POLKA THEATRE ANNOUNCES NEW ARTISTS TO TAKE PART IN ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME ‘CATAPULT’

Polka Theatre’s Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Helen Matravers, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive Lynette Shanbury, and the whole team are pleased to announce the artists chosen for the theatre’s Artist Development programme, Catapult. 

The Catapult programme, now in its second year thanks to the generous funding from The Garek Trust, offers opportunities and a support framework to artists who have been historically underrepresented in the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) sector, helping them take the initial steps in producing theatre for 0–12-year-olds. The artists selected include people from the Global Majority, who identify as disabled, LGBTQ+, or who come from a lower socio-economic background. Catapult has been specifically designed to address the lack of representation of work from these artists and how to amplify this to the industry.  

The Catapult programme is split into two sections: First Steps, for artists and companies who have a brand-new idea for a show (specifically for 0-6-year-olds), that hasn’t been drafted, performed or rehearsed before, affording time and funding to take a fun creative risk. The four First Steps participants are:  

• Trained clown and musical theatre actor Arlo Wilson will develop ‘They’re A Pirate!’, an interactive children’s show about a non-binary Captain (the least interesting thing about them!), using clowning and a whole lot of silliness to find lost treasure.  

• Disabled-led feminist theatre collective Little but Fierce will develop ‘Roy and Silo the Penguins’ as a joyful celebration of love, family and the right to be different. Based on the true story of the Central Park Penguins. 

• London-based writer Inna Cebotari’s ‘Little Lids, Big Wonders’ will be a sensory and physical experience that celebrates mess, trial-and-error and collaboration over perfection, observing how children are fascinated by everyday objects. 

• East-Asian female-led performing arts collective Kassna will create ‘Mira and the Whispering Roots’ as a tactile, sensory soundscape, introducing audiences to a magical forest world to aid the early understanding of community and care. 

Next Steps is for artists and companies who may have a first draft, or an initial development phase under their belts, and are ready for help and support getting the show onto its feet and in front of programmers and producers. The two Next Steps participants are:  

• Puppeteers and makers Jeanzia Guan, Izzia Jiang and Yunshu Jiang team up for ‘Heimer’, an original puppetry work adapted from real-life experiences, exploring themes of memory, family, farewell and our draw to the sea.  

• Director, producer, dramaturg and researcher Layla Madanat and writer-storyteller Roann Hassani McCloskey join forces in ‘Home’, following a boy called Jawad on his magical adventure through his ninety-nine-floor tower block, discovering where home truly is and celebrating the richness of multicultural London through a child’s eyes.  

Polka’s Catapult programme sees 6 projects supported over the course of 12 months; with seed funding, free rehearsal space, mentoring, training days from industry professionals, access to Polka Produced shows, connections to Polka Primary School Partners, and industry showcase opportunities – including Polka’s own Big Dreams Early Years Festival in September this year.  

Helen Matravers said: “We are so excited to embark on a year with these six brilliant artists and collectives. Every story going into development offers a truly unique idea, told through such a diverse range of storytelling skillsets: from puppetry to new writing, baby sensory play to clowning and movement-led work. These First-Steps ideas are in such promising, limitless infancy, it will be a fascinating journey to see them develop into stage plays, or perhaps venture into creative worlds as yet unknown to both Polka and the artist. And for the Next Steps artists, we are hoping to plug a gap that exists between initial R&D exploration, into solid ideas and further development, to provide the possibility for future programming. It feels more important than ever that we provide space and support for artists to explore and innovate without pressures, and that’s exactly why this programme exists. Polka is building on our reputation as a home for artists to create, inspire and learn from children, and by nurturing amazing networks of artists with a passion for TYA to support each other. I hope through training, space, mentoring and seed funding, we are able to give long-term possibility to both artists and projects through this vital programme.” 

Previous Catapult artists from the 2024 cohort are now developing their projects further with venues including: The Albany, Half Moon Theatre, Z-Arts, Sheffield Theatres, Bradford Arts Centre and Norwich Theatre.  ‘Polka has given me the tools, time and resources to achieve and I'm very grateful.’ Past Catapult participant.  

Polka Theatre is one of just a handful of dedicated children’s venues in the UK. Re-opening in 2021 after a major renovation, it continues to present a year-round programme of shows produced by Polka and from visiting companies. Polka also offers a full programme of Creative Learning activities for ages 0–12, with over 21,000 children taking part in the last year. Polka enjoys flexible rehearsal and workshop spaces along with two performance spaces: the Y C Chan Theatre has a 300-seat capacity, and the Adventure Theatre can seat up to 90 depending on the show format. 

Over the past year, Polka has worked with 143 schools through Creative Learning projects and has distributed over 9,000 free tickets to schools through their Curtain Up! scheme. 

Polka is a community hub and vital resource, open 6 days per week, 50 weeks per year at a challenging time to be a sustainable public venue with step-free access, free-to-access play spaces and a cosy and welcoming café and shop.