“Creativity is a natural part of childhood and the ability to imagine is everyone’s superpower. Theatre-Rites is committed to nurturing this wonderful resource in audiences, artists and collaborators”
Dr Sue Buckmaster Artistic Director
Theatre-Rites is a field leader in the creation of experimental theatre for children and an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation.
62 performances 2023/24 in numbers...
Acclaimed nationally and internationally, our touring productions and site responsive works stir the imagination and stimulate thought. We specifically promote understanding and enjoyment of ‘object-led’ theatre and celebrate the power of visuals, puppetry and animation.
In 2023/24 we successfully managed one of our busiest years to date, navigating multiple complex UK and international partnerships, relaunching our website, creating new work for early years and adapting existing work to tour and perform as part of the London Borough of Culture. Alongside this, we invested in research weeks to support future projects and maintained our commitment to training and mentoring a diverse range of artists and practitioners.
The publication Theatre-Rites Animating Puppets, Objects and Sites written by Drs Liam Jarvis and Sue Buckmaster is available in University libraries across the country. new production created
existing productions adapted
Something In The Air Zoe’s Peculiar Journey Through Time and Journey of a Refugee
7300+ audiences in the UK and internationally
artists and practitioners employed
8 venues
30
70+ Provided training & mentoring to over practitioners
1300+
children and young people in Croydon participated in the Journey of a Refugee workshop programme delivered by Agudo Dance Company
Something In The Air / Es Liegt Was In Der Luft
A Theatre-Rites and Schauspielhaus Bochum co-production
In repertoire from November 2023
For ages 3 plus
Director Sue Buckmaster, Associate Director Zöe Grain, Collaborating Designer Ingrid Hu, Composer Jessica Dannheisser, Puppets and Objects by Naomi Oppenheim, Ingrid Hu and Michael Douglas
Cast: William Bartley Cooper, Abenaa Prempeh, Markus Schabbing
After the success of The Incredible Tale of Robot Boy, Theatre-Rites’ 2019 co-production with Schauspielhaus Bochum, the company were invited back to create a new show for young audiences.
With Theatre-Rites’ trademark object animation at its heart, this form-experimenting production with no words, explored our relationship to air in a futuristic, otherworldly setting. The set and objects were designed as sustainably as possible using mostly recycled materials.
“the
piece captivates the audience and leaves a lasting impression. The innovative use of music and movement makes Something in the Air an unforgettable theatre experience for people of all ages”
Selection Jury for Westwind Festival, Germany
As with many of Theatre-Rites’ productions the lack of dialogue makes the work accessible to international audiences, those with English as a second language, D/deaf audiences and to those with a range of sensory and learning disabilities. To date the production has performed to over 500 children including over 70 D/deaf students.
This production remains in the Schauspielhaus Bochum repertoire with performances scheduled during 2024/25. The production has been shortlisted for the Berlin Festival and was invited to perform at Germany’s WestWind Festival in May 2024.
“Gorgeous, politically engaged and beautifully crafted show”.
The Reviews Hub
February 2024 at Stanley Arts
For ages 8 plus
Director Sue Buckmaster, Designer Simon Daw, Composer Frank Moon, Assistant Director and movement Director Jose Agudo, Lighting Design Mark Doubleday, Additional Composition Mohamed Sarrar, Workshop Programme Manager Claire Cunningham
Cast: Adi Detemo, Mohamed Sarrar, Kassichana Okene-Jameson, Vivian Triantafyllopoulo
Journey of a Refugee was a powerful and moving production exploring the universal theme of people searching for a place they can call home. Using a beautiful blend of puppetry and dance, this visually stunning piece of epic storytelling invited audiences to find compassion and humanity as they followed the journey of a refugee from their homeland to the UK.
Theatre-Rites received Ignite funding from Croydon Council to adapt The Welcoming Party (originally co-produced in 2017 with Manchester International Festival (MIF), Z-arts and the Ruhrtriennale Festival) as part of the London Borough of Culture programme of work.
The 2017 MIF version featured several refugee stories with the journey of Mohamed Sarrar (refugee performer from Sudan) at the heart of the piece. In 2024 Mohamed joined the company again to adapt his story into Journey of a Refugee The cast of 4 also included Refugee performer and Croydon resident Adi Detemo.
During the original development period of this project we identified a number of refugee community support groups and spent time working with young refugees allowing them to share their stories and experiences. Prior to rehearsals the Director spent time with Mohamed and Adi exploring what they felt comfortable sharing. All of the young people we worked with, and the refugee performers, were passionate about their stories being heard.
A Theatre-Rites production, part of This is Croydon London Borough of Culture, created in collaboration with Agudo Dance Company who delivered the workshop programme
Croydon based Agudo Dance Company were collaborators on the project, managing and delivering a hugely successful programme of workshops with Croydon schools and refugee community groups. They secured Arts Council project funding and offered a package deal of free workshops with discounted tickets to the production. A team of three delivered over 56 workshops, reaching over 1,300 children and young people, with a waiting list for future offers. They established strong relationships with each group and a workshop leader was always present to welcome them to the performance.
“The students we work with can be really difficult, having quite complex needs compounded with having been removed from their mainstream school. They loved it and one pupil who barely manages 10 mins in a class was totally enthralled by it. She didn’t stop talking about it the whole way back to school and then wanted to tell all the staff about it. When I asked her what her favourite section was, her response was ‘all of it” Teacher
Some of the most powerful performances were when school groups included refugee children. Given the sensitive nature of the content we had pre performance discussions with each school and were always aware when a refugee pupil was in attendance. One scene sees Mohamed sitting in a boat crammed with lifejackets representing other people fleeing their homeland. Whilst watching this scene one pupil pointed and told his classmates – that’s what happened to me. After the production performers Mohamed
and Adi spent time with the child sharing their stories. Part of our aftercare included a check in with the teacher who said that it had been a life affirming experience for the pupil who had found power in seeing his story reflected on stage and had begun to open up more to his classmates.
At the end of each performance audiences were invited to write a postcard welcoming a newly arrived refugee child to the UK. We displayed these postcards throughout the run and then sent them to Croydon Council’s Asylum Seekers and Displaced People in Croydon Unit who distributed them on our behalf.
This production was funded by Arts Council England, This is Croydon – London Borough of Culture, Heritage Lottery Fund, The Enterprise Arts Trust, The Fenton Arts and The John Thaw Foundation.
“Journey of a Refugee is a beautiful piece of work which sensitively explores ideas about asylum in an accessible way for youngsters, while providing important talking points for audiences of all ages”.
The Family Stage
“Unmissable!
Vibrant, sensory, emotional”.
Everything Theatre
Zoe’s Peculiar Journey Through Time
“An educational and visually stimulating piece of children’s theatre that carefully and thoroughly explores the ticking time bomb of plastic pollution”
The Family Stage
“A deceptively complex, layered production that is a delight even for the older audience members”
Everything Theatre
A Theatre-Rites production, originally a co-production with Burgtheater Vienna
August to October 2023
For ages 6 plus
Director Sue Buckmaster, Writer Jimmy Osborne with Sue Buckmaster, Designer Alys Whitehead based on original designs of Joanna Parker, Composer Frank Moon, Lighting Designer Rajiv Pattani, Associate Lilac Yosiphon, Assistant Director Rachel Warr, BSL Linguistic Consultant Daryl Jackson, Puppet designers and makers Naomi Oppenheim, Charlie Tymms and Rebekah Wild
Cast: Benedetta Zanetti, Eden Harbud, Shanez Pattni, Teele Uustani
A time-travelling environmental adventure using visual storytelling, puppetry and dialogue.
After a successful run of this relevant and playful production exploring plastic pollution at the Burgtheater Vienna, Theatre-Rites were keen to respond to UK touring requests. The company used the opportunity of adaptation to extend the reach and accessibility of the show diversifying the cast and reducing the scale of the production. It toured to the Southbank Centre, The Drum Theatre Royal Plymouth, Polka Theatre, London and Lakeside Arts, Nottingham. As part of the
International Norwegian Assitej Festival, the production was invited to perform at the Kilden Theatre in Kristiansand, Norway.
There was a minimum of one BSL interpreted and one relaxed performance at each venue. The cast of 4 included Deaf actress Benedetta Zanetti and the company worked alongside Deaf practitioners Lilac Yosiphon and Daryl Jackson to achieve the integration of sign and visual language.
Performances at the Southbank Centre were ‘relaxed’ throughout with a specific sensory adapted performance which attracted a large per centage of children with a range of sensory and learning disabilities. The two-week run at Polka Theatre provided an opportunity to reach both school and family audiences.
This production was funded by Arts Council England, The Boshier Hinton Foundation, The Fenton Arts Trust, Garrick Charitable Trust and the Royal Victoria Hall Foundation.
Theatre-Rites offer mentoring, training and consultancy and specialise in puppetry and visual storytelling.
Sue Buckmaster offers a range of advice and collaboration including direction, dramaturgy, mentoring, consultation on puppetry needs and on the creation of work for young audiences.
In 2023/24 Theatre-Rites delivered puppetry training in Thailand, explored how to adapt Sue’s Puppet Whispering technique for d/Deaf performers and delivered a weeklong residency at the University of Essex exploring themes connected to Something In The Air
As part of our commitment to supporting the development of emerging artists or those at a transitional moment in their career the company facilitated a week of research and development with AfroCuban choreographer Miguel Altunaga working in collaboration with Sue Buckmaster, puppeteers, puppet makers and dancers from the Carlos Acosta Dance Company.
During this year Sue also worked as a director, puppetry consultant, mentor and dramaturg.
• Director, Chotto Desh for the Akram Khan Company (which has, to date, performed over 445 times)
• Dramaturg for Olive Branch by the Laura Vanhulle Dance Company (a production for festivals, parks and school playgrounds)
• Dramaturg for The Little Mermaid by choreographer Anders Duckworth (a trans retelling of The Little Mermaid)
• Dramaturg for The Tin Man (a retelling of the famous Wizard of Oz character) by Joss Arnott Dance Company
• Mentor for puppetry director Molly Freeman
• Advisor to puppeteer and puppetry director Aya Nakamura
• Advisor to emerging genderqueer puppet maker and performer Scamp
Sue Buckmaster is an Advisor for family productions and programming at Sadler’s Wells and is on the Polka Theatre Advisory Board.
In 2023/2024 Theatre-Rites’ expenditure was £542,000
including
• Freelance fees: £169,925
• Production costs: £67,000
• Access costs: £16,219
• Staffing: £155,932
• Overheads: £59,000
In 2023/2024 the company earmarked £85,000 from the Artistic Reserve to support Zoe’s Peculiar Journey Through Time and Journey of a Refugee costs. Theatre-Tax relief for 2023/24 projects is claimed retrospectively and added to the company’s Artistic Reserve.
£42,000
ACE Project Grant
£39,500
Theatre-Tax Relief
£105,676
The company operates with an Emergency Running Costs Reserve of £42,00. The company aims to maintain an Artistic Reserve to support ambitious projects, particularly in light of the competitive nature of Trust and Foundation fundraising and to support their sustainability. ACE NPO grant £244,389
