Cherwell Theatre Company to delight with comedy, music and drama

Cherwell Theatre Company (CTC) has announced its second ‘tell your story festival’, an event which will see young people taking over pop-up spaces in Castle Quay Shopping Centre and at The Mill Arts Centre over the weekend of July 1-2.

“CTC’s young people have been devising work with a range of professional artists in community settings across Banbury” said Tristan Jackson-Pate, artistic director.

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“From exploring comedy sketches, to performance poetry and visual art, there have been so many opportunities for participants to try new things and to tell their stories the way they wanted to.”

The large-scale programme, taking place in four Banbury schools, Banbury Mosque, The Hill Community Centre and with the Let’s Play Project has resulted in new artistic works being created for the event which will be shared across the festival venues alongside professional performances and workshops, curated by the participants.

Mr Jackson-Pate added: “The programme has something for everyone from a Silent Disco (tickets available from The Mill Arts Centre) to storytelling sessions for the very young and craft activities for all ages in between.

“There are also fantastic family performances on offer including Under the Bed Theatre’s brilliant ‘where do the lost socks go?’ at the mill, and a charming puppetry piece called ‘Laika the space dog’, which can be seen in castle quay across the weekend”.

Audiences can enjoy the weekend exploring differently themed zones where showcases from CTC’s youth theatre, Oxford Imps’ improvisation troupe, a hallpike & sparkes improvised storytelling performance will take place, alongside many others.

Or guests can give it a go themselves by joining in with workshops like body percussion, a special FX makeup workshop or even a drop-in illustration activity running all weekend.

To view the full programme of workshops and performances and to book for a small number of ticketed events, please visit www.cherwelltheatrecompany.co.uk.

The Cherwell Theatre Company website says: “Since 2004 we’ve created an environment where young people can be themselves, make new friends and feel valued.

“We work collaboratively to bring their unique qualities and aspirations to life through inclusive community theatre, often in unusual spaces.

“We operate from our headquarters at Banbury College alongside our longstanding champion and partner, Activate Learning, who continue to support our work with young people.

“In 2022 we were presented with the CBA for charity and community giving, recognising the work we do to strengthen and promote the inclusion, diversity and empowering of young people in the Cherwell district.”

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: [email protected]

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