Exciting times lie ahead for aspiring young actors and singers as Chickenshed, Europe’s biggest theatre company, revealed plans to open one of its workshops in Wandsworth.
A meeting was held at Christchurch Primary School, Battersea, last week to launch the initiative in the borough and to allow parents and wannabe performers to meet Chickenshed organisers.
A location has yet to be decided but the first steps have now been taken in what is usually a two-year process before a workshop or ‘shed’, as they are known, is fully set up.
A Wandsworth Council spokesman confirmed they met with Chickenshed representatives and welcomed the project as it will complement their recently launched cultural strategy which aims to improve the community’s access to enriching cultural activities.
The Wandsworth ‘shed’ could be functioning as early as Easter 2010 if all goes to plan.
Founded in 1974 by Mary Ward and Jo Collins in a disused chicken shed in Cockfosters, the company was created to give youngsters, without professional theatrical training, the chance to get involved in the performing arts.
Unlike most theatrical companies, Chickenshed, which is also a registered charity, is based on the principle that anyone who loves performing should be able to do so, regardless of whether they have attended stage school and it is this ethos that underpins the entire project.
Linda Foley, Chickenshed programme manager, said: “The concept behind Chickenshed is to provide kids from all backgrounds and abilities the opportunity to work with a company that produces theatrical and musical productions.
“We have our one theatre in north London but we also have 19 ‘outreach’ projects around the UK and hopefully Wandsworth will become the 23rd. We even have two in Russia, one in St Petersburg and one in Moscow, which were set up by people who originally started at one of the London sheds.
“But this one will belong to Wandsworth and will become a charity in its own right. Not only that but it will make performing arts more accessible to everyone, this is how we have worked for the past 35 years and it has been very successful.
Anyone interested in helping fund the project should call Linda Foley on 020 8351 6161 ext 207.
For more information visit chickenshed.org.uk.
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