Allow me to set the scene.
Summer of 2015, myself and fellow actress Emily Goldie were working together in a storytelling centre for children. Let me tell you, reading 'Rapunzel' for the 400th time is demoralising for everyone involved.
So in our spare time when we weren't chasing after rogue toddlers, we mucked on with mini re-enactments from fairy tales. When we took the characters off the page, children were ten times more enthralled and the work day flew by.
As winter frostily approached, Emily suggested creating our own little Christmas show in Leeds. At first I was nervous that we'd botch it up, but our rehearsal process took off and it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
We'd chosen 'The Elves and The Shoemaker' and composed songs, devised clever tricks with invisible string (classic) and of course I played 100 characters including a charming old man. We were winging it but under the watchful eye of children's theatre expert Lydia Toumazou. Lydia's experience is second to none with children and young people and as our director nothing felt impossible. She was our secret ingredient and remained so throughout our time working together.
Oh man that first performance, I was shaking like a leaf. Butchering other peoples script is one thing, but butchering your own creation is a monstrous feeling. Yet after stumbling through our first show, the reception from the audience was a pleasant surprise. Families were hooked and we realised throughout our December run that we had caught the children's theatre bug too.
Spurred on by the encouragement from families, we founded Curly Tales in 2016. (We put a vote out for 'Eat your Crusts' Theatre, but Curly Tales stole the show.)
Over four years, we were supported by Leeds Playhouse, Barnsley Civic Theatre, ARC Stockton, HOME MCR and ACE to devise twisted traditional tales for children. Our shows spent most of their time in libraries: Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees.
We became very well acquainted with librarians who happen to be some of the nicest people out there. We warmed up in staff rooms, disabled toilets, sometimes in the van if we were running late. We ate so many portions of fish and chips, I don't know how I managed to fit my costume everyday. Perhaps it was all the running around as a sheep/squirrel/hare/old man/giant.
When we started to book studio spaces in theatres, I felt overwhelmed by what we'd managed to conjure up together. And how we'd been lucky enough to collaborate with absolute genius creatives in the process too: Tilda O'Grady, Lucie Browne, Katie Tranter, Lucy Bairstow, Emma Williams, Alison Duddle, Loren Rayner (to name a few).
Emily and I made shows out of a scrap of an idea. A hat and a suitcase. Or a dog bed and a pair of glasses. And in 2019 we ended up with a masterpiece of a production, 'Jackie and the Beanstalk'. It had started off in an R&D at Leeds Playhouse in 2016 and we finally knitted it together for two tours. It remains one of my proudest creative memories.
Our company disbanded in 2019 and it was quite fitting that we finished at Leeds Playhouse, back where to the city where it all began.
To this day, my favourite memories of the company feature riotous laughter from school groups in libraries. Or shy kids taking part in post show workshops and letting themselves be seen. Or looking over at Emily dressed as a tortoise holding a real tortoise that a librarian had brought in for the show. I'm chuckling now as I type this.
Curly Tales Theatre shows the power in collaboration, friendship and ultimately bringing something imaginative to young people. They can handle themes like grief and love with grace and a deeper understanding than most adults. And they don't need to be hit over the head with a 'message'. They actually taught us more than we taught them. And for that, I will be forever grateful and in awe.
