How York-based Pilot theatre is giving voice and hope to young people

It's been A-level results day for millions of young people across the country. Seems a good time to take a trip to a theatre company catering for young adults on my virtual lockdown tour.
Pilot Theatres production of Crongton Knights. Picture: Robert DayPilot Theatres production of Crongton Knights. Picture: Robert Day
Pilot Theatres production of Crongton Knights. Picture: Robert Day

I don’t know about you, but the only reason I love theatre today is because I had access to it then (‘then’ being a time further away than I care to admit).

TiE, or theatre in education, is a sometimes maligned arm of the industry, but for many young people a TiE company is where they first encounter theatre, when a band of actors rock up at their school to turn the assembly hall into a place of magic.

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But what about theatre as education? Pilot theatre company has put the mission to teach through theatre at its heart since it was established by Bretton Hall graduates in 1981. Making work for teenagers and young adults has been a driving force for Pilot ever since.

Co-stars: Heather Agyepong and Billy Harris in Pilot Theatres production of Noughts and Crosses. Picture: Robert Day.Co-stars: Heather Agyepong and Billy Harris in Pilot Theatres production of Noughts and Crosses. Picture: Robert Day.
Co-stars: Heather Agyepong and Billy Harris in Pilot Theatres production of Noughts and Crosses. Picture: Robert Day.

“We make ensemble productions and are committed to under-represented voices and new talent. The company gives many creatives and performers their very first opportunity to tour on the mid-scale. Both alongside and separate to the productions are a range of opportunities for young people and other audiences to creatively engage with the work of the company,” says Esther Richardson, the company’s artistic director.

Pilot moved to York in 2001, from its original Wakefield and Castleford bases and has toured nationally out of York Theatre Royal ever since. Richardson was a long admirer of the company before she took over the artistic helm from Marcus Romer.

“I particularly admired the dedication to young and diverse audiences, the fearlessness in some of the work in choosing to focus on contemporary and relevant subjects and debates. I also admire the focus on new work and adaptation and the curiosity about digital technology and new forms of storytelling,” she says.

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Ah yes, the digital element. For a company that has young people at its heart, it always perhaps made sense for it to embrace digital and it has become highly regarded as a pioneer in livestreaming and interactive ways of storytelling. It means the company is in a perhaps stronger position than most were going into the pandemic.

Richardson says: “Theatre can happen anywhere and shared experiences of live storytelling will always be precious spaces where we can experience connection and make sense of our lives.

“I think we will continue to see work online that you can access in your own home which will include livestreams and captures, but there will also be more innovative work that happens live and explores the possibilities of technology, apps and gaming tech.”

Richardson is generous in not using terms like ‘dinosaur’, but the truth is I have struggled to fully grasp in the past some of the technical and digital aspects of Pilot productions.

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She says: “After the devastating impact of the pandemic on theatre buildings we are noticing at Pilot that companies are already thinking about how to futureproof their work from future lockdown and pandemics. Theatre companies are understanding more deeply why being able to offer live or recorded storytelling to their audiences when being physically together is impossible, might continue to be worth investing in for the future. The infrastructure that exists to support mainstream theatre is going through a process of change and it seems likely that the ecology for national touring will be different in the future.”

A national touring scene without Pilot would be much poorer. Last year it won the prestigious UK Theatre Award for touring for its acclaimed production of Noughts and Crosses, part of which was showcased in Philadelphia.

“Noughts and Crosses is one of Pilot’s most important pieces of work because our aim is to make people ‘think more deeply and feel more’. Our storytelling is made for young people but of course is mostly accessible to everyone aged over 12 and we have a following of people of all ages who appreciate our work.” Back in 1998 the company premiered its production Lord of the Flies which went on to tour for a decade and played to over 500,000 people.

“It was a show that proved the need for a company like Pilot and that our work is still needed and we are proud to make it,” says Richardson.

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When the pandemic closed our theatres, Pilot was just settling into a national tour of another book adaptation, of Crongton Knights. “It is a production that will live long in the memory because it was the production we were on tour with during Covid- 19. On March 16 every theatre company was effectively told it had to close, just as the Crongton Knights team were about to open in Derby. Everyone’s safety came first and the team were sent home, but over the next few weeks we made a rapid digital adaptation of the project so that we could present the show online with the performers continuing to work with us and some of the young people we hoped to bring the show to in different parts of the country.”

It’s vital work. As young people peer into the abyss, knowing that a company like Pilot is around to talk about, with and to them is perhaps more vital than ever.

“It’s very difficult to say who will emerge from the crisis, but there is no question that theatre itself will be more needed than ever and it will survive, though we may well continue to see it adapt to different forms.”

Pilot theatre’s happiness project

Pilot Theatre’s artistic director Esther Richardson says: “It’s a really difficult time for many young people at the moment. For some time we have been planning a large-scale piece of work called the Happiness Project but Covid-19 made getting started with this feel more urgent. Following a successful grant application to XR Stories at York University we are now working on the development and launch of this with game designers – it will be an online fun and interactive piece which will explore what it means to be happy.”

For more log on to www.pilot-theatre.com

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