Last Friday, our Executive Producer Sally brought together our volunteers, freelancers and staff for a special evening - a chance to pause, connect, and share everything that's happening across Barbican Theatre right now.
The get-together, covered our newly restructured team, our community outreach work, the Pathways programme, upcoming opportunities and events. With so much happening under the Barbican Theatre umbrella, evenings like this are invaluable - giving everyone across the wider team a fuller picture of each strand of the organisation, and the best chance to become real advocates for what we do.
Our Outreach
Community is at the heart of everything we do, and our outreach work reflects the incredible diversity of people we work with across Plymouth. Here are a few of our current outreach programmes:
Unspoken- a space for LGBTQ+ people over 50 to share their stories and experiences and to co-create events and activities for the community.
Family Dance- creative movement for families in Whitleigh, Southway and Plymstock, also tackling food poverty by offering a free snack for participants
Community Facilitator Training- building skills and confidence in community leaders.
Burrington Craft Crew- creative a crafting group in the heart of the community of Honicknowle, a co-created project to create a sustainable and long standing group of skilled crafters.
East End- arts engagement in the East End in partnership with Take a Part and their East End Arts Action Group, working together to create arts engagement activities for the local community.
Keyham- ongoing work with the Keyham community in Keyham Green Places, offering a weekly youth drama group that includes a food provision for participants.
Adults Acting sessions- weekly sessions at Barbican Theatre for adults, focusing on skills development, creating social spaces and building confidence.
Creative Connections- sessions for participants aged over 60 to engage with creative activity and to tackle social isolation in older people.
Youth
Our youth provision is evolving, and we want to hear from you!
We're currently restructuring our theatre youth offer and have a survey out now - please do share your thoughts and what you or your young people want to see from our youth programme:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_bilBpYGM_X7lhUa8N73R0yIGnNYzq9ELMdIvNE0NNv4drA/viewform
Sound and Stage Summer Schools
This summer, we're running two Sound and Stage Summer Schools - week-long programmes where young musicians and performers come together to create and perform an original musical from scratch in just five days. Working with professional practitioners, participants form a live band or devise and star in an original show, coming together on the Friday for a performance in front of family and friends.
Ages 8–11 — Mon 27th – Fri 31st July
Ages 12–15 — Mon 17th – Fri 21st August
Spaces are limited, so find out more and book at barbicantheatre.co.uk/sound-and-stage.
BT Music
BT Music is our weekly programme for young artists, vocalists, producers and musicians aged 13–25. Every Monday evening, participants work with industry professionals on songwriting, music production, live performance and artist development - building skills and confidence in a creative, collaborative space. Through our partnership with Sound Factory, there are also exciting performance opportunities and the chance to be heard on BBC Introducing Radio.
Membership is £32 a month, with bursaries available. Find out more at barbicantheatre.co.uk/bt-music.
Pathways
Pathways is our artist development programme, supporting South West creatives with the space, mentorship and opportunities to grow. Offering one-to-one career conversations, quarterly Scratch Nights and three-month residencies, it's designed to meet artists wherever they are in their journey.
Find out more at barbicantheatre.co.uk/pathways.
Interested in Volunteering?
Volunteers are a vital part of the Barbican Theatre family, and we'd love to hear from you. As a volunteer, you'll have the opportunity to:
Support live performances and events
Welcome and assist audiences
Gain experience in a dynamic theatre setting
Meet like-minded people and be part of our creative community
Find out more at barbicantheatre.co.uk/jobs-opportunities
Evenings like this are a reminder of just how much Barbican Theatre does - and how many people make it possible. Thank you to Sally for bringing everyone together, and to every volunteer, freelancer and staff member who gives their time, energy and creativity to this place which is so important to so many people.
Support Us
Everything you've read about - the outreach, the summer schools, the music classes, the pathways - only happens because people believe in what Barbican Theatre stands for. If this place has ever meant something to you, a donation is a way of helping make sure it keeps doing that for others.
Regular giving starts from £6 a month, and one-off donations are always welcome. Every contribution makes a real difference.
