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Creating Theatre through the Pandemic

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Crew of Patches Theatre Company was born from a shared passion for performing live Shakespeare by actors Rebekah McLoughlin and James Lawton. In 2019, we embarked on a journey to bring our unique vision of Shakespeare to audiences across the UK.


However, in early 2020, the world was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aspirations for live theatre seemed to be abruptly halted. While we had created various theatrical workshops for students and young people, we had yet to stage anything for a live audience.


Leveraging modern technology, we managed to not only continue our passion for performing Shakespeare but also establish our company. Here are some of our achievements during the pandemic:


1. Collaborating with Others


The restrictions imposed by the lockdown in March 2020 were unprecedented. For those of us in audience-facing industries, the sudden lack of patrons was a significant challenge. We sought solace in collaborating with others who faced similar circumstances. To stay true to our ethos, we focused on adapting our approach to present theatre online. We spent countless hours experimenting with different software to enable online performances on various platforms.


We formed a partnership with our friends at Immaculate Theatre to present their online production of "Picture This," showcasing new writing from emerging writers. Through hard work and determination, we successfully presented this production to a large online audience in the summer of 2020.




Having mastered the art of online theatre, we turned our attention to spreading the love of Shakespeare. While many companies were already staging online performances with professional actors, we wanted to do something different. We conceived the idea of #ShakespeareShareDay, inviting people to share their own Shakespeare speeches on social media. We aimed to make this initiative accessible to everyone, regardless of their background, emphasising the importance of a love for Shakespeare.


Over 50 people participated in three events, sharing their Shakespeare speeches on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This remains one of our most cherished "passion projects," and we hope to repeat it in the future to encourage more people to participate.


3. The Mechanicals



In hindsight, we should have copyrighted the idea for "The Mechanicals". We've seen many companies adopt similar approaches since!


During the third lockdown, we decided to combine our experiences and create a three-part miniseries focusing on the Rude Mechanicals from "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Working with five actors, we developed a profit-sharing model where audiences could make donations to watch the production on YouTube.


We added a unique twist to the premise: What if Peter Quince was forced to rehearse online due to the pandemic, just like the rest of us? We spent countless hours rehearsing together to develop this challenging show for an online audience.


We are incredibly proud of the work we accomplished during the pandemic. Our experiences served as a valuable learning curve, shaping us both as individuals and as theatre professionals. It's a testament to the enduring power of theatre that it can thrive even in the face of adversity.




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