Five University of Chichester graduates toured their show Seasons to the Edinburgh Fringe, where it won five-star reviews and a place in ‘The Best of Kids Fringe’.
Theatre company Cardboard Box, made up of Matthew Williams, Sasha Goldsmith, Indiana Hook, Abby Gibson and Jack Tarrant, took Seasons on a tour of UK venues before a run at the Edinburgh Fringe. They graduated this year from BA (Hons) Acting, BA (Hons) Acting for Contemporary Theatre and BA (Hons) Drama, Theatre & Directing.
Seasons began as a third-year project, says Matthew, Cardboard Box’s Artistic Director, culminating in a performance to fellow students last November.
He said: “We decided to focus on miscarriage and women’s health, down to personal experience from a few of our families. We would have loved there to be a show that explained to us what was going on.”
The performance to students received an emotional response, and the company realised it needed reworking for children. They tweaked the production to use more metaphors and ‘magic’ – and it involves a magpie family and an unhatched egg as metaphors, with the egg disappearing during the show.
With Edinburgh applications about to open, the group decided they weren’t ready to let the show go.
“We did not feel we had done the story quite enough justice at that point,” says Matthew. “So we said, let’s go and tour it.”
They set up a GoFundMe page, and the Miscarriage Association supplied free resources and support. They performed Seasons at Winchester, Derbyshire and the Lake District before arriving at the Fringe.
At the start of the tour, the company ran a workshop with Think 18, a West Sussex charity supporting adults aged 16 to 35 with moderate to severe learning disabilities. The workshop was supported by the department’s ChiTheatreWorks fund. Participants made their own puppet shows and learned Makaton and a song from the show.
“We managed to create a show that was enjoyable for kids and resonated with people,” he says. “The show was about community. For us, that is what the show was about, and we wanted people to leave with a smile on their face even though this is a difficult subject.”
Seasons was selected for ‘The Best of Kids Fringe’ at The Three Sisters and is a top-five finalist for Theatre Village’s ‘Satchel of Dreams’ Award. It gained four and five star reviews and was described as ‘a funny, magical and very touching children’s show’ in Broadway Baby.
Matthew says the University gave the group a hands-on start. “Before we had any proper lessons during Freshers’ Week, we were already cast in the first performance piece. Within the first year we had three opportunities to perform in the Showroom.”
He adds that graduates often return to perform in the Showroom. “The University aren’t just interested in us in the three years we’re with them; they invite us back. Having Chichester Festival Theatre over the road is great, as we’re not far away from professionals working in the industry. Most of the lecturers are still in the industry.”
As for what’s next, Cardboard Box is staging a family pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, in Lavant this December and the company hopes to return to Edinburgh next year with an improv show. The group continues to have close links with the University, working with students and graduates in the Conservatoire.
Dr Jodie Hawkes, Senior Lecturer in Theatre, said: “We are incredibly proud of our graduating students from our BA (Hons) Acting and BA (Hons) Drama, Theatre and Directing courses, who continue to create important, meaningful and engaging work. Cardboard Box Theatre Company collaborated throughout their degree, developing work that formed part of one of their final third-year modules. We were delighted to see our graduates making their mark at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performing, watching and supporting one another’s work, winning awards and working behind the scenes. Their creativity, commitment and contribution to the theatre industry are inspiring, and we look forward to seeing all that they continue to achieve.”