We’ve had a busy March at Outside Edge. Last month we enjoyed not one, but two brilliant performances from Edge Two and The Company. ‘Illusions’ was a culmination of Edge Two’s most recent module focused on the work of two renowned theatre practitioners, Augusto Boal and Keith Johnstone. The Company worked with director Hannah Hauer-King to form ‘The Anti-Loneliness Club’ – doing whatever was required to ward off mid-pandemic loneliness and bring us Never Be Lonely. The performance was live streamed to share the joy and was a resounding success! Congratulations to both Edge Two and The Company for their fantastic work.
Heading into April we have more exciting things lined up at Outside Edge including the start of a new group! That’s right, Drop-in Drama is coming to East London on Tuesday nights, starting from 6th April. These weekly workshops are being run by a new facilitation team of Shiv and Alessandra. We also have a new venue being announced for Edge Two so watch this space for that announcement!
There are some changes to the workshop schedule this month with some group modules coming to an end and new groups starting so make sure to check it out.
April Workshop Schedule
Monthly Schedule of Activities
April 2021
If you are new to OETC and would like to participate in any of these activities then please register your interest here, and someone from our team will contact you.
Mondays
6:30pm-8:30pm – Edge Two (Christopher & Julia)
Starting back 27th April at LAMDA
If you have attended a month of any of our Drop-In activities and would like to join Edge Two for their next module please email admin@edgetc.org.
Tuesdays
6:30pm-8:30pm – **NEW GROUP** East London Drop-in Drama (Shiv and Alessandra)
6:30pm-8:00pm – Theatre Club (Molly)
Join us in a conversation about our weekly Theatre Trip! Watch the play online ahead of the group then join us for a chat about the play and a Q&A with an exciting guest from the show or production team.
6th April – Really Want to Hurt Me (Theatre503)
13th April – Living Newspaper (Royal Court) – Link to be sent.
20th April – Home: Part 1 (Abbey Theatre)
27th April – Sadie (Lyric Theatre Belfast, BBC player)
Wednesdays
3:30pm-5:30pm – Write Now (Stewart & Hannah)
6:30pm-8:30pm – West London Drop-In Drama (Tunde & Julia)
Thursdays
12:30pm-2:30pm – Women’s Drama Group (Gemma & Charon)
Fridays
1:00pm-3:00pm – Peer-led Check-in (Liam & Sue)
The chat room is open for participants to support each other or just meet up to chat about how they are feeling. Open to all participants who have attended 1 other group previously.
6:30pm-8:30pm – South London Drop-In Drama (Julia & Shiv)
Please note that all OETC groups will now be held on Zoom (as well as some running a blended delivery). All current OETC participants should have received an email and/or text message from us with information on how to join in the activities.
If you are a participant who did not yet receive this information, please email admin@edgetc.org or call us on 0207 371 8020. To keep up to date with the latest schedules check us out on Twitter (@OutsideTheatre) and Facebook (@Outsidedgetheatre) every Monday! Follow us on social media to see what Outside Edge is up to.
Congratulations to The Company for their performance – ‘Never Be Lonely’
On Tuesday we were treated to a performance of Never Be Lonely from The Company (or should I say the Anti-Loneliness Cub)! The production was devised by Outside Edge participants and focused on how community and peer-support have helped them to feel less isolated throughout lockdown this year. There was singing, there was dancing and a fantastic time was had by all! A huge congratulations to all cast members and the creative team.
Thanks to Director Hannah Hauer-King (Artistic Director and co-founder of Damsel Productions) and our wonderful volunteer Assistant Director Alice Hoskyns for making it all possible.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the fun. Here’s a sneak peak of behind the scenes and what the audience had to say…
| “What an absolutely incredible show. I was laughing, smiling and clapping along. It really did raise my spirits and what a fantastic way to combat loneliness. Congratulations to the Anti-Loneliness Club on such a success!” “I thought this was a lively, bold and highly entertaining piece. It was everything I love about Outside Edge. There was fun, laughter and silliness on the surface but it was underpinned by real stagecraft and skill. I enjoyed the absurdist elements that typifies a lot of Outside Edge’s work. I was struck by how well the ensemble worked as a team, each being supported in their moment to shine. I was moved to tears of both laughter and genuine poignancy.” “I thought the evening was remarkable and how the director had elicited such heart-felt, poignant and yet funny performances was very moving” “Loved it, loved it, loved it. I started crying at one point, I loved the dancing and singing and by the end, I was dancing. Great entertainment. The Company all worked so hard (as I know the staff of OETC did) and it showed.” |
The Company is generously supported by:
**NEW GROUP** East London Drop-in Drama starting April 6th!
We’re so excited to announce that a new weekly Drop-in Drama group is starting from 6th April on Tuesday evenings (6.30pm-8.30pm) at Brady Arts Centre near Whitechapel (E1 5HU). This is an informal group for anyone affected by addiction and who wants to build their Recovery Capital. Come and laugh with some new friends and play easy improvisation games that will improve your wellbeing and support your recovery. The workshop is a fun, safe introduction to drama and to Outside Edge, suitable for those who may have little or no experience of drama and are in early stages of their recovery.
Drop-in Drama will help you to:
1. Build confidence
2. Have fun
3. Develop focus and commitment
Our new East London Drop-in Drama group is being run by a new facilitation team of Shiv and Alessandra. To find out more or if you have any questions please get in touch: admin@edgetc.org
If you are interested in attending and are new to Outside Edge then please register your interest here:
Register To Join OETC’s Free Drama Workshops
East London Drop-in Drama is generously supported by:
Écarté – Save the date!
We’re excited to announce our next Outside Edge sharing will be from our dance group, Moving Recovery, who have been working in collaboration with Fallen Angels Dance Theatre Company on Thursday evenings throughout lockdown. On 8th April at 6.30pm the group will share a performance called Écarté that they have been working on with Paul (Artistic Director of Fallen Angels) and the Moving Recovery team. We can’t wait to see what they’ve been getting up to in their weekly night sessions.
Meeting ID: 835 9879 2559
Passcode: 900104
Moving Recovery generously supported by:
Collective Voice (with thanks to the Government for making this possible)
and
Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund
Overdose Awareness Day
Outside Edge will again participate this year in the bigger and better Overdose Awareness Day performance on 31st August, collaborating with other brilliant recovery arts organisations from across the country. The project will build on last year’s important work (see our August 2020 Newsletter section for details of our involvement last year) and create a filmed piece that we can share in collaboration with partners across the country to raise awareness of overdose. The exact rehearsal schedule for the project will be confirmed soon, but the plan is to film material throughout July that will be compiled along with the work from other groups across the country to share on Overdose Awareness Day.
Come along to a Zoom meeting on April 29th at 4pm to find out what this year is all about. The project will be led by Kate McCoy (Small Performance Adventures) with great companies including Fallen Angels Dance Theatre Company and other recovery communities across the country (including Theatre Royal Plymouth, New Note Orchestra, Geese Theatre Company and Bristol Drugs Project).
We’d love for you to join us this year as we prepare to celebrate, educate and raise awareness…
Zoom details will be sent to OETC participants closer to the time.
Thank you to our new supporters…
During these difficult times we would like to thank our recent supporters who have made donations to Outside Edge this month:
From our friends…
Minds FC
Our friends at Minds United FC are launching a multi-sports programme at Westway, marking a return to in person delivery!
The football club supports adults in the RBKC community experiencing mental health issues and substance misuse. They promote respect, equality, inclusion, diversity and wellbeing. The club has a Health Partnership with NHS West London CCG and welcomes players of all abilities, providing fun, friendly and free football sessions every week at their London FA Just Play Centres in North Kensington. All sessions are delivered by FA qualified coaches.
If you’re interested in engaging with mental health and addiction recovery through sport, then check out their website for more information and to see what they have going on: https://mindsunitedfc.com
Support Us
To continue to offer our creative activities for free we reply on the continued support of grants and donations.
If you would like to help Outside Edge through this challenging time, then please consider donating.
