Storyhouse's Artistic Policy
Tell the world stories
Storyhouse’s artistic policy is to Tell the World Stories and we believe in the power of stories to create understanding within and between communities, spark creativity and allow people to feel seen and heard. We are committed to creating and presenting outstanding artistic opportunities for everyone.
We are an independent arts centre and creative hub in Chester in the North West of England which incorporates a library, mid-scale theatre, studio theatre and a cinema. We also run an open-air theatre every summer in the city’s Grosvenor Park.
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Storyhouse Originals
Storyhouse Originals is the name we give to our home-produced work throughout the year. This includes our annual Christmas show on our main stage, two/three shows for our Open Air Theatre, a curriculum text which tours to schools and community venues, and one other production in the Spring season. We have co-produced with other companies including Triple C and New Earth and are always open to new co-producing relationships.
We are interested in work that raises urgent conversations, whether through the commissioning of new writing, or the re-imagining of classic texts through queer and feminist lenses. We are passionate about taking titles that exist in different genres – from film or literature for example – to give audiences a sense of ownership of the piece, allowing us to meet new audiences who might previously have thought theatre wasn’t for them. We also aim to spark conversations for our audiences by offering alternative perspectives in a safe space, where they won’t feel alienated and whilst still ensuring they have a good night out.
Ultimately we are driven by telling exciting stories in interesting ways.
Festivals
Every year we have a series of community co-curated festivals that are developed in partnership with our steering groups of people with lived experience of the subject matter for each festival. The festivals currently include Storyhouse Queer (February), Storyhouse Women (March/ April), Kaleidoscope (July), Storyhouse Childless (September) and Storyhouse Elders (October).
All the festivals have performances as part of the programme as well as workshops, talks and debates. We are regularly looking for contributions for our festivals, especially from artists with lived experience of these specific subject matters.
In addition to this we also run Wayword, a children’s literature festival which takes place every October and aims to inspire a love of stories and reading in children 3-11, while Chester Literature Festival takes place annually in November. Both festivals include spoken word and literary performances as part of the festival alongside author and illustrator events and workshops.
Touring Programme
We programme a varied and dynamic programme that caters for all of our community and includes theatre, music, comedy, dance and literature events.
The aims of the touring programme are:
- To provide access to performances from national and international companies and artists for Storyhouse’s audiences.
- To provide a diverse programme of artists and productions to enhance the annual offer from Storyhouse.
- To feed into all the festivals throughout the year and ensure their themes and values are continued through the wider programme.