HandMade Theatre was established in 2011 by performer Suzy Gunn and Theatre Designer Amy Nicholson. It began with a large-scale residency project based at Rosehill Special School, entitled ‘Creative Environments’. This project led to the creation of our first touring production The Flying Machine and established the beginning of our company ethos and devising practises.
Co Creation is always key to our work, collaborating with diverse teams of creative professionals and with all those who choose to engage in our work including audiences and community groups. We never make work exclusively in a rehearsal room but instead prefer to seek out ideas, inspiration and connection through active research, public workshops, community projects and sharing’s.
Our touring work consists of small scale puppet shows and mid scale theatre shows, these are often steered towards family audiences, but we always aim to make our performances interactive, engaging experience for everyone to enjoy.
We are deliberately small scale and self-sufficient to ensure we can easily perform anywhere, anything from a school hall, community park, nature reserve or festival to a theatre venue or shopping centre, we can even bring our own seating. We believe that this ability to perform anywhere encourages access to theatre for anyone.
Having worked extensively in special schools we draw from this experience to ensure our work is accessible. For example, using elements of basic Makaton signing in shows and workshops. We consider how our work can benefit others through therapy approaches with a particular focus on ‘play’
We work in care homes delivering weekly creative workshops for those with dementia and cognitive impairments. This includes a wide range of activities to support well being; including visual art, singing, music, story telling and dance. We also create bespoke theatre shows to ensure those in elderly care settings have access to high quality arts and culture.
We are strongly dedicated to new writing and devise all our work with original songs, stories and characters. Our sets are tactile including beautifully handcrafted objects and puppets and this is all designed to embrace the audiences as an active part of the show.
We are dedicated to sustainable practises; reusing and repurposing, working with environmentally friendly resources and considering our carbon footprint.
As a charity our work is supported by a range of trusts, funds and organisations. Most notably project funding from Arts Council England and The National Lottery Community Fund.
‘Absolutely fantastic. We all loved it. The little kids and the big kids ’ Parent, The Twelve Birds of Christmas 2016
