Wrong Shoes Theatre Company will be performing its new immersive show ‘Janus’ at the Shoebox Theatre during the week of Halloween. Taking its inspiration from some of the most notorious cults throughout history, the piece explores cult mentally and the lengths people go to in pursuit of their beliefs and gaining power over others. The audience will be invited to play the part of new recruits during an annual festival celebrated by a loving community called Janus. “We knew the that the concept of Janus would have to be believable, so creating this show has been one of our biggest challenges so ..read more

Over the next couple of days we will be be catching up with some of the participants of this year's FUSE Festival and finding out a bit more about them and their work! We caught up with Eloina - who will be performing her new work-in-progress 'Fish Don't Bleed'.. 1. In 3 words describe yourself Messy, hairy woman. 2. What led you to create theatre? The public relationship and resonance you can form with an audience. The fact that we’re all humans in this together, in the world and at the very least, for the duration of the show! 3. What was your inspiration for creating this piece of theatre ..read more

Over the next couple of days we will be be catching up with some of the participants of this year's FUSE Festival and finding out a bit more about them and their work! We caught up with Slackjaw Theatre Company - who will be performing their new work-in-progress 'Plunder'... 1. In 3 words describe your theatre company: Absorbing, Playful, Visual. 2. How did you meet? As drama students at the University of Exeter, a few years later, Izzy needed performers/devisers for a piece she was writing as part of her Masters (which later turned into our first show Smile, You’re On Camera). We really enjo ..read more

Over the next couple of days we will be be catching up with some of the participants of this year's FUSE Festival and finding out a bit more about them and their work! We caught up with The Delight Collective - who will be performing their new work-in-progress 'IMOGENÉ: THE IMPROVISED POP CONCERT'... 1. In 3 words describe your theatre company: Delightful, progressive, cheeky 2. How did you meet? Through the Bristol Improv Theatre! IMOGENÉ was born whilst Jack Drewry and myself (Imogen Palmer) devised and taught the first ever introduction to improvised singing course at the theatre. We came ..read more

Photo: @david.griffiths Over the next couple of days we will be be catching up with some of the participants of this year's FUSE Festival and finding out a bit more about them and their work! We caught up with Palomar Theatre - who will be performing their new work-in-progress 'Isle of Apples'... 1. In 3 words describe your theatre company: Liberating. Loud. Loving. 2. How did you meet? We met whilst studying at university. Kind of. Well Ellie and Annie actually became friends waitressing together. Katie and Ellie met acting opposite each other in lots of plays. Gabi actually went to a differ ..read more

As the resident producer and marketeer of the Shoebox, I get to meet and work with some wonderful Theatre Companies, some are based locally and others have travelled miles in a van full to the brim with costumes, set and Actors. All are excited to be performing their show and have worked incredibly hard to get their work on its feet. The sacrifice, passion and, some might argue, insanity it takes to ‘do’ theatre for a living is utterly admirable. There are highs and lows throughout the entire process and to survive, a theatre company has to be as hard as nails (and fuelled by strong coffee ..read more

The Shoebox Theatre, currently located in Theatre Square, is expanding its programme and will be moving into the Health Hydro in the new year. Since launching in February 2017, the Shoebox Theatre has fast become Swindon’s go-to space for performance training and contemporary theatre. With a growing professional theatre programme, the introduction of drama classes for ages 4+ and a new theatre company for young people, their current space has become unsuitable. “Our current building couldn’t provide us with the space we needed to expand, so we had to look at moving to a bigger building with ro ..read more

I have been creating theatre in Swindon now for over 10 years and if there is one thing I have learned in that time, it is that Swindon is bursting with creativity. So why then is the idea that Swindon needs to improve its culture still a prevailing part of the town’s identity. Now don’t get me wrong, a focus on cultural spaces is a great thing, absolutely it is but, what I’m really interested to know is what do we mean when we say things like, Swindon has no culture. Currently, Swindon Borough Council have committed one of their Priorities (in part) to ‘improve our public spaces and local cul ..read more

Over the next couple of weeks we will be be catching up with the participants of FUSE Festival and finding out a bit more about them and their work! We caught up with Significant Other - who will be performing their new work-in-progress 'Castles Palaces Castles'... Q1. In 3 words describe your theatre company: Cinematic, discordant, intricate Q2. How did you meet? We met on the MA Advanced Theatre Practice at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and built our collaborative practice in workshops, rehearsal rooms and the pub. Q3. What was your inspiration for creating this piece of thea ..read more

Over the next few weeks we will be be catching up with the participants of FUSE Festival and finding out a bit more about them and their work! Next up on the hot-seat is Dollybox - who will be performing their new work-in-progress 'COPYRIGHT'... Q1. In 3 words describe your theatre company: Visual, political, feminist. Q2. How did you meet? We met when we were both at Rose Bruford College. Q3. What was your inspiration for creating this piece of theatre? Understanding (challenging, and redefining) female identity is a popular and important movement today, and we want to delve into the convers ..read more