid-19 presented an existential crisis for the company. ‘We had to accept that, for an unspecified period of time, it was no longer possible to work in the settings that lie at the heart of what we do,’ says Rooke. ‘Schools, drama groups, rehearsal rooms, and theatres were no longer accessible.’
Roustabout's first response, like that of a lot of other theatres, was to release, to great acclaim, a recording of Luna made at the Vaults Festival to watch online. ‘We were delighted that so many people streamed the show, but we knew deep down that it wasn't theatre as we knew it,’ adds Hulse. ‘So, we asked ourselves what the key ingredients of theatre are, and how we could continue to use them. We decided that theatre is a one-off live event with play at its core, in which the audience are active, imaginative participants; a craft as well as an art, with skills and specialisms that can be taught, passed on, and learned; and (this was the hardest part) it happens when everyone is in the same room. Nothing particularly new in terms of dramatic theory, but it really helped to define our next steps.’
Since this discussion, and with the support of the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund, Roustabout have made a number of projects available online. ‘These are experiments, tests of what is possible, pushing the limitations of the computer screen while respecting what we had rediscovered about drama,’ explains Hemmings.
Interactive home resources
To mirror their work in schools, Home Delivery has made original short scripts available for young people to perform at home. These are for two or three actors, and are presented in an accessible layout, with ideas for staging. As well as giving young people the discipline of a script to work from, each play introduces key ideas about theatre, from asides, to multi-roling, to the use of objects as puppets. The company also posts fortnightly videos demonstrating drama games that can be played at home, as Rehearsal Madness. As Hemmings puts it, ‘If you're not playing when you're making theatre, then you're doing something wrong!’ For older students and emerging theatre makers, Roustabout have organised Lights Up On, webinars with leading practitioners from all areas of the industry, including Kate Cross from the egg, and Nickie Miles-Wildin from Graeae. Recordings of these webinars are available to watch on Roustabout's YouTube channel.
Online live performance
‘Then we decided to explore if it were possible to perform live theatre online,’ says Hulse. ‘We had no idea what this might be. It's like being in the early days of film or TV – there's this exciting new medium that no one quite knows what to do with.’ Roustabout's first experiment was (It's Not All) Zoom and Gloom, a new family play written specifically to be rehearsed, performed and watched live on Zoom. ‘It embraced and exploited the medium, as well as celebrating the extraordinary playful creativity demonstrated online in the early days of lockdown. Most importantly it was live. We felt that it had to be live to be theatre. The buzz of a live performance, even when presented online, was palpable.’
Their next project is to create The Great Big Story Mix Up, an improvised show for children with genuine live interaction between performers and audience. ‘Above all, this is the key feature of theatre. We desperately want to learn how to recreate the uniqueness of the live event, the knowledge that without the active participation of that particular audience, this particular performance could not happen. There are many, many challenges, but if theatre is to survive whilst the buildings are closed, then we have to find ways to overcome them.’