HACKNEY EMPIRE ANNOUNCES THE KINDLING AS THIS YEAR'S ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME SHOW, PRODUCED BY CREATIVE FUTURES

HACKNEY EMPIRE: CREATIVE FUTURES 2025

FULL CREATIVE TEAM INCLUDING AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR STEF O’DRISCOLL ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2025 ARTIST DEVELOPMENT (ADP) SHOW

THE KINDLING

SATURDAY 9 AUGUST

THE KINDLING WILL BE CREATED BY 50 YOUNG ARTISTS AND CREATIVES IN JUST 10 DAYS

The Studio, The Blessing and more: Creative Futures 2025 supports young artists, celebrates community and launches new talent

The team at Hackney Empire is pleased to announce the title and creative team for this year’s Artist Development Programme (ADP) show, The Kindling, produced by Creative Futures which will take place on the Hackney Empire main stage on Saturday 9 August.

The Kindling

Directed by critically acclaimed and award-winning director Stef O’Driscoll, The Kindling will be brought to life by a company of 50 young artists and creatives aged 14–19 in just ten days, culminating in an electrifying performance on the Hackney Empire stage. Stef is known for centring contemporary stories with a social-political heart, with credits including A History of Water in the Middle East (Royal Court), With A Little Bit of Luck (BBC Radio & Music Awards Best Radio Production), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lyric Hammersmith) and Hopelessly Devoted (Kae Tempest).

For the first time, the concept for ADP has been developed by a steering group of 15 former participants, who took part in a series of research and development workshops exploring themes including community, music, heritage, politics, family and friendship, asking “what are the stories that young people want to tell now, and why?” Working alongside ADP Associate Artists Danny Bailey, Mikey J Asante, Ellie Fulcher and Myah Jeffers, the group selected a concept by Joelthomas Coleallison – a writer, director and actor and former ADP participant – as the foundation for this year’s production.

This year’s team brings together returning ADP alumni and first-time collaborators in an exciting intergenerational mix of experience and perspective. Former participants Joelthomas Coleallison (Assistant Dramaturg and Concept Creator), Mark Holder (Trainee Music Assistant), Tjai Coleallison and Rianna Kellman (Associate Musical Directors), Khalif Shakeil Edwards (Movement Director), Nate Owusu-Ansah and Jamal Abdul (Trainee Drama Practitioners), Alana Chin (Drama Assistant), Elizabeth Akinyemi (Trainee Dance Assistant), Heleina Stefanos (Trainee Design Assistant),  Sherna Simpson-Thomas (Assistant Designer), and Hannah Schlenker (Assistant Designer and Costume Supervisor) all return to ADP in professional roles.

They are joined by a dynamic group of creatives some of whom are new to ADP, including Stef O’Driscoll (Director), Esme Allman (Head of Drama), Lamar Douglas-Francis (Choreographer), and Sandra Falase (Designer). There are also a number of creatives who have worked on the programme before including Elijah Aduu (Deputy Musical Director), Ty Lowe (Musical Director) and Ellie Fulcher (Dramaturg).

The Kindling tells the story of Joy, the centre of her community, who saw something beyond everyone else and wanted the truth to be exposed. In the wake of a devastating fire that claims Joy’s life and destroys a youth centre at the heart of the community, a group is left shaken, searching for answers, closure and healing. What begins as a tragedy becomes an unravelling of systems and stories, of who gets to speak and who gets remembered in a world that would rather brand pain than confront it. This powerful newly devised work explores what it means to be truly heard and what happens when a community chooses not to forget.

Tickets are available on a Choose What You Pay basis (£10 is recommended) from: https://www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/adp-2025-the-kindling

COMING UP: THE STUDIO THIS AUGUST

Following an R&D process with former project participants, Associate Artist SK Shlomo and 4 x UK beatbox champion Grace Savage, The Studio will take place at Hackney Empire from 19 – 22 August in collaboration with Blink Theatre. Directed by Hana Pascal Keegan, this four-day inclusive programme centres disabled and neurodivergent young people who are interested in creating and performing a sound-led performance piece. They will be working in collaboration with artists, including former Birmingham Poet Laureate Jasmine Gardosi, across sound, movement, drama and design and support workers are welcome to join alongside participants.

THE BLESSING: POWER OF COMMUNITY CELEBRATED WINDRUSH DAY AND REFUGEE WEEK

On Sunday 22 June, over 100 community performers and headliners came together to commemorate Windrush Day and the end of Refugee Week 2025 in The Blessing: Power of Community. Opening with a Caribbean blessing for Hackney, the event featured drumming, spoken word, steel pan and singing, and concluded with Hackney Empire’s community choirs performing alongside R&B and soul legend Terri Walker, Hip-Hop artist and producer AKS, and rapper Reek0.

A partnership between Hackney Empire, Counterpoints Arts and Rising Tide, and based on an original idea by Keith Khan, The Blessing honoured the legacy of Windrush elders while celebrating the superpower that is community. All ticket sales go towards supporting Hackney Empire and Counterpoints’ wider engagement programmes. 

Due to a change in personal circumstances, Keith Khan has now stepped down from his position as Creative Director, and the Hackney Empire team wish him every success for the future. Further information about leadership changes at the venue will be announced later this summer.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR SO FAR

Earlier this year, young musicians from the Creative Futures programme performed as part of the Romeo and Juliet UK tour which premiered at the Belgrade Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, before finishing its critically acclaimed run at Hackney Empire in April 2025. Elijah Raheem Aduu (ERA – guitar), Mark Holder (drums) and D’evante Seepaul-Craig (keyboard) developed their skills through Creative Futures before being invited to join the professional band for the tour, marking their first professional production credits. Over 1,000 young people and community groups also attended the Entry For All performance of Romeo and Juliet at Hackney Empire, with tickets free for anyone 25 and under and for those who would otherwise be unable to afford to attend.

In May, Hackney Empire’s Band Rooms project offered a free five-week music programme for 14–18 year olds exploring confidence in performing as part of a band once a week and culminating in a sharing session. 

Since the first ADP was launched in 2002, Hackney Empire Creative Futures has used arts and creativity to break down barriers to accessing creative careers, build confidence and provide creative, professional and personal development for young people regardless of their background, education, income or experience. Creative Futures annually engages 4,000 young people aged 12 to 25. In total, Creative Futures provides an average of 20 hours of free youth programming each week across 45 weeks of the year, including workshops, masterclasses, professionally produced training and performance programmes, and schools outreach, all provided free of charge to participants.

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