We are looking forward to getting to know her and hope she will enjoy her new role as Chair of the BCT Board.

 A big thank you goes to Kate Organ, who after six years of bringing her wealth of knowledge, experience and sense of humour to this demanding role, steps down as Chair and hands the baton on to Vishalakshi.

 

Plans are progressing nicely for Behna – a theatre play being hosted by 5 homes in the Black Country for their own intimate audiences in March.

The play’s written by Sonia Likhari and is based in a Punjabi household. It is set the day before a wedding on ladies sangeet night. As the guests are busy eating, singing and dancing, tension is brewing in the kitchen. Truths are told and secrets unfold between two generations of sisters.

 Behna is a funny, moving and thought-provoking play about sibling rivalry in the present day.

We are pioneering a new way of working for Black Country Touring by planning a live webcast from one of the homes. New and existing users can have a virtual live experience over the 19 – 21 March weekend. If you’re interested in watching the webcast get in touch with us to find out more.

We’re keen to hear your views on gender (a key theme within the play). You can leave your comments at www.bctouring.co.uk/blog and take part in an online discussion.

Behna will also take place in a rented house in Birmingham from 3 – 18 March. The exact location is to be confirmed. www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/event/behna

 We are working with Kali Theatre Company and the Birmingham Rep to bring Behna to audiences in the Midlands, and Trilby Multimedia to take it to the wider world.

To find out more contact Bobby Tiwana on 0121 552 0014 or 07816 679 369 or bobby@bctouring.co.uk

Congratulations to Sarah Cox from Wolverhampton,  whose name was picked out as the December 2009 Prize Draw winner.

She filled in an audience survey when she went to see Noisy Oyster at Bingley Childrens Centre, Wolverhampton in August and has won Waterstones vouchers - She is really excited at winning,  she said "I'm one of those - I never win anything people, thank you".

Make sure you fill in one of our surveys when attending a show to be in with a chance of winning the next prize draw!

Bharti and Sarah swap quotes about The Corner Shop

The Corner Shop continues to make its way into further unlikely places. After two shopping centres, it has now made its way onto BBC radio 4's consumer programme You and Yours, where it was used to illustrate a feature on the demise of the local convenience store.

If you want to listen click here and use the slider to find the feature - which appears towards the end of the programme!

Our new placement Sarah Nickolds started a couple of weeks ago. She will be with BCT for six months for two days a week. Here are a few words from Sarah:

I have recently graduated with a degree in dance and performance at Middlesex University. The course equipped me with many transferable skills, however I was eager to gain a greater understanding and insight into the professional theatre and performing arts industry. Therefore, I decided to take up the opportunity at Black Country Touring. By undertaking a variety of tasks such as research for the Spring/Summer 2010 menu, theatre administration and marketing, and participating in the successful Corner shop project touring in October, I hope to develop my existing skills in theatre production for a site-specific piece. I am sure that the placement will play an important role in my personal development as a dance graduate and provide greater opportunities for the future.

State of Emergency - Mission Possible on 15th Oct at Walsall College Image Irven Lewis

Our new look brochure is finally here and it is being posted out this week so you should be receiving it very soon. It has all the shows from our Promoters, Young Promoters, Impress Promoters for the Autumn/Winter season. It has information about the project we are doing this Autumn - The Corner Shop in the Mander Centre,Wolverhampton (check out the The Corner Shop blog and The Corner Shop page and both the shows pages October and November)

If you would like a copy of the new brochure or a flyer for 'The Corner Shop', or would like to go on our database please contact us at us@bctouring.co.uk or on the phone 0121 552 0014.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our shows this Autumn.

Dreadlockalien welcomes his guests

The dust is softly descending on Wightwick Manor after the performances of And Tigers Mingle on the 15th & 16th of August; Dreadlockalien and Sonia Sabri have moved on to other projects and the house is settling back after the rhyme and rhythms of the past few weeks.

The show ranged from the beautiful and poignant, to the anarchic and gleeful. New people were introduced to the house and those who knew it well saw it in a new light. Here are some of the comments collected from the audiences after the shows:

“It was breathtaking!...As if the things in the house were alive.”

“Sonia was amazing...like an unobtrusive spirit within the house.”

Sonia in full flow

“The falling feathers were beautiful. I felt I was in another world and things around me were awake.”

“It was all new to me. I wanted to know what was behind the next room. I wanted the journey to continue.”

“There is something about kathak on wood...The way it reverberates through the whole house.” 

We would like to thank everyone at Wightwick, the staff and volunteers for making us so welcome when we were there and huge thanks go to Sonia Sabri and Dreadlockalien for their excellent work. To read more about how it went click here and read the final blog entry from Steve one of our co-artistic directors.

Black Country Touring is now an Arts Award Welcome Centre.

If you are a Young Person based in the Black Country, doing an Arts Award, we can offer you free tickets to Black Country Touring shows, check out the shows page for whats on. We  occasionally have the need for volunteers on specific projects, so keep looking at the Opportunities page on a regular basis so you don't miss out on a fantastic opportunity.

If you would like to know more about us, please contact the office on 0121 552 0014 or email us@bctouring.co.uk

Resonate - a celebration of three-years work
(May 2005 to April 2008)

After an initial pilot year in 2004, over the past three-years (since 2005) we have been delivering our South Asian programme by creating more links with companies, producing projects and developing promoters and audiences.

We have just completed a multi-media evaluation of the first three-years of Resonate in partnership with Anouk Perinpanayagam and Sakab Bashir.

Click the link below to learn more about the activities and download detailed information. www.bctouring.co.uk/resonate