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The Room at the Top of the House
by Stand By Theatre Company LTDphysical-theatre-and-circus, theatre
A visually inventive, honest and uplifting show about fear and the impact our decisions have on those we care about.
about the production
Josh finds the outside world a fascinating and frightening place. At a time when he is most vulnerable, a room of forgotten things quickly becomes the perfect place for him to escape reality. His family make a desperate attempt to help him realise there is more to life than photos on a shelf and postcards under the door. We intentionally do not diagnose Josh or mention mental health within the show, instead we express emotional states through physicality. All content is based on true accounts. The piece also delves into how those not directly suffering can be affected.
about the artist
We focus on unearthing hidden stories and offering a voice to those not always heard, visually telling stories through physical theatre combined with poetic text. We are based in Lincoln and work closely with Lincoln Performing Arts Centre who commissioned our current show to go to Edinburgh Fringe 2017. The show has since then been to Incoming Festival (Manchester & London) & TakeOver Festival (York). We also run a youth theatre group at Nottingham Lakeside Arts and have received 2 creative bursaries from Lincolnshire One Venues (a network of 9 arts venues).
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stage dimensions
width: 5 metres
height: 3 metres
depth: 5 metres
Use of in house lighting rig and use of PA system.
Performance space preferably in thrust but can also be adapted to end-on spaces.
We tour with 15-13amp converters (X4) going from dimmers (15amp) to a standard plug (13amp) which we use to control the domestic lamps through the lighting desk. Ideally, we run this through 2 channels (For example, 1 lamp on channel 1 and 3 lamps on channel 2) We also use a ‘flickering’ effect for these lights. Please get in touch if you think this will be an issue with the lighting desk you will be providing.
Young people: 70% of young people who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions and with mental health services in the UK being overstretched, we feel it is highly important to engage with young people through this project. Our main target audience is ages 14-24.
Another target audience is those who have lived with mental health and relate to the topic in some capacity. Health care professionals also reflected on the usefulness of viewing this type of work, making NHS staff members another key audience for us - allowing them to look at cases through a patient's perspective.
Bridges the gap between physical theatre and dance
This is a slick and thoughtful piece, using the performers' skill and the medium of physical theatre to highlight an issue that will affect as many as one in three people in their lifetimes
A hopeful story about love and relationships
Although we do not have anything specifically in place to more the piece highly accessible to all, due to the visual and physical aspects of the piece, it can be enjoyed by those who are hard d/deaf through a visual interpretation.
Prior to each performance, we offer workshops/discussions either at a local school/community group or at the performance venue. Workshops will look at techniques we used to create the show in order for participants to use their own stories and experiences to express themselves through physicality as well as seeing that we all have the ability to feel low.
We aim to begin creative dialogues surrounding mental health before participants even see the work, creating a platform for discussion and debate as well as developing creative skills by learning how to work with sensitive material when devising through using real stories.
The show runs at between £800-£1,000 depending on location and accommodation/travel costs etc. We are in the process of applying for additional funding for the tour and therefore, prices may be negotiable. We are able to do 1-3 performances per day at each venue we visit.
