About Arcola Theatre

Arcola Theatre was founded in 2000 in a disused textile factory in Hackney by Mehmet Ergen and Leyla Nazli. Arcola’s artistic programme focuses on new writing, social and politically committed works and European theatre. It is connected to its Turkish roots through its sister theatre in Istanbul, Talimhane, founded by Mehmet Ergen in 2007; and its Turkish speaking theatre group Ala Turka, the only of its kind in London. Arcola’s artistic vision is reflected in its overall ethos of operation:

* bringing theatre to Hackney and its communities, many of which are disadvantaged and otherwise have no access to creativity/artistic expression – our Creative Learning activities are not just an “add-on” to our main programme,

but integral to our work; * fostering new talent – very often enabling first steps, giving absolute beginners big opportunities. Examples are Rebecca Lenkiewicz who created her first ever piece at Arcola and has since become the first living female playwright to have a work premiered on the National Theatre’s Olivier stage; helping launch the UK’s first black drama school Identity, which now has a presence in Hollywood; * having a fully-fledged sustainability arm with our sister company Arcola Energy and our Green Arcola initiatives - we believe that the way we operate and how we create theatre should be done responsibly and reflect our values.

On this basis and within this spirit, Arcola Theatre has built a reputation as one of the leading fringe theatres in London, recognised as a peer to much longer established and better resourced Off West end venues. Arcola has staged work by some of the best living theatre makers, including Timberlake Wertenbaker, Ariel Dorfman, Dominic Dromgoole, Max Stafford-Clark, Frank McGuinness, David Farr, Helena Kaut-Howson, and Kathryn Hunter.

Arcola has won – among others - the Peter Brook Empty Space Awards in 2002, 2003 and 2008, and in 2009 was a nominee for the Peter Brook Equity Ensemble Award for Grimeborn; we won the Time Out Live Award in 2003 and 2006, and the 2012 and 2013 Offwestend.com’s Offie Awards for Most Welcoming Theatre and Best Theatre Bar. Our 2012 production of Sweet Smell of Success was nominated for three whatsonstage awards and won for best original music. Our creative learning and sustainability work has also been recognised by e.g. the 2011 Hackney Learning Trust Educators Award, and two Sustainable Cities Awards in 2011.

We also work internationally: in 2011-13, we were part of Europe Now, a collaboration with Riksteatern (Sweden), Theater RAST (Amsterdam) and Ballhaustheater (Berlin), and a are collaborating on a further one with Belgium, Holland and Turkey in 2013-14.

Arcola reaches audiences of approx. 90,000 a year, including our local communities, some of them traditionally under-represented groups, through diversity of programming and creative learning: Youth Theatre, Arcola 60+ and Arcola Ala Turka. The 2011 60+ project, the Dickens inspired The Uncommercial Traveller developed with Punchdrunk Enrichment has become a global touring project supported by the British Council.

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In 2007, we set a goal of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral theatre and leading a paradigm shift in how sustainability is integrated into the core ethos of arts and community organisations through the Arcola Energy project.

In January 2011, Arcola moved into the old Reeves Colourworks factory in the heart of Dalston and has been renovating/converting it into a fully functioning 4-studio theatre since, as part of the transforming this part Dalston into a cultural quarter. The two main performance spaces seat 180 and 100 people respectively.

Arcola employs 9 full-time and at any one time approx 25 part-time staff, has a turn-over of £1million and is supported by up to 200 volunteers every year, including interns and work experience students receiving support in their professional development. The move into the Colourworks building and turning it into a 4-studio theatre in late 2010 was achieved with the help of c. 1,000 volunteers, including teams from large corporates. We continue to be a small team, delivering more with less by taking an entrepreunial approach. We managed the 2012 renovation of the building ourselves, stretching a £1 mill. capital grant to deliver £1,25 mill worth of works. We re-opened with a major, full-size musical, The Sweet Smell of Success, which others would not have attempted to fit into theatre of our size.

We want Arcola to be a significant centre of innovation in the arts, business and environmental sustainability. To achieve this, leadership of innovation and organisational development needs to be built into our core operation. We also need to future-proof ourselves against cuts in public and grant funding and secure resources for our continued business development. Approx. 50% of our income is earned through box office and other sales. The Arts Council of England contributes approx 25%.

"The persistently adventurous Arcola Theatre" What’s On Stage

“The Arcola is the most imaginative of theatres in the way it embraces and reflects its local community.” The Guardian

“…the pioneering fringe theatre, Arcola” The Independent

“Other West End Venues… have taken decades to reach the standard Arcola aspires to and very often meets.” Time Out

Some Recent Artistic Highlights

Goodbye Barcelona November/December 2011 Goodbye Barcelona formed part of Arcola’s artistic focus on presenting new, serious musicals that push the boundaries of the genre and contribute to the development of musical theatre. The production is going to Spain in 2013.

“The staging is clever, the performances uniformly strong.” Daily Express

Conquest of the South Pole April – May 2012 Manfred Karge’s play - a contemporary classic -given its first major London revival since the celebrated 1988 production helped launch the careers of a young Ewen Bremner and Alan Cumming. Original Director Stephen Unwin returned to direct the next generation in this landmark piece.

“Karge’s drama…vivid, achingly alive – it could be set in the here and now – seems the right play at the right moment. A scrupulously acted production”. The Guardian

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Grimeborn Festival of new Opera August –September 2012

8 companies presented 9 programmes, including 2 double bills and 1 triple bill, featuring 13 individual pieces

“Grimeborn is a new approach to opera, opening its doors for the avant-garde and worth satisfying the curiosity. The highlight of the season is the British premiere of Philip Glass’s 2003 The Sound of a Voice. Unpretentious and untraditional with a happy slap at Glyndebourne, in opening itself to alternative and supporting new music theatre, or

new interpretations of rare works or familiar classics, it has involved new, young audiences with tickets at accessible prices”. emptyspace

Sweet Smell of Success November/December 2012 The UK premiere of the musical based on the classic film noir and featuring music by Hollywood/Broadway great Marvin Hamlish, and David Bamber in the lead role. Nominated for three whatsonstage awards, it won for best original music.

“Every now and again a real stunner comes along and, for now, the title of best musical on the fringe has to go to Sweet Smell of Success. This is a smart musical for grown-ups.” London Magazine

Simple8 Season Jan – March 2013

Simple8 devised two new shows during their residency at Arcola – The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Moby-Dick, which earned them a nomination for the Peter Brook Award for Best Ensemble

Anton Chekhov, Sons Without Fathers (Platonov), May – June 2013 a co-production with BelgradeTheatre Coventry, translated and directed by Helena Kaut-Howson

“You know those football matches where, from that very first touch of the ball at kick-off, you can tell this is going to be a good one – and then it really is? That fluttering incredulity, all the way through – "They can't keep this up!" Sure enough, they fluff it; your stomach tightens – "It was too good to last." Then the broken stride mends, the sides are back on flow, your heart's beating fast and you just want it to keep on going. Well that's how I felt watching Helena Kaut-Howson's direction of her own, updated translation of Platonov. Only decades of learned behaviour stopped me leaping up, punching the air and yelling "Yowza!" at some aspect of the acting, the lighting, the sound, music, design – the whole damn thing. If it had been football, there'd be enough space to give you a blow-by-blow breakdown. But it wasn't so there isn't. Just go. See what you think.'”- Observer

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Creative Learning

Life Ain’t No Musical by Cardboard Citizens and After Juliet by Arcola Youth Theatre

Support from our principle sponsor Bloomberg has enabled Arcola to continue growing our creative learning offering across all age groups and Hackney’s communities – and beyond. Our work in this area was recognised by the 2012 Learning Trust Educators’ Award for making “an outstanding contribution to the development and ongoing success of local schools”. As we unlock more space in our new home, we will be able to further expand our activities.

Arcola Youth Theatre Our youth theatre continues to be oversubscribed, with three groups – including the Arcola Academy for 16-25 year-olds – running every week. A 2012 highlight was the Five Boroughs Youth Theatre Festival, part of the 2010-2012 Cultural Olympiad, developed from the Hackney Youth Theatre Festival. It aims to raise the quality of existing youth theatre practice and to increase activity in areas where there is little or no provision across the five Olympic host boroughs. The success of this year’s festival has led to a post-Olympic continuation. Participating theatres included Arcola Theatre (which also provides the secretariat), A Team Arts, Cardboard Citizens, Greenwich and Lewisham Young People’s Theatre, Immediate Theatre, Half Moon, Hoxton Hall, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Waltham Forest Arts Education. The 157 participants ranged in age from 10 to 21 years old. The 10 productions included new writing, devised performance and adaptations of classics, including productions inspired by Shakespeare seen by 822 people. Of particular note was ‘Life Ain’t No Musical’ performed by young people who have experienced homelessness.

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Participant Feedback

“The best things about the festival were the audience, the excitement, being with friends and best of all performing” Lily (age 12) Arcola 60+ Bloomberg’s support has made a particular impact on Arcola 60+, whose work has developed significantly since the move in 2011, lifting it above and beyond a weekly drama workshop/class. Many projects over the last two years have been collaborations with professional companies and artists. The most outstanding project has been The Uncommercial Traveller, devised with Punchdrunk Enrichment to coincide with the Dickens bi-centenary. The original production took place in 2011 and has been followed by productions in Pakistan, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and closer to home in Portsmouth; it will travel to South Africa in 2013. A collaboration with Kali Theatre has followed, part of their Talkback Festival and 21st anniversary season at Arcola during December 2012. Shared Memories is an installation and storytelling piece about personal histories of Dalston. Participant Feedback

I loved classes! And slowly began to be able to appreciate the value of a collaborative enterprise – not being in charge, not having control over text and performance, how the shape of other peoples experience changes your shape and leaves you, even after a class, a slightly different person, with a slightly different perception of yourself – and the world. Recently I have produced a video in collaboration with a young performer and this I consider evidence of the effect of my year with 60+.

The 60+ group at the Arcola is to me invaluable. I have had oesophageal cancer and survived, and various other serious conditions. I mention this to highlight how important the Arcola is and what it allows us to do. How life affirming and therapeutic the ability to perform is.

I have been on an amazing journey coming to the Arcola 60+. Wednesday night became the highlight of my week. Here was somewhere I could be anybody and, above all, where I was given permission to ‘play’, to ‘dance’ to make a fool of myself … and thus I soon found myself liberated for 2 hours a week. All incredibly enriching.

I learnt that I have contributed a great deal in development of community. Now I have a better sense of self respect and confidence. Arcola Ala Turka Ala Turka, our Turkish-speaking theatre group is growing in stature and reach. In 2012, it mounted two productions: Mutfak Soylesileri (Kitchen to Measure), based on five Icelandic short stories which had a 3-day run in July and was seen by 161 people. In October a week-long run of Everything Begins By Loving Somebody, based on short stories by one of

Turkey’s most important 20th century writers, Sait Faik Abasıyanık, was seen by 407 people. This was followed in June 2013 by a production of Theatre Uncut. Feedback

The Arcola proposes theatre which transcends language and cultural boundaries. I am certainly looking forward to future bilingual productions. Melissa Pallechi, Hackney Hive

“The Turkish speaking community needs a group like Ala Turka as both a catalyst for the community to look internally and as a bridge to the rest of the British society through the medium of theatre. There is no other group in London at present that can serve both purposes.” The Anglo-Turkish Association of Academics and Professionals

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Arcola Children’s Theatre In 2010, Arcola launched a five-year project to develop a children’s theatre programme with the aim of giving local families and young children access to high quality theatre; for every child in Hackney to begin their journey towards life-long engagement with the theatre; and encouraging theatre-going as a shared experience for them and their families. After a successful first year, the Prince’s Foundation for Children granted 3-year funding through the START programme. Each year, we create two productions for young audiences. Primary schools are invited to visit/tour the theatre before attending a performance. Teachers receive INSET training for a follow-up workshop with their class, which takes place at their school. So far the project has introduced 2,700 local primary school children to Arcola Theatre. Through the use of theatre as a participative learning tool, it has enabled children to understand complex emotions and ideas. Participant Feedback

“Working with the Arcola has been an incredible opportunity for the children and staff of Colvestone. The project has introduced children across the school to theatre, providing many of them with their first opportunity of watching a performance on the stage. The children are always excited to visit the theatre and feel that, like our school, it is an important part of the community that they live and learn in. Teacher at Colvestone School

I was so excited and it was so fun. Akash

I am writing this letter because I want to say how fantastic your theatre acts. Amina

I hope you do another play for us. Isata

Arcola Energy for Schools Creative Learning and Arcola Energy have stepped up their collaborative education work over the past two years. Arcola Energy for Schools offers innovative workshops and ‘National Curriculum-proved’ renewable energy education kits. The programme was launched during Climate Week 2011, and has since reached almost 6,000 children both in the UK and abroad. In September 2011, it provided 36 workshops for 800 pupils and their teachers as part of Cambridge Physics at Work. A team of practitioners took part in the Abu Dhabi International Science Festival in 2011 and 2012. In 2012, we are delivering the London Schools Hydrogen Challenge, involving 20 schools from across London in an inspiring exploration of hydrogen power. Participant Feedback

“I never knew Abdulla could do this, he understood about hydrogen from his chemistry class but never had the chance to get so creative. We are busy looking around now for more workshops that he will learn from and enjoy at the same. The Festival provides an absolutely wonderful opportunity and beneficial experience for kids!” Abdulla’s mother about the Arcola Energy hydrogen car workshop

Training for Employment In 2010-11, Arcola was able to build on its training and skills work in a significant way; delivering a Future Jobs initiative on behalf of LB Hackney. Arcola Creative Network, founded in 2010 provided 32 young people with their first job in the creative and green tech industries. 88% of Creative Network ‘graduates’ went into employment or formal training, and seven new jobs were created. This is an example of our continuing determination to engage and support young people within the Arts above and beyond the provision of traditional youth theatre classes. We are engaged in a number of similar initiatives across the arts/creative industries as we aim to develop this strand of our work further.

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Recent Awards and Recognition 2012 Whatsonstage.com nominees for Best New Musical, Best New Music and

Best Choreographer for Sweet Smell of Success. Won for Best New Musical 2012 Off-West End Theatre Award Nominee for PANDORA’s BOX 2012 & 2013 Offwestend.com’s Offie Awards for Most Welcoming Theatre and Best

Theatre Bar 2012 Shortlisted for European Business Awards for the Environment in the

Management category, alongside Marks & Spencer and the Olympic Delivery Agency

2011/12 Learning Trust Educators’ Award 2011/12 Green Tourism Gold Star award 2011 Sustainable Cities Awards: winners in two categories - Greening the Third

Sector / Resource Management 2011 Shortlisted for the New London Awards in the Visiting category, alongside

projects at the Tate Modern and the V&A Museum.

Arcola has featured as a role model for ‘civic entrepreneurship’ in the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts’s Compendium for the Civic Economy and as a case study in the Green Alliance’s New times, New connections: Civil Society Action on Climate Change.

Our impact and reach – Arcola at a glance

• 90,000 people come through our doors and participate in our events per year – not only to see theatre, but to participate and to learn about sustainability

• 28,000 people are on our e-mailing list, our website receives on average 15,000 unique visits per month with a total of 24,000 visits overall and 50% new hits

• We have 19,000 Twitter followers and 4,600 Facebook likes

• Our Creative Learning initiatives reach on average 7,000 people per year

• Arcola Energy for Schools reaches on average 6,000 students and teachers per year (nationally and internationally)

• Green Sundays attract 100 participants each quarter

• Arcola Energy has a database of 620 contacts and clients; among them educational institutions and companies of global reach