Cast in Doncaster is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year

This year Doncaster is hoping some of the spotlight will land on it as Cast, the city’s theatre, celebrates its tenth anniversary.

“It definitely feels like a milestone,” says Deborah Rees, the theatre’s director. “I suppose now we’re 10, we feel more established, but to counteract that, we’re also deliberately describing ourselves as 10 years young. We are vibrant, we’ve got lots planned, and importantly we still have that energy that has carried us through our first 10 years. We’re determined to make an impact and be a force for making a positive difference in our communities. The team here is incredible, I pay tribute to them – they care so much about the work that Cast does.”

Doncaster is a city that is not as well served when it comes to arts and culture as others in the region. With low levels of engagement in culture, Cast has always been something of a beacon in the area. That it has made it to its tenth year is remarkable, given, as Rees points out, almost a fifth of its existence has been blighted by the pandemic.

“Not surprisingly, the biggest challenge has been that nearly a fifth of that time we had to close or restrict our activity because of the pandemic,” she says. “That said, we still offered activities to our audiences and we took the opportunity to experiment with commissioning new digital work.”

The theatre chiefs recently announced a full year of events running through the year to celebrate being ‘ten years young’. Since opening on 6 September 2013, Cast has sold over 675,000 tickets, welcoming bookers from over 113,000 households. Each year more than 5000 participants take part in Cast activity, independently or through schools and community organisations, and Cast works with more than 20 artists on creative projects. It is, Rees, says, a place truly connected to the community it serves.

Highlights of the year include Reflections in Colour, a series of short films following three young artists of colour in Doncaster; Glass House, a digital commission from Doncaster artist Wayne Sables; Children of the Night, which is a Cast commissioned written and created by Doncaster-born writer Danielle Phillips. The venue will also be teaming up with the National Theatre’s Public Acts programme to stage The Odyssey – The Cyclops, written by Bradford writer Tajinder Singh Hayer and performed by a Doncaster community company.

When asked about the highlights Rees has had at the venue, her thoughts turn to the community.

“Last August was the culmination of 2 years’ work with a production of The Doncastrian Chalk Circle on our main stage. We had just under 100 community performers on stage for this mammoth show, produced in partnership with the National Theatre Public Acts. It was life changing for many as witnessed by the stories we have subsequently heard about the impact of being involved.

“I also love the wide range of work that we do – indoor/outdoor, professional/community, small scale/large scale. I think we’re always doing something unique and unexpected and that keeps us buoyant.”

She also believes in the importance of culture to the city. “I think we are an important part of the cultural infrastructure and are having an impact on growing our artistic communities and engagement with the arts. I think we also played a role in helping Doncaster achieve city status, alongside our other brilliant arts partners. Investment in culture in a place has a long term impact. Without Doncaster demonstrating that it takes culture seriously, I think it would have been a much harder task to have become a city.

“Like other theatres we’re facing rising mounting costs and a cost of living crisis. However, countering that, we also have strong audience figures at the moment. I think that says there’s something significant about the important part that theatres play in providing a space for people to come together.”