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Two devisers stand facing each other in the moment before the devising begins, encircled by other watching participants

Mudlarks: Young Devisers

Collaborate with other young people through physical training for theatre in Complicité’s spirit of playfulness, curiosity and risk-taking.

Mudlarks: Young Devisers is our forthcoming free training programme for young people with an interest in exploring devised theatre and facing barriers to arts training. It aims to create a community of future theatre makers with a core understanding of working with – and from – the body, supporting and responding to the creativity of each individual. 

We held a week-long intensive pilot of the programme in collaboration with Barbican Creative Collaboration in March 2023 led by Josie Daxter and Martins Imhangbe and supported in part by the Leche Trust and the Noël Coward Foundation. 

The next stage of the programme will run over several months. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when dates are announced and applications are open.

© Matthew Kaltenborn

 

“The week has really helped push forward my own understanding of my practice - I feel inspired and validated at the same time. I now feel like I can articulate why performance is so integral to my work, and how to root storytelling in the body. I’m also going to take forward the use of improvisation and physical play, and to try and use that in all of my work going forward. I was inspired by meeting the different people in the cohort, and the rich and safe space that we all created together. That’s now something that I know can exist, and will be something to aim for every time I’m in a rehearsal room like that.” Participant Feedback
“This week I feel that I found my identity as a creative practitioner. I got to try a lot of new things and play a lot of roles and I found things that worked for me and things that didn’t. I also finally felt as though my age, accent and background didn’t affect the views of the people around me. I felt empowered to be a young theatre maker.” Participant Feedback
“I absolutely loved this week and I will treasure it for a long time.” Participant Feedback
Young participants leap and move enthusiastically around the space, light on their feet.
Two groups of young participants face each other, staring with intensity and some hostility, some crouching, some leaning forward.
Two devisers leap straight up into the air, while facing each other, encircled by other watching participants
A facilitator speaks calmly, gesturing both arms to the left of the picture, while wearing a Complicté branded tea shirt
The participants sit in a circle, while their facilities crouch, speaking to them.
A group of participants gather in a corner, some making taunting gestures at a person/group off-camera, some looking like they are laughing about whoever is off-camera.
A facilitator holds two wooden sticks, while in the background another participant bowls and other participants crouch/stand in a group in the corner
While several participants watch from both sides, two participants jump in unison in the air, with one hurling their arms above their head

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