
Creative Estuary Co-commissions support a wide range of cultural projects with new commissions for Estuary-based producers and artists, from activity for emerging cultural activists to large scale commissions with a diverse mix of partners. The Co-commissions will raise widespread awareness of existing creative talent across the region and support creative practitioners and organisations to make and present new work.
The co-commission will enable Lyrici Arts to create an original piece of theatre for Medway and Kent Communities. This new play will be inspired by the book called ‘I Am The Referee’ which is the autobiography of Ian John-Lewis and written by Mark Heffernan.
This new piece of work will celebrate a local sporting icon and will fuse elements of his real-life with drama. This co-commission will enable Lyrici to undertake an R&D phase, to stage the full production for the first time and to deliver a tour to Kent venues.
The Collaborative Touring Network (CTN) believes in the power and possibility of live performance. Established in 2013, we are a collective of eight organisations Battersea Arts Centre (Wandsworth). Doorstep Arts (Torbay). Heads Up (Hull). Jumped Up Theatre (Peterborough). Looping the Loop (Thanet). Lyrici Arts (Medway). The Old Courts (Wigan). Strike a Light (Gloucester). We work with artists and communities to make and tour life-affirming, soul-shaking, perspective-changing shows.
Project led by The Old Courts, over the next 3 years CTN will build resilience & operate as a national, outward-facing network that empowers communities & revolutionises how touring work is developed. CTN works on micro & macro levels: creating cultural change locally; & working together nationally to achieve access to art for all.
Viewed as a valuable national asset, the network and it’s aims for the second phase have been reworked by partners and successfully refunded by Arts Council England. Lyrici Arts have rebranded it as part of their programming strand without the previous festival elements. Lyrici Arts previously ran Paint The Town Festival for Medway from 2016- 2019 as part of The Collaborative Touring Network. In partnership with nine regional partners the project reached audiences of 50,000 people, many of whom were new to the arts.