We’re extremely excited to announce that, as part of our upcoming project – Make It – we will be teaming up with Art with Heart, a wonderful creative organisation based in Salford (like us!).
They will be delivering one-to-one advice sessions online across two “Artist Brew Days” on the 9th and 10th February.
Ideal for those seeking advice on fundraising, producing, making, access or facilitation, these sessions form part of a wider programme of exciting events linked to our upcoming play, Make It, which will be performed for the first time at the Eagle Inn in Salford from 2nd – 4th February.
Find out more and book your tickets for Make Ithere!
WHEN: 2nd / 3rd / 4th February – 7:30PM (Doors Open 7:15PM)
Baby Friendly Matinee (4th February) – 2:30PM
We’re so happy to be back with something that has been in the oven for quite a time now!
Make It is a theatrical production exploring the story of Gina, a talented sculptor whose long awaited big break arrives – just as she discovers she’s unexpectedly pregnant. With no room for deferral, a crumbling support system and the encroaching pressure of motherhood, must Gina make a choice? Or can she have it all?
Tickets are on sale now – and keep a lookout for our other exciting updates by following us on Facebook and on Instagram!
The time has come to unveil our next big project – Make It!
This brand new play is in the pipeline for 2026, and will be written by Caroline Lamb, directed by Kitty Ball and produced by Brontë Appleby.
As always, this piece is about something incredibly important to us.
It’s about how our creative industries are being gradually buried in a world that offers less and less space for colour.
It will form just one part of a wider project offering fresh opportunities and connections to local artists.
It’s perhaps darkly fitting that we could do with a couple of quid to help get it off the ground! If you can, please please donate via the link below and/or share the news far and wide across your networks.
We’re thrilled to have been able to provide assistance in the development of Silent Approach, a new play by Caroline Lamb, based on the book Police to Paranoia by Rebecca J House.
In 2007, Rebecca House was a serving police officer with the Lancashire Constabulary. In the midst of a severe mental health breakdown, she was arrested by her own colleagues in her own home.
She was then sectioned under the Mental Health Act, while her parents tirelessly campaigned for her release.
Based on Rebecca’s book, Police To Paranoia, Silent Approach is a re-telling of her arrest and detainment, and her experiences at the hands of the professionals whose actions and decisions were to shape her future life and health – created for the stage.
Post-performance discussion Through her Lancashire-based organisation S.I.S. Strength In Struggles, Rebecca now works tirelessly to provide fee-free alternative therapies to those struggling with their mental health, often sitting alongside medical care. She will join us in the auditorium after the performance to answer your questions about her experience and to discuss her organisation.
Content warning for Silent Approach: Mental health struggles (paranoia, psychosis, depression), ableism, descriptions of death, suicide, depictions of violence, strong language.
It’s been a pleasure and an honour to have been able to bring this piece to the Martin Harris Centre in Manchester and the Octagon Theatre in Bolton!
In Manchester, our main point of contact was the wonderful Alex Shaw, who looked after us beautifully and helped us to manage preparations extremely efficiently! Huge thanks also to the fantastic Megan Kerry, Tom Pearce, Jonny Brown, Adam Wilson and the rest of the Martin Harris team for their support.
Alex Joynes, the Octagon’s wonderful Adult and Communities Lead, was our rock throughout the Bolton leg of the project – and the fantastic Endeavour team members were the engine driving us forward, offering endless positivity and accessing financial support on our behalf.
Our accessibility resources were provided by the glorious and super-creative audio describers from Hear the Picture and the flawless BSL interpretation services of Samantha Green, booked through Bolton Deaf Society.
Also massive thanks to University of Bolton‘s filmmaking course… more news on this further down the line!
And, of course, we couldn’t possibly sign off without a glowing mention of our core team. The tireless and inspired director/stage manager team composed of Helen Parry and Sabine Sulmeistere worked wonders, and our wildly talented actors Leah Eddleston, Alexi Papadopoulos, Daniel McKeown and Joe Clegg Prada (a double-contributor, due to his wizardry as a producer) brought writer Caroline Lamb‘s words to life in such a wonderful way, time and time again.
We’ll be back, no doubt about that! For now, take a look at another planned project we have in the pipeline – Silent Approach.
Huge news! Our award-winning play, On Me, is returning to the stage in March 2025.
The first performance will take place on Wednesday 5th March at the Martin Harris Centre on Bridgeford Street, Manchester M13 9PL.
Doors will open at 6.45pm for a 7pm start, and the hour-long show will be followed by a 45-minute panel on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Abuse, featuring key changemakers and frontline workers who will be taking audience questions.
The play will then head to the Octagon Theatre in Bolton on Friday 7th March and Saturday 8th March, thanks to vital support from the incredible Greater Manchester domestic abuse charity, Endeavour and backing from the National Lottery Community Fund.
On Friday 7th, doors will open at 6.45pm for a 7pm start.
Saturday 8th will be a matinee, with doors opening at 2.15pm for a 2.30pm start. Both performances will again be followed by our acclaimed 45 minute panel discussions.
We are absolutely thrilled to be bringing this vital piece back to Greater Manchester. Watch this space as we prepare to announce cast, crew and more fantastic partner organisations, all of whom will be working together to deliver On Me in 2025!
We’re excited to announce that On Me has received an OffComm (OffWestEnd Commendation) award for our short run of On Me in Trafford and Bolton in May 2024!
Requirements for nomination were a minimum of three performances and at least two reviews of 4* or above, which we achieved – and, on 6th June, we received the exciting news that the show was a winner.
Congratulations to everyone involved, and here’s to more exciting On Me news in the future!
…a thought-provoking short play. It is entertaining and often funny, but the underlying message is clearly carried throughout leaving nowhere to hide from it.
…just an hour long, but it is an important hour for the woman and men out there affected by the issues in the play.
There were several points in the play where every woman in the audience sighed the same sigh, recognising when they had been Shona, speaking to their own Christian – a stark reminder of the realness of this story.
Our Panel Discussions
We held one panel discussion in Sale and one in Bolton, each with its own set of highly qualified specialist speakers.
On 2nd May 2024, at Waterside Arts, we were joined by Professor David Gadd and Dr Caroline Miles from the University of Manchester’s Criminology Department, as well as front-line representatives from Samantha Fisher and Charlotte Clayton, CEOs of Trafford Domestic Abuse Services and Trafford Rape Crisis respectively.
On 16th May 2024, at Bolton Central Library, we were joined by Bernie Ryan OBE of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, front-line representatives Jill Caldwell and Leanne Labrow from the Endeavour Project and Fortalice respectively, and Rafael Martinez from Bolton Council’s Community Safety team.
Both discussions were exceptionally enlightening, with all speakers providing hugely valuable insights according to their particular areas of practice and expertise. Jennifer Roberts of Lost in Theatreland wrote that the post-show discussion at Waterside was
…incredibly insightful. It’s easy to put plays like this in with others about sexual assault and the danger of living in a woman’s body, but giving the audience the opportunity to learn about the work that charities are doing to help survivors of intimate partner violence puts the entire play into perspective.
There will be a brief hiatus for now, but please watch this space and spread the word about our project. We’re on the lookout for more venues, additional funders and new opportunities to bring On Me to communities across the UK (and beyond…?)
We’ve loved sharing this experience with you. Now let’s see where it goes next!
Click the image below to check out the excellent work of photographer Shay Rowan, who joined us for our On Me dress rehearsal on 2nd May 2024 at the Waterside Arts Centre in Sale.
Fantastic news on the reviews front: our performance of On Me at Waterside Arts in Sale – which took place on 2nd May 2024 – has been awarded 4.5 stars from The Reviews Hub!
Written by Helen Jones, the write-up reads as follows:
“Dangerous To Know Theatre Company have brought their award-winning Manchester Fringe play On Me back into production and landed at Waterside Arts, Sale for one night before performing for two nights in Bolton later in the month.
On Me tackles the very current issues around gender-based violence, female safety and the difficulties in forming relationships in the post #MeToo era. Shona and Christian are actors employed for a docu-drama about a true crime abuse case. Christian plays the cruel abuser who turns killer later while Shona is his surviving victim. Together they play out the scenes of the relationship which turns violent, while dealing with the impact the subject matter has on them personally. Attraction grows between them but the situations they play out affect their off screen emotions.
Leah Eddleston portrayed the role of Shona in the original Manchester production and returns to it here, creating a confident and outgoing woman who hides her past. But her past rears its head during filming and makes her vocal when her sister is in a vulnerable situation. But the past becomes the present as she is vulnerable too. Alexi Papadopoulos is the less confident Christian, a nice guy but the actions of his character make him question both men in general and his own role in relationships with women. Papdopoulos is excellent, showing that men can also have that vulnerable side. The cast is made up of Trevor Dwyer-Lynch as the film director and John Joyce O’Keeffe as the clapper loader. Writer Caroline Lamb appears on film as the original victim.
The set is simple but effective with a sofa centre stage and the green room and a bar as minor areas each side. A backing screen allows for both the backdrops for the staging and an impactful place to show the real story behind what the two actors are filming. There is a slight technical issue when the pre-recorded sections of filming are broadcast and are less audible than everything else.
Caroline Lamb has taken a difficult subject, but one so relevant to many young people today, and developed a thought-provoking short play. It is entertaining and often funny, but the underlying message is clearly carried throughout leaving nowhere to hide from it. While established director Helen Parry makes sure it gives the punch the subject matter deserves.
The play is followed by a Q&A session with local professionals who deal with the issues raised on a day to day basis.
On Me is just an hour long, but it is an important hour for the woman and men out there affected by the issues in the play. You won’t be able to catch it in Sale but it is well worth making the trip to Bolton for and hopefully it can gain longer runs to bring to more areas it’s very important message.”
Dangerous To Know 