The ‘navvies’ of Chalk Farm: fist fights, rowdy pubs and raffling a dead body
August 29, 2024
Life was dangerous, drunken and relentlessly tough for the men who transformed the neighbourhood carving out the railways
This autumn, Camden People’s Theatre (CPT) is spearheading an innovative experiment in community-driven theatre. Through their New Programmers Scheme, the venue has empowered a cohort of young arts practitioners to curate part of their upcoming season.
The result is the New Adventures Festival, running 12th-17th September. The festival represents theatre of the people, by the people, for the people; showcasing boundary-pushing works handpicked by fresh voices.
“Programming can feel like an industry being gatekept by the same voices,” says Adam Gregory, New Programmers Scheme Coordinator. “This is the opportunity to see something fresh, and to discover what makes the next generation of programmers tick.”
The scheme also serves as a training opportunity for young practitioners who want to know more about how theatre programmes are assembled – with a view, perhaps, to becoming programmers themselves.
Throughout the year, the New Programmers scoured the fringe scene for cutting-edge shows that challenge conventions. The nine selections (see below) coming to Camden reflect the programmers’ diverse tastes and priorities. Expect innovative pieces exploring queer love, migration, AI and more.
By passing the torch to emerging programmers, Camden People’s Theatre (CPT) stays true to its spirit of inclusion and community participation, something it has championed since the theatre was founded on the corner of Euston’s Drummond Street in 1994.
“Behind a lot of current thinking at CPT is the idea of opening up and democratising how we do things,” says Brian Logan, the theatre’s Artistic Director. “We wanted to extend this to include how we select and curate the work on our stages.”
So how does someone choose which shows to programme? We asked the New Adventures Festival curators:
If you enjoyed this story, read more about People’s Theatre performances at Camden Fringe, here.
“As a queer creative it is so important to me to champion queer work. The shows I’ve programmed throughout the festival each represent different aspects of my own identity. Whether that be queerness in a broad sense, exploring queerness through a POC lens or exploring trans identities.”
“It feels ever important to support artists who are often mid-process and to show a commitment to platform their practice as they continue the very tender process of building and making the work. With this in mind, Cycles felt like a very exciting piece to programme as a work-in-progress, as a piece that strives to actively hold space and dialogue for communities as an act of care and resistance.”
“I wanted to use this opportunity to provide a space for an artist to share new work in development (always important and especially now). This show particularly resonated with me as I became a parent a couple of years ago – an experience which has radically transformed my life and my perspective on just about everything (as one can imagine). In this work, The company aims to do something that you don’t see very often: provide a space for parents to share their worst moments, reflect, wonder and laugh together. It felt important enough to make space for this whilst making sure the event is actually accessible to those who do bath time at 7pm every night.”
“I fell in love with Belinda immediately as I was watching it. It is a multilayered show that interrogates so much in just an hour of its run time and so beautifully flips on its head in the most intimate way for its audience. Very rarely have I come across work that balances migration, queerness, and the combined struggle of both in the arts but this one does so in a way that is so honest. It is such an exciting piece of work that questions the nature of programming and having a space to show work within its own show – almost too on topic not to program.”
“I’m interested in text-based work that exists outside of narrative and is more interested in form, texture and provides an experience for audiences – something we don’t see nearly enough. Container and its polyphonic text exactly fits that ideal. I also wanted to programme a work that’s in development, to help support its growth.”
“I’m fascinated by the role that technology, most recently ChatGPT, can play as a tool in our storytelling. I love how Chatter plays with and interrogates this relationship, as well as throwing light on a queer love story in a new and vital way. I’m also passionate about providing space for early-stage works in progress at this festival, and I have been excited by the calibre of Isabella and Nell’s work for many years. I am delighted that we are able to platform their work in this festival.”
“I find Ram of God a gorgeous show, very immersive with a striking design. Theodora is a fantastic performer, the hour is very tight. I saw it at the Vaults Festival in 2023, and wanted to see how it would work in a different space.”
Pst! Camdenist readers get 20% off all shows in the festival. Just use the code Camdenist at the checkout….
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