How To Be Hopeful Episode 23 ”Theatre of Hope”

This week I speak with Kas Darley and Mark Stevenson, co- directors of theatre company Theatre Vivo. Theatre is one of the industries which has been extremely challenged  as a result of COVID, and I wanted to speak with them about how they have stayed hopeful in the midst of that . Kas and Mark speak about how they adapted during lockdown , including hosting zoom workshops for actors during lockdown to "give people hope and a chance to play". They speak about how they have been encouraged by " a generosity of spirt going on in the cultural world" with people helping and supporting each other. Teatro Vivo creates "immersive, playful work that engages the audience" - in Hight Streets, supermarkets, parks etc.  by making  theatre everywhere they discovered that "everything is extraordinary and there is magic to be found everywhere". Another of their projects "Grimms Collecting Agency" involves collecting stories from members of the public : "people need to be heard... every story is about how humans do amazing things... hearing peoples stories help us understand each other and make communities better" . We also discuss their latest show on Zoom "The House That Slipped" a time travelling adventure in which a kind of utopia is discovered and the audience are invited discovered what they hope for the future and how we get there. We talked about what they had discovered as a result of story collecting and speaking with people about their hopes during lock down: "people are looking out for each other and being more community focused- they might feel powerless abut the big things but they can affect their street...you need people to do the little stuff... to be part of that ecosystem of fight and change"

You can find out more about Teatro Vivo here: https://www.teatrovivo.co.uk 

My book "How To Be Hopeful" is out now! 

You can buy it here

or here 

or best of all at your local independent bookshop! 

More soon

Bernadette