2023
Outreach Pilot with The Octagon Theatre, Yeovil
Joanna recently delivered workshops as part of an outreach pilot between Reveal Productions and The Octagon Theatre, Yeovil. Participants were challenged, stimulated and inspired to find their ‘voice’ by asking questions, speaking up and joining in, expressing themselves and contributing ideas. The pilot aimed to develop and test a partnership between the Octagon Theatre and Yeovil4Family and deliver health and wellbeing activity, with focus on mental health.
Here’s what participants said about the workshops:
‘What a surprise… I really enjoyed that.’
‘That was really fun and interesting and wasn’t sure what to expect.’
‘I really loved working together and creating the story and characters.’
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Somerset Emotional Wellbeing (SEW) podcast
Stephen Moss and Mary Renouf recently spoke to Dr. Peter Bagshaw and Dr. Andrew Tresidder on the Somerset Emotional Wellbeing podcast about our film Care As You Are, how it came to be made, partnering with local care organisations, and how Mary brought her personal experience to the writing process.
Click here to listen to the full episode.
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2022
The Saviour
Directed by Joanna, The Saviour is a new cabaret-comedy-musical, set in a Yeovil fish and chip shop.
The story follows the relationship between two sisters, as they try to save their dying family business. The Saviour was performed in the heart of Somerset in December 2022 as an alternative Christmas Show.
Here’s what our audiences have said about The Saviour:
“Hilarious” | “Excellent performances” | “Strong community spirit”
“Completely bonkers!” | “It had lots of surprises” | “A great alternative Christmas show “
“The main aim of the production is to encourage participation in the Arts in rural Somerset and to develop artistic excellence in the county. We are working with an early career Choreographer, Composer/Musical Director and Playwright. The show also stars four professional Actor-Musicians, who all have a strong connection to Somerset.
The show was born in the time of COVID lockdown (2020), as a way for professional theatre makers and non-artists to come together and continue working/creating. We aimed to help reduce loneliness and isolation by running a series of movement and music workshops, during and post lockdown, that have fed creative material directly into the soundtrack and choreography for the show. These sessions all took place in South Somerset.” – Sarah Setter, Lost Lady Society
Lost Lady Society is a community based organisation based in South Somerset, set up to empower women through the creative arts. The organisation was founded by arts manager Sarah Setter in 2019 and now has a small team of Lost Ladies that help run its projects. Lost Ladies Society has curated a variety of events including music gigs, plays, podcasts and pop-up artisan markets.
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Ongoing Project with …… the play
Joanna received a grant from Arts Council England in 2022 to research and develop a play exploring grooming and the ‘normalisation’ of sexual abuse and how shame and compliance locks the child into the so-called ‘normalisation’. Is it possible to create safety and growth from these experiences?
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Care As You Are E-Learning Programme
Care As You Are, our film about the emotional impact of caring for a parent or spouse with dementia developed as part of our imaginAge projects, continues to move people and support guided conversations about caring for someone with a progressive condition such as dementia. The e-learning programme based on the film will shortly go live with Somerset County Council Social Care, and we will be offering the programme more widely this year (2022).
We are also exploring how the film and some of the activities devised around it can be embedded in a new app that is being developed to support carers in their role. We recently developed a two-hour online workforce development workshop, using scenes from the film, for a large mental health and community trust. The workshop was attended by clinicians and carers the trust has supported.
We are also working with a well-established carers centre to explore how all these developments might be taken forward to support their work.
Scroll down for more about the creation of the Care As You Are film in ‘Previous Projects’.
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2021
Mind Over Matter School workshops
Reveal Productions is working with Edmonton Community Foundation, who are in partnership with 30 local schools in North London, to deliver full day workshops in North London schools.
The Mind Over Matter drama workshops, delivered by Joanna and co-facilitator June Tuitt, support 10-11-year-olds to build confidence, trust and resilience, and learn how to be strong in difficult times. Each day ends with a short performance, and we are working with the schools to plan a follow-up in the classroom.
Mind Over Matter workshops continued in 2022.
View photos from the workshops here
Here’s what schools have said about the workshops:
“Reveal Productions have been flexible and adaptable throughout what has been a very difficult time for working with vulnerable people. Despite the challenges of working in schools during a pandemic, Reveal were able to provide over 400 children and young people in Edmonton with fantastic full day drama experiences that kept everyone engaged and enjoying themselves whilst driving home important messages of staying strong in the face of adversity. Thank you all for your enthusiasm and commitment at every stage of this project – you made it a wonderful experience for myself and our schools” – Ben Bryant, Project Coordinator & Bid Writer at Edmonton Community Partnership“An opportunity for children to have a voice and express themselves, whilst learning collaboratively about vital topics. All children were included and celebrated, giving them purpose and knowledge. Well organised and led by adults with masses of energy!” – Sarah Mead, Deputy Headteacher at Meridian Angel Primary School“I want to take this opportunity to thank you and June for such a lovely day, the children and I had a good feel of being strong in difficult times and using emotions and drama to overcome these fears” – Christiana Christodoulou, Social and Emotional Wellbeing Lead at Eldon Primary School
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Apples and Angels
Apples and Angels was a Wassail Production, written by Nick White and directed by Joanna Procter.
Pete Steel runs Tours of Somerset, bringing the country to life through adventure and storytelling. Over the past five years, Wassail has been telling Pete’s stories, which have been embedded in different parts of Somerset’s landscapes; across the Somerset Levels, Westhay’s peat-rich Nature Reserve and in the towns & villages of the county. This is the last chapter of Pete’s story, and his quest for inner peace.
Apples & Angels was performed at Burrow Hill in Somerset throughout September 2021. View more photos here.
“Adam and I were really impressed with the production and are eager to do a similar scale community production again in the future.
Joanna worked so well with the community cast, she was in tune with their needs and fears and over the course of the rehearsal period each member of the cast developed and grew in confidence. I only heard positive feedback, with each cast member holding Joanna in great esteem.” –Katherine Hoskins, Community and Outreach Officer at the Octagon Theatre, Yeovil“I had never experienced immersive theatre previously, and to observe the growth of a play from script to production has been a wonderful experience. Rehearsals being held in the orchard and the blocking process to decide the best visual experience for the autonomous audience was very enlightening. Mixing with professionals and young people from college and school with a love of acting is amazing. An extraordinary experience for someone who has never participated in a play before.” -Christine Baker Community Actor
“As parents we have noticed a massive change in E’s attitude and willingness to try things out. Friends and family have noticed how much he has matured, gained confidence in himself and his general approach to life.” -Katrina Teasdale parent of Young Community Member
“What a journey this has all been. So many wonderful things have come out of this experience. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Joanna, her enthusiasm and spirit is second to none. This production required a certain type of director and Joanna was definitely that person.” -Anthony Clements, Production Manager
“It was indeed a joy to be part of Apples and Angels. The place, obviously, was a daily delight and it was a wonderful group of people to be part of. The extraordinarily supportive atmosphere was in large part set by Joanna, who did a brilliant job of making everyone feel special while juggling all the disparate timetables and scenes and somehow piecing a patchwork together into a cohesive whole, with some really beautiful moments.” -Imogen Smith, Actor
“I had a truly wonderful experience working on Apples and Angels. Joanna is one heck of a woman – truly brilliant and wonderful and inspirational. I am so proud of what we created and of everybody who was part of the team to make it happen. Without Joanna at the helm, we would have made something entirely inferior and far less brilliant. She has such brilliant vision.” –Lucy Harrington, Actor
Previous Projects
The Red Shoes
A retelling of The Red Shoes – a vicious story of loss, pain and addiction. This socially distanced, outdoor performance took place in a garden overlooking the Somerset Levels on 28th and 30th August 2020 with audiences from the local community. People came to enjoy live performance in their backyard, something they had been missing for months.
Directed by Joanna Procter and performed by storyteller Sarah Mooney and dancer Asha Pathy-Barker, with music from Jenny Bliss and William Kraemer.
Watch highlights from both performances below.
Here’s what our audiences have said about The Red Shoes:
‘How incredible to see live performance again, I have missed it so much… and such unusual and amazing performances. You should do this again’
‘So accessible and also so sophisticated…very different in the telling of the story… really atmospheric’
‘Complete magic – especially when the storm came… really imaginative’
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Heartbeat Doorstep Theatre
Lockdown created a situation for many where we have been cut off and isolated from one another and the familiar way of life that we knew. Live performances were stopped and online connection took over, but as the weeks and months passed, people craved that live, visceral contact.
Heartbeat was a joint project with Wassail Theatre, funded by Arts Council England. The project aims to create theatre which is tactile, intimate, and touching (in the heartfelt sense!). Performances create a sense of fun and connection, bringing joy and recognition to the local community.
Across 18 shows – all with a completely different atmosphere – the production was enjoyed by children, young people, middle ages and elders alike! Heartbeat is a poignant piece, taking the audience on a journey around the lockdown experience and providing a space for them to participate, sharing their voices and thoughts. The show is a great example of what we call Social and Community Theatre, where site specific relates an intensity of really being in your own yard. This is Theatre being brought directly to local people – literally right on their Doorstep!
View photos of performances here
Here’s what our audiences have said about Heartbeat:
‘Fantastic experience and something different in bringing the community together’
‘It’s really important to get a chance to talk about what has actually happened – and having live performance’
‘Unique and refreshing – makes you think a bit’
Read more testimonials here.
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Sierra Leone – Wood Green, Online Arts Platform
This project began with an exploration of culture, place and the impact of lockdown, COVID-19 and connecting African Caribbean – African Community experiences. This was the start of a longer-term engagement, aiming to create joint creative expression through online channels. The project organically evolved into a two way festival, sharing a range of performances, including poetry, rap, dance, storytelling, songs, artwork and beyond, via Zoom over the course of 10 weeks.
Listen to Joanna’s poem ‘Meet Africaridon‘ below
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Take a moment to read this reflection of the project from our collaborator June Tuitt
The journey across the oceans has been a unique, exciting, spiritual and invigorating experience. It evolved quite spontaneously into a cross-cultural intergenerational exchange on an emotional, educational and psychological level. One of the many things this journey showed me was quite often those who have the least accessibility to modern technology seem to take advantage of the opportunities offered. There was more of a hunger and enthusiasm to get the most out of the meetings.
Watching the young people so willing to show their creative skills and talents in singing, spoken word, rap, dancing, graphics and performing showed us how our youth go beyond their stereotypical labels. Harmonny, a young woman of 13 years old, said she learnt more by listening and participating than any online school programme. She grew so much during the weeks and it was the first time she performed her song in public and on any platform. The platform definitely challenged our young people and created a safe space to develop trust and confidence.
People were able to share their emotional journeys and stories around death and COVID-related traumas. It was extremely emotional and touching to hear heartfelt and personal stories from everyone. We truly opened up about what loss feels like, how we differ and how we are the same through the grieving process. Everything was expressed through different artforms and open discussion.
Our finale was a festival over two weeks – nobody wanted it to end. These are links and bonds that have been created for a lifetime. It was the first opportunity that I had the time and space to explore my own poetry and it was received with kindness and enthusiasm. Being a facilitator and co-facilitator was a wonderful experience, working alongside Stephen, Joanna and Hassan… and of course all the other members of the group.
And this testimony from Hassan Kanu
The participation into the Wood Green – Sierra Leone ZOOM platform came from a long-term relationship and mentorship from Joanna Procter and Stephen Moss (Reveal Productions) through drama, theatre, storytelling, poetry and cultural dance and performances. The platform was fruitful, motivational, and has impacted the lives of many young Sierra Leoneans in a decent and pleasant way of life for the past weeks . In bringing young people across the country in Sierra Leone, this has created a swift way of self-discovery in order for them to continue their journey through their area of expertise.
Positive Impacts: Apparently now everyone in our Sierra Leone community knows about Zoom, compared to before COVID. People have congregated to the service to keep up with friends on the normal Monday meeting from London with Joanna (and June Tuitt with the Wood Green London crowd), which has transformed for better changes, especially bringing them together for a better lifestyle. The Wood Green – Sierra Leone Zoom platform, through the cultural heritage, poetry, drama, storytelling, from Freetown young stars has helped them to identify their potential talent in a suitable way of life.
In this time of immense growth, people are realising that when they are globally connected they will learn a lot of things.
Challenges: The only challenge is that connecting many people in Sierra Leone through Zoom link is actually costly for many hours. Even though the network is very good and clear, it is really expensive and it was sponsored by Joanna Procter (Reveal Productions using Arts Council England COVID Emergency funding for this project) every Monday (for 10 weeks, ending in the last 2 weeks with a mini festival of performance from Wood Green and Sierra Leone).
We hope that these strides will stimulate to build a well-designed bridge that connects and unites to all partners at home and abroad.
Since the project, Hassan and his friends in Sierra Leone are setting up a new NGO – Global Youth Network Initiative – to connect young people using Zoom for creative arts connections, and creating a YouTube channel for putting up creative content. This will develop youth leadership in Sierra Leone and will aim to connect with us and other countries.
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Pattern Up 2020
Funded by the Arts Council England and Westhill Endowment Trust, Pattern Up The Play completed its second run in February 2020.
Mongi Mthombeni worked with writer Marika McKennell and director Joanna Procter to develop the original script and embolden the story. The cast worked with Rubs Stevenson to incorporate African dance into the play and actor Jae Marcus X developed a number of acapella songs based on traditional African chants and gospel. New actors Jeremie Kadi and Amaarah Roze joined the cast.
Pattern Up toured to 8 locations in early 2020 and was performed in theatre settings, including the Arcola Theatre, Hackney and McQueen’s Theatre at Karamel, Wood Green, as well as at City Hall (Greater London Authority Council Chamber), a church hall, a community college, an Academy High School, and an Alternative Education Provision. Performances received a very positive response, particularly from the young people in the schools. The performance at the High School with 80 students ended with a very positive discussion with the cast and dancing to music played by our new self-taught sound man Anaijiah Tuitt. This was followed in the afternoon by a two-hour workshop with the students, exploring the themes of the play.
The performance at Tottenham Community Sports Centre was very well attended and the cast was met with a standing ovation and a long discussion with the audience.
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OD Festival East and West Coker Somerset 2020
We began work with Nick White and Wassail Productions to devise a performance for the festival with students at Yeovil College. Unfortunately this project was put on hold due to COVID-19, but we are ever hopeful.
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Public Service Transformation Academy Annual Conference, 18th June 2019
We worked with Sola Adebiyi and RedQuadrant to provide a taster session at this conference, looking at how public services can work better with citizens in a transformational way. This was an ’embodied systems’ session, using “Theatre of the Opressed” methods to provide something different and unexpected that might change the audience’s way of thinking and inspire them to try something different in working with complex systems of relationships, and to demonstrate the voice of the service user/the outsiders – which is unlikely to be well-represented at the conference.
This approach could be incorporated into a deeper exploration of how local health and care systems work. It was very well received by the 30+ delegates at the conference. Although just a taster, we received a great deal of engagement and voices of the service user were vividly invoked.
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Somerset Charabanc 2019
A joint production with Nick White of Wassail Theatre and Somerset Wildlife Trust at Westhay Nature Reserve, funded by Arts Council England.
This year the Millers Cart drawn by Suffolk Shire horses blazed a trail through Westhay Nature Reserve, with the audience on board exploring the land where the action took place; a story of greed and deception against the backdrop of climate change and conservation.
There were 20+ performances through June and July.
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Care As You Are, the Film
A training tool for professionals working with family carers of people with dementia
Care As You Are, created with Mary Renouf as part of our imaginAge projects, is a film about the emotional impact of caring for a parent or spouse with dementia. This project is funded by a grant from the “Solutions for an Ageing Society” programme run by Somerset Community Foundation in partnership with UnLtd, South West Academic Health Science Network and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
The film is written by Mary and directed by Joanna, working with dementia expert Dr Jane Dalrymple and carers groups in Somerset to ensure the script met the needs of carers. Conversations surrounding dementia in loved ones can be awkward and pushed under the carpet, especially when talking about feelings. People can feel isolated, frustrated and invisible.
We received a grant from Somerset CC Adult Social Care to develop a film as a training tool for people working with and supporting family carers. The film was screened in Langport and Taunton as part of Dementia Action Week on 21st and 22nd May 2019, followed by a training development workshop on 25th June to develop the training package with a number of professionals. We then continued our work with Dr Dalrymple to develop the training packages, working with a number of organisations representing different parts of the sector.
Following feedback, Care As You Are has now been developed into two versions – one is a straight-through version, while the other pauses at the end of various scenes to allow reflections and questions relating to the scene.
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Pattern Up, November 2018 – January 2019
Pattern Up was performed 9 times at community centres in North London, the College of Haringey, Enfield and NE London, and in two venues in Leicester, where June grew up. We had an audience of around 600 across the performances. After each show the cast held a discussion with the audience and shared information about the work of Communities Against Violence Haringey, a grassroots community organisation founded by Ken, June and other community activists in Haringey, North London.
Pattern Up Rehearsals 2018
Pattern Up is a play devised and directed by Joanna Procter alongside two community activists, Ken Hinds and June Tuitt, based on their lives in Tottenham, London. Written by Marika McKennell, the play shares their stories and commitment to ending violence in their community.
The initial phase of the project, funded by Arts Council England, involved engaging local people, research, and script development. We then received additional funding from the Arts Council and Westhill Endowment Trust to go into production and performances.
June Tuitt
Ken Hinds
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Chara-bike
OD Festival East and West Coker, Somerset 2018
A one-man show for the OD Festival, an Arts Festival in East and West Coker, with Nick White of Wassail Productions, based on the character “Pete” from Somerset Charabanc, the show followed his character (played by Nick) and his girlfriend “Babs” (a puppet with personality) around the villages of East and West Coker, with performances taking place in pub, meadow, playground, cafe, and even a butcher shop!
View more photos of the performance here.