We are pleased to announce that No Strings Attached, our renowned programme for emerging theatre-makers, will continue this year with support for a range of exciting projects from artists across the South East. The wide range of projects represent the diversity of artistic talent found across our region, with emerging artists choosing to focus on a variety of themes and forms. The No Strings Attached grants will ensure that artists are able to create their first professional project, alongside support from an industry mentor and additional training from Farnham Maltings.

This year’s supported artists include Charlie Douglas, whose short play Don’t Be a Stranger is a stark portrait of otherness in England. The piece follows a queer person’s journey home in the wake of tragedy, and questions what it means to come from somewhere where you don’t feel you belong. Charlie is currently studying at the University of Chichester where they have been developing their theatre-making practice alongside writing Don’t Be a Stranger.

Elsewhere, emerging artists Catherine Ashdown and Aleks Jasieniecka receive support for their production Something Written. This innovative project focusses on two women forced to complete tasks repeatedly for an unknown reason and examines power and absurdism within female relationships. Catherine and Aleks are both graduates of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and work as actors alongside devising their own projects.

Esalan Gates is a playwright and director from Farnham whose first play, The Stress Test, also receives No Strings Attached support. Esalan worked on a wide range of theatre projects whilst studying at the University of Durham, and recently completed an MA in Theatre Directing at Mountview. The Stress Test is a political drama that tells the story of Timothy Geithner, Barack Obama’s first Treasury Secretary and frontman of the global financial crisis.

We are also pleased to be supporting Odds and Sods, an emerging theatre company and collective formed at the University of Chichester. Their production Wooden Horse uses the familiar narrative of the Trojan War to discuss modern masculinity and its links to conflict, drawing parallels between historic and current warfare. Odds and Sods have received support to develop Wooden Horse as a piece for young audiences, capable of touring to schools across the South East.

Each project will be developed over the next twelve months, with artists receiving support from their mentors along the way. At the culmination of their project, artists are invited to reflect on the journey they’ve embarked on, how this has developed their artistic practice and what path they would like to take next.

Applications for No Strings Attached will re-open in Summer 2023.