alternativeTheatre
the home of inamoment theatre
theatre with a beat!
Theatre ¦ Shakespeare
UNDOING ¦ UNLEARNING ¦ UNBEING
alternativeTHEATRE
20 years ago we asked ourselves:-
"Is it possible to create new plays for today's modern world by adapting Classic
theatre works and welding them to the concerns of the world around us?"
For many, the two approaches of Modern & Classic Theatre would seem to be distinctly at odds.
For us it is completely the other way round - it is our belief you cannot adequately do
the one without the other. All our writing, productions, and
workshops, flow from this sole aim.
We view our Theatre work as having 4 main strands to them,
To see more details about our play performances,
please click one of these:-
alternativeShakespeare Old 'n' New Brum Beats Workshop Theatre
2004: Beginnings
It all started with Frank's writing of Time After Time, which led to its production in St. John's Church,
in Frank's home city of Birmingham. This was under the banner of Heart Productions,
with the help of the Actors Centre Birmingham and Stagecoach.
PRODUCTIONS
Time After Time
2004-2006 - Shakespeare Sequels
The following years saw the creation and performance of the first
3 alternativeShakespeare sequels in a number of festivals,
again as Heart Productions.
PRODUCTIONS
Romeo & Juliet For All Time
Love Hurts
Macbeth Killing Time
Tempest Fugit:Prospero's Will
2007-2010: London
2007 lead to a change of name to inamoment and also the move to London,
teaming up with an up-and-coming young Director, Arnaud Mugglestone.
The next 3 years saw 3 productions in London, as well
as further appearances at festivals.
PRODUCTIONS
3 Women, 2 Chairs, and 1 MP
The Accidental Lives of Memories
Shooting Clouds
Time Out of Joint
Best of Three
2011-2013: Blue Orange/Old Joint Stock
In 2011, operations moved back to Birmingham, and a close alliance with the soon to
be opened Blue Orange Theatre, picking up again with producer Mark Webster.
There we developed our Theatre workshops.
A call from the Old Joint Stock Theatre, also in the heart of Birmingham, led to a number of plays being
produced there. In that time we also headed the New Theatre Initiative and Theatre Exchange.
PRODUCTIONS
Barefaced Nights
Kicking Off
New Theatre Initiative
Ophelia, Princess of Denmark
I Love You…Goodbye
Parklife
2014-2017: Jewellery Quarter
In 2014 we set up theWorkshop, a space in the Jewellery Quarter dedicated to creating and
workshopping new Theatre, resulting in several workshop and main-stage productions.
Our next base was at St.Paul's Church, also in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham.
This led to the formation of the Theatre of the Quarter, and weekly
Theatre sessions, out of which came collaborative productions
focused on Birmingham,as part of our Brum Beats initiative.
The weekly sessions relocated to the Birmingham & Midland
Institute in the City Centre, along with further productions
of new plays, both in the city and, increasingly,
in various festivals throughout the country.
PRODUCTIONS
A Quarter Full
One Christmas Eve
King Lear (alone)
The Nativity 2015
Orpheus in Blue
The Other Side
2018-20
The next project was, and still is, ArtsTransForm. This was set up with
2 close colleagues to explore new digital ways of presenting
our work. We are currently experimenting with new forms
of Theatre, both audio and visual. The collaborative
nature of our work continues to develop.
PRODUCTIONS
An Audience with Sir John Falstaff
Cordelia / Fool
2020-??
More recently, our energies have focused on the launch of TheAlternativeSpace,
which will oversee the creation of written and audio playbooks arising
out of our previous play productions.
PRODUCTIONS
Romeo & Juliet: The Confessions
We have been putting on professional productions at the following Theatre and non-Theatre venues:-
Birmingham
Old Joint Stock Theatre, St.Paul's Church, Blue Orange Theatre, Crescent Theatre,
Birmingham & Midland Institute, Library Theatre, ARC Performing Centre,
Dolphin Women's Centre
London
Kings Head Theatre, Union Theatre, White Bear Theatre, Lion and Unicorn Theatre,
Greenwich Playhouse, The Miller Pub
Edinburgh
Rocket Venues, C Venues, Zoo Venues, PQA Venue
Manchester
Oldham Library Theatre, Burgess Centre, Footlights Theatre,
Bandit Thief & Mugger, Guide Bridge Theatre
Bristol
St John on the Wall, Room Above Theatre,
Waterstones, Bristol Central Library
Bath
Burdall's Yard Theatre
Buxton
Pauper's Pit, The Opera House Studio, The Old Clubhouse,
The Arts Centre, United Reform Church
Founder Member
Frank Bramwell
Frank set up the AlternativeTheatre Collaboration to explore the challenges and excitement of
all forms of new writing, especially when it is inspired by classical Theatre. Learning from
the past, engaging with the here and now, and looking forward to the future, are vital.
Associates
Vicky Holding ¦ Alex Nikitas ¦ Steve Kukla
Having trusted and valued Associates who understand what we do
is vital to any creative forward-thinking enterprise:
Associate Directors
David Vann ¦ Marcus Fernando ¦ Arnaud Mugglestone
Victoria Grainger ¦ Tina Hofman ¦ Lauren McCarron
It has been a privilege to work alongside a wide range of talented and diverse Directors,
a number of who have worked on more than just one of our productions:
Collaborators
A large number of Collaborators have helped create and perform our plays since 2010,
often in many diverse collaborative ways. Their love of Theatre and working
unstintingly with each other has resulted in Theatre that is
fresh, personal and unique.
Actors
We cast Actors and Creatives for each production, building an ongoing
relationship with a number of actors over the years.
To see a selection of feedback from the media and audience please click here