We began the year coming full circle, an end at a beginning, by performing our final theatre show of SHED at Northern School of Contemporary Dance, the place Me and Sam met and really our story together began.
I remember the days as a 13 year old when I began training at NSCD that I would dream of performing on that stage, never mind having my own professional show perform there - it was surreal. Yet, when the moment comes, as is common with this industry, I knew what was coming next - and it really was beyond anything I could’ve hoped for 2024.
My best friend kept saying to me, 2024 is your year. And It became a phrase that I would repeat often in my head. A kind of manifestation of sorts. I don’t know what powers were at play, but it has felt like, after 7 years of nonstop graft, the gains have started to come through - and I guess, she was right. 2024 was wildly successful for us.
And in that breath, I feel the the desire to undercut that statement, to acknowledge the dire state of the arts, to stand in solidarity with our peers who are receiving rejection after rejection, to supplement our success with a but. However, one of the joys of this year has been working with Natalie as a wellbeing support and I’m working on not using BUT to minimise. 2024 has been wildly successful AND incredibly long coming.
February brought the beginning of Reviving Her. A project that has spanned most of the year and began a series of firsts. The first time we’ve been commissioned by our local council, the first time we’ve received that large of a grant from ACE, the first time we’ve had 6 dancers in a studio for a creation period that lasted 13 weeks. It was no mean feat, and it was safe to say that everything scaled up and with that, we had to step up too.
At moments, I thought that I would burst with the responsibility that we had. There were 26 people relying on us, at least 10 of which we were providing a substantial chunk of income for them for the year. There was the responsibility to get the funding, but then of course to deliver a project that was worth of 6 months of their year. To work at this level, whilst creating the script and narrative arc that was based on partly autobiographically on my own experiences, meant I was pushed beyond boundaries that I didn’t even know I had. Often in those moments, the fear is real. I’m a perfectionist, I have a deep desire to deliver to the highest standard. I understand how scarce funding for the arts are, I understood the chance that had been taken on us. And failing just wasn’t an option. In those moments of doubt, sometimes I wish I was a stranger to my self. That I could crawl out of the layer of indecision that surrounds me. What if? What if? And and and and and.
This year has been a year of deep introspection, and to share this on a live stage, wasn’t something that I had prepared myself for. I was so consumed in getting the show up and running, getting the script done, keeping the business moving - that I was completely taken aback by the audience response to Reviving Her. With a show that was deeply personal, I somehow observed it in a way that felt removed. The trauma of Reviving Her is not extraordinary, but I guess that’s where the success of our work lies. It’s in the everyday, the unspoken broken norms that most feel and understand.
Artistically, the show was a success. Practically, it had its difficulties and it put a strain on us that we hadn’t experienced before. With the next step up comes the understanding that to run at this scale in a sustainable way, we need more support, more money. (NOOOO more fundraising!) I thought we’d get to this position and finally feel comfortable, but now we need more hands on deck than ever before.
And whose hands they are, has never been more important.
This year brought the unexpected joy of remounting SHED on a new cast and going on a rural tour. An experience that I think changed our opinion on our industry forever. Bringing Northern Rascals to life has not come without sacrifice, and stress is no joke. The physical and mental impacts have been deep, but that’s a blog for another time. The rural tour brought a way of working that was so bloody good for our mental health. It drilled back into us the importance of connection, particularly with those strapped in the van beside you.
This year we’ve employed between 30-40 freelancers, some of which we’ve just met and others we’ve been working with for 7 years. These deep bonds, this deep respect is so vital to the success of not just our work, but our industry. The end of the year brought funding to remount Sunny Side and to tour it in Spring 2025. It’s been a year since we last worked together and luckily, I’ve never felt as connected to this group. We look at each other and we see the life that has happened to us since, and all of that, allows for such richness to bleed into the work. We respect the work, we respect each other. And though we get snagged on hand placements, and ‘Nureyev’s sweat’, the work is still there, sitting in our bones. During our first week of remount, we were joined by our mentor and dramaturg Geoff. Geoff’s role is in the questioning, the unpicking. The sky world. The dream world. The air these characters breathe, the secrets they harbour. Geoff’s notes match my own, scrawled in my notebook - our work is cemented in the hidden moments. The moments that are nuanced, hidden from the performer but revealed to the audience. The character doesn’t have to be aware, but the performer must understand. We call them our intentional hooks. These hidden moments are what the fabric of the story lie upon. The skeleton that holds the narrative. Without them, we have an audience lost. Unsure and confused, maybe self-conscious, maybe feeling like ‘it’s not for them’. A huge driving force has always been to rid that idea from our spaces, how could this not be for you - you are so deeply embedded into every decision.
The hope for 2025 is that all this just continues.
The year begins with connection in our local community, we’re holding a Northern Rascals Weekender in Calderdale on 18th to the 19th Jan, and then filming a docufilm for Sunny Side the following week.
The end of Jan brings a brand new commission with JV2, a full circle moment for me as I was a part of the 2016-17 cohort. Starting the beginning with an ending. Again.
Then we travel the company, alongside company mascot Gus (our dog), we’ll be teaching in Gloucester, Bournemouth, Cornwall, Coventry, Leeds before we embark on our second part of the rural tour of SHED, this time all across the UK, Cornwall, Durham, Wales.
Then we take Sunny Side on it’s first nationwide tour. The first date is the 8th April at The Place, London.
See you there?
NR x