You might not have heard of Fuel Theatre, but for nearly 20 years this independent production company has been consistently producing some of the best theatre in the UK. A glance at their list of previous collaborators reveals some of the most interesting, innovative and exciting theatre-makers working today. Companies such as Gecko, Blind Summit, and the Belarus Free Theatre, not to mention writers like Francesca Beard, Ben Power, and Lemn Sissay, as well as multi-disciplinary artists like the brilliant Paula Varjack, and Brian Logan.
If you aren't even familiar with all of the names on my list, then I would urge you to spend a little time in the Fuel Theatre production archive and seek out the work of those they make theatre with. You won't be disappointed by the diversity, ambition and impact of the work you will find there. One of the reasons you might not have come across Fuel Theatre is because they don't have a building. A feature which artistic director Kate McGrath considers a positive – she describes the company as being ‘building-free’. Free to perform their work in unusual spaces, anywhere in the country, free to bring theatre to the specific audiences that they want to engage.
Izzy, BOSSS and Fractal creates a world where children aged 5+ have to work together to problem-solve
Planting seeds of curiosity
In January of this year, Fuel Theatre launched a brand-new programme of work heavily focused on the future of the world and our place within it. Central to this season's programme are two big productions for Key Stage 2 audiences.
The Day I Fell into a Book is performed remotely with a box of tricks delivered to the school in advance. The show is an iteration of a live production which now uses binaural sound recording, headphones, and live streaming in order to celebrate the power of the imagination and inspire primary school audiences to pick up that most primitive of technologies – books. Where The Day… is light on its feet, Issy, BOSSS, and Fractal on the other hand is specifically designed to kick up a storm in every school that it visits. The story in the latter was written by performance artist (and former maths teacher) Keisha Thompson, and revolves around a young scientist who witnesses a spaceship landing on the shore near her laboratory.
‘Total theatre’
Thompson is also writing a script for teachers to read to introduce the project to their students in assembly and classroom settings ahead of the performance date. Like a movie trailer, this short script is designed to create a sense of intrigue and mystery about what the students will witness. On performance day, the production van will pull up in the playground before any young people have arrived at school, further provoking their curiosity (one of Fuel's core values) ahead of their first encounter with their visitors.
When I was at drama school this is what we would call ‘total theatre’ – a term describing a theatrical production in which the play is not the only point of engagement with an audience member. One of Fuel's considerations is the very first moment that the students hear about Issy, and working out how they can plant the seeds of curiosity as early as possible, asking questions of their audience that will further enrich their experience of the performance.
This thought process and level of care around every detail of the audience experience is what sets Fuel apart from other companies. It is precisely because they don't have a theatre building that they are more interested than most in how the audience comes into contact with the production itself. If they want to bring a show to an audience they know they will have to consider how that audience first hears about the show, how much the bus costs to get to the venue, and what the impact of the performance is on their lives.
Slung Low
Alan Lane is the director of Issy and also the artistic director of Slung Low, a theatre company based in a working men's club in inner city Leeds. The company took over the club on the understanding that they would still run the bar for the members, but they could use the rest of the space as an arts venue. The transition was not always easy – as documented in a short film on their website – but their determination means that its now possible to see Davina de Campo (of RuPaul's Drag Race fame) perform at the oldest social club in Britain.
The values of McGrath's Fuel Theatre and Lane's Slung Low align beautifully and are a brilliant – not to mention hugely successful – example of how to engage with audiences properly. The difference is of course that Slung Low are firmly embedded in and committed to one specific community, whereas Fuel are ‘building-free’.
However, the first questions are always the same – how can we meaningfully reach people? How can we impact their lives in a positive way? How can we give an audience the space to consider the big questions of our time? These are questions that will never go out of fashion.
Fuel Theatre also engage with audiences via their website, through free podcasts, videos and more. http://digital.fueltheatre.com
Slung Low offer inspiring documentaries on the challenges of running an arts venue that serves the community it is embedded within. http://www.slunglow.org/standing-in-the-rain/