A Look Back at The Together Season Festival

News 02 Jul 2021

At the end of May 2021, we threw open the Crucible doors to thirteen different productions made by local theatre companies, artists, and makers as we launched The Together Season Festival. What better way to invite everyone back to the theatre?

We wanted to acknowledge the sheer wealth of talent we have in the region. We wanted to find a way to champion these local voices

- Anthony Lau, Associate Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres and Co-ordinator of The Together Season Festival
A man, Otis Mensah, stands at a mic stand. He is holding the mic with both hands and looking out thoughtfully.
Existed Once
An actress stands on Tudor Square with the Crucible in view behind her. She is in costume in a white dress and is holding a large animalistic puppet, 'The Sandfairy'. She is smiling widely.
Five Children & It
Three dancers stand on stage in everyday clothing. One is stage left, pulling away from another who stands stage right, holding them by a strip of red fabric tied to the first dancer's wrist. Another dancer looks on, moving towards them.
Trust in Care

The Festival was a festival of firsts: the first time live theatre had been back on the Crucible stage in nearly six months, but also the first time Sheffield Theatres had programmed using an open submissions policy of shows and programmers made up of the public. The submissions call-out took place in November 2020, looking both for shows and for the panel who would programme the festival, made up of audience members, and members of the local community.

A panel of 12 volunteers were appointed to select from over 60 shows submitted, with the aim of reflecting the wide range of experiences of people across Sheffield.

"Engaging with local artists and the local community is important! They are a key part of the Sheffield audience. To truly do this, diversity is critical. It’s more important than ever to make our stages look diverse and create inclusive theatre that anyone can access" – Jodie Marshall, panel member
An actress is in a traditional Chinese war outfit. She is looking up, holding a spear at waist height, tilted upward.
The Ballad of Mulan
An actress stands behind a microphone stand. She is turned to her left, laughing at something out of shot. She is wearing a short blonde wig, a beaded burgundy dress and she’s holding a banjolele.
A Big Ol' Laugh
A smiling actress stands on stage in a long-sleeve t-shirt, shorts, laced up combat boots, and sunglasses. She is holding her arm aloft, pointing to something out of frame. Behind her is an assortment of props, including a bicycle, a sun parasol, and a sign bearing the character’s name (Ápinké).
PER-SO-NA

The Festival aimed to increase transparency around the programming process. Panel members met on zoom to decide who would take part in the festival fortnight – and it wasn’t always unanimous…

"Programming is not a straightforward exercise. They are so many factors to take into consideration and as you can imagine, perfectly brilliant production pitches don’t always make the final cut" – Ellie McPhail, panel member
"Being a part of a large selection panel is a long process. No matter how much amazing talent you have, someone will miss out, because you can’t give performance space to everyone" – Jodie Marshall, panel member
"I loved being able to look under the hood of the programming of a large theatre and also to be able to meet other interested people, as well as being able to speak for members of the artistic community who mightn’t feel that they have their voices heard in such meetings" – Dermot Daley, panel member
Two female dancers pose mid-comedy dance routine. Both are wearing black jumpsuits and red lipstick. They are in front of a vibrant red curtain and a sign surrounded by lights that reads ‘Desert Island Flicks’.
Desert Island Flicks
Three actors, two women and one man, stand in a horizontal line with microphone stands and music stands which hold scripts. The image is taken side-on: the first actor is in focus and the focus softens throughout the line. They are all dressed in black.
Monster Proof
Three women stand Tudor Square with the Crucible in the background. They are smiling at the camera. The oldest woman, Sarah Jay Hawley, is dressed in a stylized pin-striped suit and rose-tinted glasses. The other two are in all white.
Zen, Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll

The panel chose 13 works for the Together Season Festival, and what a brilliant programme it was! From spoken word comedy to aerial theatre, from magical puppetry to one-woman monologues, there were so many genres for audiences to choose from.

Here’s what audiences had to say:

"All round brilliant experience"
"Loved the Festival - great way to bring the audience back"
"Brilliant to see local talent being given a platform let's see more we have a wealth of talent in the City"
"It was so refreshing to see Sheffield based artists on a Sheffield stage"
"The atmosphere was electric"

With the last bows taken and the final cheers of the fortnight having filled the Crucible auditorium, all that’s left to say is a massive thank you to everyone involved. To the artists, the panel, the staff at Sheffield Theatres, and of course the audiences, thank you for helping us present a brilliant festival. We’re so excited to be back.

More opportunities like this will (hopefully) make the social discussion broader, wider, and way more meaningful – much like the discussions that we as a panel had

- Dermot Daley, panel member

Open an image gallery

An aerial artist hangs from a rope from above. She is upside down, one leg wrapped around the rope, the other split, pointing toward the floor.
An aerial artist hangs from a rope from above. She is upside down, her body curved into a ‘c’ shape. Her shadow sits perfectly behind her.
A man stands in the Crucible foyer, smiling at the camera with his hands in his jean pockets.
A man in a patterned shirt and jeans stands on stage with a script in hand, speaking outwards and gesturing with his free hand.
The 13 shows of The Together Season Festival

Photography by Becky Payne

Photography for The Ballad of Mulan by Becki Tovey

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