NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT
UK’s leading Black touring
company launches Revolution Mix
Three year equality initiative will act as a catalyst for permanent change in British Theatre
Eclipse Theatre Company led by Artistic Director Dawn Walton will spearhead the largest ever national delivery
of Black British stories in regional theatres from 2015 - 2018, with the aim of provoking major change, tackling
inequality and creating a lasting legacy within the UK’s theatrical landscape both onstage and off.
The project will see Eclipse Theatre Company, who co-produced tour of Sizwe Banzi is Dead (2014) with the
Young Vic, One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show (2013) national tour with Sheffield Theatres and The Hounding of
David Oluwale (2011) with West Yorkshire Playhouse, partner with a number of regional venues and
commission plays from ten black writers. Six will write a middle scale production with one writing a small scale
production, another will write a radio play and two will write short films. At least one of these pieces will be
written with an all female cast in mind.
The work will be delivered as a series of tours and stand alone productions across the regions. This will be the
biggest single delivery of black work ever seen in the UK – a year-long festival of diversity developed and
delivered by regional artists with Eclipse Theatre Company working closely with all of the partner theatres.
Eclipse Theatre Company are now keen to hear from writers, in particular from the North and South West
regions, who have at least two short run theatre productions, radio plays, short films or TV credits.
Revolution Mix is supported with an Exceptional award from the Arts Council of £249,141. The Exceptional
awards scheme enables the Arts Council to respond to new and ambitious ideas from the sector that will make
a significant additional contribution to delivering its strategic vision of Great art and culture for everyone.
Dawn Walton, Artistic Director of Eclipse Theatre Company, said: “Revolution Mix is about doing not talking.
When the subject of Diversity comes up - people gather in rooms and talk. If you sit in that room you will hear
more reasons why things can’t change than why they can. But there is no question that there is an appetite for
change. Revolution Mix is what we are all going to DO.”
Sajid Javid’s first major speech as Culture secretary in June talked of Black and Minority Ethnic communities as
being ‘culturally disenfranchised’. He suggested the industry apply its creativity to "capturing new audiences and
nurturing new talents". The Arts Council is undertaking work with the sector – through the delivery of the
Creative case for diversity - to ensure that the imbalance is redressed. This will enable the work of Eclipse
Theatre Company to work alongside other delivery mechanisms and offer a more rounded and complete offer
relating to the black british experience across arts and culture in England – and Revolution Mix is an important
step forward to increase engagement and encourage investment.
Dawn Walton, Artistic Director of Eclipse Theatre Company, continued: “Eclipse Theatre Company is proud to
be receiving an Exceptional Award from Arts Council England. It is encouraging to be heard understood and
supported in this way. Revolution Mix is about doing not talking. We hear it when an audience member comes
Press Contact: Sharon at Mobius 020 3195 6269 or sharon@mobiusindustries.com
up to thank us for bringing black work to their local venue. We hear it when a black writer in the regions contacts
us because they don’t feel there is a place for them in their local venue. We hear it when a regional venue tells
us they don’t know any local black writers. Revolution Mix is Eclipse Theatre Company’s response to all of
them. We know where the black talent is because they contact our company and we know what the missing
British stories are because they are our stories.”
Academic and Broadcaster Professor Robert Beckford, a strong supporter of Eclipse Theatre Company’s work,
said: “Revolution Mix is a once in a generation opportunity to not only foreground the creative genius of black
artists, across a range of platforms, but also build a counter cultural movement to unsettle the structural,
racialised inequality in British theatre.”
Neil Darlison, Director Theatre, Arts Council England, said: “The Arts Council is proud to support Eclipse
Theatre Company’s new project. It is initiatives such as these that we believe will help people to engage with a
new and different approach to diversity in the arts - an area that we are developing through the Creative case
for diversity - in order to achieve our goal of delivering great art to everyone. ‘Revolution Mix’ will create a much
needed critical mass of new theatre writing, drawing on the Black British experience and delivered nationally by
Black British artists. It presents a significant opportunity to create new work with insight into Black British culture
and we believe will have wide and popular appeal. This is an important initiative that will not only enrich the
British theatrical cannon but will provide opportunities for stories to be told and to move in new and exciting
ways.”
Revolution Mix has been driven by the lack of Black British Culture in mainstream regional theatre and by the
impact that Eclipse Theatre Company has made to date. At the core of the project is the importance of telling
the missing Black British story and its place within the make-up of modern Britain. Eclipse Theatre Company
tours have succeeded to great effect, in part due to the company’s audience development work in each of the
local communities they tour to. The company’s tour of One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show achieved 32% new
bookers to the tour venues suggesting that a diversity led approach is effective. All of this demonstrates that
black theatre plays a very active role in enriching the canon of British theatre and that a fundamental shift is
needed.
In May 1956, Look Back in Anger by John Osbourne opened at the Royal Court Theatre. 18 months later Moon
on a Rainbow Shawl by Errol John was produced in the same venue. While the influence of the ‘angry young
men’ was deep and permanent, the legacy of this ground-breaking Black play was not. Today, there is no
shortage of talented and experienced writers, actors and directors from the Black artistic community. Eclipse
Theatre Company has recognized the need to reflect the diverse world immediately outside venues’ front doors
alongside the August Wilson’s or Athol Fugard tales of ‘other places’ and ‘otherness’.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Eclipse Theatre Company Ltd
Eclipse Theatre Company Ltd is Britain’s principal Black-led national touring company. Through our high quality
productions, revolutionary audience development programme and unique digital platform- eclipseTV, Eclipse
Theatre Company instigates and influences change that will lead to a more diverse and equitable theatrical
landscape.
Since its inception, Eclipse Theatre Company has toured: Moon on a Rainbow Shawl (2003) by Errol John,
Oladipo Agboluaje’s adaptation of Mother Courage and Her Children (2004), Little Sweet Thing (2005) by Roy
Williams, Mustapha Matura’s adaptation of Three Sisters (2006), Angel House (2008) by Roy Williams, The
Hounding of David Oluwale (2009) by Kester Aspden (adapted by Oladipo Agboluaje), Sus (2010) by Barrie
Keeffe (co-produced with the Young Vic), One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show (2011 & returning by popular
demand in 2013)) by Don Evans (originally co-produced with Sheffield Theatres), Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (2014)
Press Contact: Sharon at Mobius 020 3195 6269 or sharon@mobiusindustries.com
by Athol Fugard (co-produced with the Young Vic) and Journeys Beyond (2014) by Steve Medlin and company
(co-produced with Wac Arts) at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Eclipse Theatre Company Artistic Director and founder Dawn Walton began her career at the Royal Court
Theatre, and became first winner of the Jerwood Young Director’s Award at the Young Vic. After a year as
Acting Head of Studio, National Theatre, Dawn founded Eclipse Theatre Company Ltd (2010). Recent theatre
productions include, Lyrikal Fearta (Sadler’s Wells 2014); for Eclipse Theatre Company: One Monkey Don’t
Stop No Show (2011/13). The Hounding Of David Oluwale (TMA: Best Director nomination 2009); Michael X
(2008); for Royal Court Theatre: Oxford Street (Olivier Awards Nomination 2008); 93.2fm (2006); for Young Vic
Theatre: Winners (2004) and The Blacks; for Everyman Theatre, Liverpool: Urban Legend (2004) and for
Sheffield Theatres: There’s Only One Wayne Matthews (2010). In 2012, Dawn developed, produced and
directed ‘10by10’ a series of 10 short film dramas for the digital arts platform The Space (ACE/BBC).
For more information visit www.eclipsetheatre.org.uk
Twitter: @eclipsetcl | #Revmix
Arts Council England
Arts Council England champions, develops and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s
lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to digital art,
reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us
together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2010
and 2015, we will invest £1.9 billion of public money from government and an estimated £1.1 billion from the
National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. Arts
Council England announced the Exceptional awards programme in July 2013. www.artscouncil.org.uk
Arts Council England announced the Exceptional Awards programme in July 2013 Exceptional Awards allow
the Arts Council to respond to new ideas from the sector that don’t fit into their existing funding programmes. In
turn, the awards help organisations to respond to one-off opportunities to create a project that is of such
ambition and scale that it sits outside their normal programme of activity. The award to Eclipse Theatre
Company is one of just a handful of strategic investments that will be made through the course of this
programme, which culminates in March 2015.
The Creative Case for Diversity is a repositioning of the Arts Council’s approach to diversity and equality,
developed in dialogue with the sector, to ensure that the arts and cultural offer in England reflects the diversity
of contemporary society in its programming, audiences, workforce and leadership.
Press Contact: Sharon at Mobius 020 3195 6269 or sharon@mobiusindustries.com