Salford arts complex The Lowry is spending £50,000 commissioning new work from independent theatre companies.
Five new companies and projects – Limbik Theatre, Yewande 103, Swamp Motel, Dante or Die and Nigel Barrett & Louise Mari and Kerry Underhill – will be supported through the theatre’s Live Now commissioning programme.
The commissions have been selected from 224 submissions following a national open call for the scheme, which explores what online performance can offer audiences following the reopening of venues. Each company will receive £10,000 to create a new show that will be shared through the theatre’s digital programme over the next year.
Lowry senior producer Claire Symonds explained: “Over the last year we’ve seen artists making incredible work for online audiences and we want to see this innovation continue as venues begin to reopen.
“We received so many strong applications that we decided to extend the programme from three to five commissions, to sit alongside the work happening at The Lowry.”
This week the Lowry began a phased relaunch of its live programme. Outdoor performances have resumed and socially-distanced indoor performances begin on May 30.
Commission details:
Nigel Barrett & Louise Mari and Kerry Underhill will create Mystery Trip, an epic digital excursion for live audiences. “We don’t know what we’re doing. We don’t know where we're going. But we do know that we need to get out of here. Come with us.”
Limbik Theatre’s Voice Thief is a live immersive audio experience for audiences at home. The show transforms each audience member into the protagonist of a quirky existential thriller, on a quest to reclaim their voice from a Mr Hyde-like doppelgänger.
Dante or Die’s Odds On is a new digital production that submerges you into the world of Honey Money - a garish online gambling site. Dante or Die are experimenting with creative technologies to create an episodic, online theatrical experience. Audiences will follow an older woman through the gambling site's lens
Yewande 103’s The Fountain is a visually striking CGI screen dance. The multidisciplinary work explores the systemic histories of water. Working with a small group of artists, the choreography offers “a mirage of a fountain designed to undo fixed gazes”. Co-commissioned by Cambridge Junction.
Swamp Motel’s The Elevator (working title) is an immersive interactive film. A man lies dead in the lobby of a prestigious hotel and his killer is locked in one of the elevators. You must negotiate his release, investigate his motive, and protect the public.
More on the Lowry’s Commissions here