RIGHT OF WAY: South West Tour
RIGHT OF WAY, written while walking the South West Coast Path, is an embodied story of joy: of choosing to walk, to grow, and to reclaim space. A 5 star, award-nominated new play, exploring disability, chronic illness, and Young Carers. Touring to 5 venues in the South West in March 2024, alongside 5 workshops for young carers.
Project
RIGHT OF WAY: South West Tour
Footage - Beth Bowden
Social Media - @rightofwayplay
The Play
Half submerged in a cramped bathtub, and flooded by her grief, Beth decides to walk the South West Coast Path - in choosing to walk, grow, and to reclaim space, she finds radical joy. Using lyrical movement and projections of the Coast Path, RIGHT OF WAY explores our intimate connection with the coastline, bodies of water and our heritage. Written while walking the South West Coast Path, it is an autobiographical and embodied reflection on disability, chronic illness, and being a Young Carer. RIGHT OF WAY features integrated creative captioning as part of the video design.
RIGHT OF WAY is fresh from a 5 star, award-nominated run at VAULT Festival, and is touring in partnership with Devon Young Carers, the South West Coast Path Association, Exeter University, and Arts and Culture Exeter. Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
We are going on tour in March 2024!
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11 March: The Exeter Phoenix
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15 March: The Poly, Falmouth
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22 March: Taunton Brewhouse
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27 March: Beaford Arts, Barnstaple
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28 March: The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
The Project
RIGHT OF WAY was first created as part of the VAULT 5 programme and premiered at VAULT Festival in February 2023 - where it was nominated for the Show of the Week award. Now, amidst the start of the Covid Inquiry, we are remounting for a 5 venue South West Tour. We are extremely excited to be touring RIGHT OF WAY to where it was written and created.
The Covid Inquiry has already begun to expose the failures and prejudice of the UK Government in relation to vulnerable, older, and disabled people during the pandemic. It remains increasingly important to spotlight the many hidden and devastating impacts of COVID-19 and governmental failures: from the NHS backlog, the deaths of vulnerable people, the 13,000 children who have lost a parent to COVID, to the isolation experienced by many clinically vulnerable people and their families.
RIGHT OF WAY also focuses more broadly on ever-decreasing benefits, cultural stereotypes of disability, and the mental health impacts of being a Young Carer. It gives space and voice to the complex emotions felt by Carers and Young Carers. In Devon alone, there are an estimated 75,000+ adult Carers, and 2 - 3 young carers in every classroom. By centring aspects of this reality, we hope the project will spark dialogue about lack of support, benefits and funding for disability, carers & those with chronic illness in the UK.
Although sharply focused on these issues, RIGHT OF WAY is not a story of defeat or sadness, it is ultimately a story of joy: of choosing to walk, to grow, and to reclaim space. The piece is about the power, perspective and pull of wide-open fields, endless horizons and lapping waves when faced with grief and loss.
Workshops for Young Carers
Alongside the five venue tour, we are presenting five workshops for Young Carers from each location in partnership with Devon Young Carers (Westbank). The workshops will explore creative tools including writing skills, theatre devising techniques, and video making methods, aiming to offer a space for creative expression including exercises to get outdoors and engage with the local landscape. The workshops will address barriers Young Carers face, offering them an opportunity to connect with those in similar situations and take a break from their caring roles. Lead by members of our team with experience of caring, we aim to foster ongoing outlets for creative expression and encourage their engagement in the arts. The money that you donate will feed directly into these workshops with SW Young Carers.
Accessibility
Due to the content of the show, and our values as Creatives, we are focused on making sure that the people that really need to see the show are able to. That is why we are touring with integrated accessibility measures, including full creative captioning, integrated with the video design. We also want to make sure you can take part in the project, even if you can’t make it to the show - so we have created online creative community (Coastal Creatives) for the project on Mighty Networks, for anyone to get involved with. On this platform we will share creative content, updates on the show and activities - aiming to encourage people to walk, share their creativity, and experience their local trails for their wellbeing.
The Ask
We have generously been given funding by Arts Council England, but we need to fundraise the final bit of our budget to get the project fully realised. We have ambitious aims, and want to make sure this project is as good as it can be, and that it reaches the people it needs to reach. We need to raise £2,500, and a breakdown of where that will go is below. All costs have been quoted from suppliers or calculated in line with current rates. And as a thank you, we have a number of rewards available! We know that the current economic climate is tough, so thank you for any help you can give - we really appreciate it.
UPDATE : Thanks to your amazing support, we have increased our target to £3,000! We will use the additional funds to invest in our engagement with communities - offering free or discounted tickets to those who need it the most, AND to bolster our creative offering through setting up a website which will form a permanent record of the creative responses from people who engage with the project.
About Us
Our Partners
Other Ways You Can Help
Every little bit helps! If you can't donate, you can definitely still help us out! Please make noise about our campaign and our project. Share it on X (formally knownTwitter), Facebook and Instagram, and bring it to the attention of all your friends...
You can connect with us:
- Instagram - https://instagram.com/rightofwayplay
- X (Twitter) - https://x.com/rightofwayplay
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rightofwayplay/
We would also love to see and connect with you at a show! You can find ticket links above, or here: https://linktr.ee/rightofway
Want to know more?
If you have any questions about our crowdfunding campaign, the production, or any of the team, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can contact us at info.rightofwayplay@gmail.com
As a thank you for your support, we'll include your name in a list of our supporters and funders in our programme - which will be available at all our performances and online.
To say thank you we'll send you a beautiful postcard from the South West Coast Path (with a special handwritten thank you message!). You will also feature on the list of supporters in our programme.
As well as a beautiful postcard from the South West Coast Path, we'll send you one our our stunning posters, signed by the creative team.
As a dedicated supporter, you'll receive a limited edition copy of the script of Right of Way, as well as all the other rewards above (programme and postcard thank you, and signed poster!). The script is an excellent piece of new writing, a "poetic jewel waiting to be uncovered".
This package of rewards sees you receive all the previous rewards (programme & postcard thank you, poster, and script) AND a poem written specially for you by Beth Bowden. One of a kind.
Be our guest of honour at the premiere of RIGHT OF WAY at the Exeter Phoenix on the 11th of March. This special premiere also features a panel of local artists and academics. You will also receive a package of all the other rewards listed above (programme & postcard thank you, poster, script, and poem)
You are clearly a dedicated supporter, so we'd like to offer you an exclusive Executive Producer credit on the show. This is a 5 star, award nominated play, and with this reward you can have your name attached to the production. We'll feature your name on all social media and print. You will also receive a package of all the other rewards listed above (programme & postcard thank you, poster, script, poem, premiere guest ticket).