SHEFFIELD THEATRES ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF LAUNCHPAD AND CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL FOR 2022
Sheffield Theatres today announces two creative participation projects taking place at the Crucible in late March and early April. Connections Festival is a National Theatre youth project that runs across the UK, with 10 new plays commissioned especially for the theatre-makers of tomorrow to perform. Launchpad is a local group run by Sheffield Theatres for adults aged 18+ with learning disabilities and/or Autism, where a piece of performance is created together in a series of workshops with artists.
Launchpad has been run by Sheffield Theatres for five years, allowing people with learning disabilities and/or Autism to develop new skills. The project brings theatre professionals and local individuals together, to create a unique performance. This year’s show is called The Garden of Hope; a story of two worlds, one watching as the other falls apart. There is just one fruitful garden left – but someone has their eye on it. There are two performances; Friday 1 April at 2.45pm and 4.45pm in the Studio Theatre.
National Theatre Connections Festival has featured at Sheffield Theatres since 2011, enabling young people from the ages of 13-19 in local theatre groups to perform brand new plays at the Studio Theatre. This is part of National Theatre’s nationwide youth theatre festival which takes place every year. The plays are commissioned for young people with themes that are relevant to their lives, such as relationships, class, climate change, activism, and power in the digital age.
The next generation receive an opportunity to perform cutting-edge work together, hosted by Sheffield Theatres, and allowing educators, parents and members of the public to enjoy this celebration of young people’s voices. Connections Festival will run across three days with a double bill of plays each night at the Studio Theatre, from Thursday 24 - Saturday 26 March at 7:15pm.
Emily Hutchinson, the Learning and Participation Manager at Sheffield Theatres said:
“We’re so excited to host these talented young people from local groups at the theatre for the Connections Festival, and to share our Launchpad performance. The Connections Festival is a vital celebration of the next generation’s creativity, and we’re looking forward to bringing these different youth theatre groups together in the building. The Garden of Hope will be a brilliant performance by this year’s Launchpad group, and we’re really proud of what they’ve created.”
Launchpad’s performance of The Garden of Hope will be held on Friday 1 April in the Studio Theatre. Connections Festival runs from Thursday 24 to Saturday 26 March in the Studio Theatre. Tickets are available to buy online or by calling the Box Office on 0114 249 6000. For more information, visit sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.
Launchpad 2022
The Garden of Hope
By Launchpad Company 2022
Friday 1 April 2022, 2.45pm / 4.45pm
Connections Festival Day 1
A Castleford Academy Production
Superglue
Written by Tim Crouch
Directed by Thomas King
Assistant Director Lisa Cronshaw
Thursday 24 March 2022, 7.15pm (double bill)
A Steel Valley Beacon Arts Production
Like There’s No Tomorrow
Written by The Belgrade Young Company
Company Director Mandy Aitken
With Justine Themen, Claire Procter and Liz Mytton
Thursday 24 March 2022, 7.15pm (double bill)
Connections Festival Day 2
A Regents Youth Theatre Production
Find a Partner!
Written by Miriam Battye
Co-directed by Emily Adams and Victoria Gotham
Friday 25 March 2022, 7.15pm (double bill)
A Yew Tree Youth Theatre Production
Hunt
Written by Fionnuala Kennedy
Directed by Sarah Osborne
Friday 25 March 2022, 7.15pm (double bill)
Connections Festival Day 3
A Lumos Theatre Company Production
Remote
Written by Stef Smith
Co-directed by Beth Rowett and Sarah Fitzpatrick
Saturday 26 March 2022, 7.15pm (double bill)
An Easy Street Theatre Company Production
Cable Street
Written by Lisa Goldman
Directed by Ethan Carley
Saturday 26 March 2022, 7.15pm (double bill)
About Sheffield Theatres
Sheffield Theatres is home to three theatres: the Crucible, the Sheffield landmark with a world-famous reputation; the Studio, an intimate, versatile space for getting closer to the action; and the gleaming Lyceum, the beautiful proscenium that hosts the best of the UK’s touring shows.
Having held the title ‘Regional Theatre of the Year’ on four separate occasions, Sheffield Theatres is the ticket to big names and local heroes, timeless treasures and new voices. Committed to investing in the creative leaders of the future, Sheffield Theatres’ dedicated talent development hub, The Bank, opened in 2019 to support a new cohort of emerging theatre-makers every year.
In November 2021, the Crucible and Studio theatres celebrated their 50th anniversary. The anniversary season includes a theatrical first, with Chris Bush’s new trilogy Rock/Paper/Scissors to be performed across all three venues with the same cast at the same time, plus the highly-anticipated return of Sheffield-set new musical Standing at the Sky’s Edge. With music and lyrics by Mercury Prize nominated Richard Hawley, the production won the 2020 South Bank Sky Arts Award for theatre and was named Best Musical Production at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards.
Sheffield Theatres has a reputation for bold new work. Dazzling adaptation Life of Pi, won four awards at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards, ‘Achievement in Technical Theatre’ at the Stage Awards and ‘Best New Play’ at the WhatsOnStage Awards. The show opened in the West End in 2021. This success follows the phenomenal Sheffield musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie which started life at the Crucible in 2017, before transferring to the West End, embarking on a UK tour and being turned into a feature film released simultaneously to 244 countries on Amazon Prime in September 2021.
Crucible Lyceum Studio 55 Norfolk Street, Sheffield, S1 1DA
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