Theatre workshops coming to Leighton Buzzard - could your life experiences inspire a play?

A touring theatre company will be holding workshops in Leighton Buzzard – could your life experiences inspire a play?
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Barrel Organ is proud to present its new project, Town Squared, as the team encourages people of all ages to sign up to sessions in Pages Park Pavilion every Monday from May 9 to July 11.

The workshops will cover topics from acting and directing to scriptwriting, set design, and more, with the end goal to create a large stage production or a number of short plays.

Associate director Dan Hutton, 30, said: “We are a touring theatre company formed eight years ago and we’ve had a refresh and rebrand.

Barrel Organ theatre companyBarrel Organ theatre company
Barrel Organ theatre company

"We always work with groups of people and are always making things from the ground up, empowering people to share their story.”

Dan grew up in Linslade and was a keen member of the Leighton Buzzard Drama Group, while has since worked with organisations across the country, including the Royal and Derngate and New Vic Theatre.

Explaining how Town Squared started, Dan said: “This project came about because during the pandemic I wrote a book called Towards a Civic Theatre.

"Theatre is often disconnected from communities but they should be rooted in their spaces, so I thought I would come up with a project which would be really rooted in specific locations.

"I want to share this amazing art form with the people of Leighton Buzzard and we’d love to inspire people who haven’t thought about drama before to share their story and new ways of making theatre.”

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The workshops will feature special guests from the industry and each will have a different theme.

Attendees can even suggest story ideas based on their life experiences, and people of any age can take part (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult).

Dan added: “Theatre is imaginative and made so it requires an audience to finish it – without one it doesn’t exist.

"It’s about bringing people together and creating a new society for those two hours, with the world reflected back at you.”

Barrel Organ would like to thank everyone in the Leighton-Linslade community who has supported the project so far.

For more information, contact Dan via: [email protected].

Bursaries are available to cover transport costs if needed.