Public Acts
Creating extraordinary acts of theatre and community
Public Acts builds sustained partnerships with theatres and community organisations across the UK who share our vision of theatre as a force for change.
Since 2017, we have been working in partnership with organisations nationwide delivering visionary work in their communities, in Greater London, Hornchurch and Doncaster. Our community members take part in regular workshops, theatre trips and creative social opportunities. Through our partnerships, and in collaboration with theatre artists and professional performers, the community comes together to make ambitious large-scale productions.
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of Public Acts in 2023, The Odyssey was reimagined as an epic, multi-venue production made in collaboration with hundreds of community members and professional artists from across the country. Through this landmark project, the adventures of Odysseus were adapted for today as a universal story of resilience, loss, healing and hope.
Our values
We believe:
- Theatre making is a powerful form of community building
- Everyone is an artist and has the right to artistic expression
- We do our best work when we learn from one another, as people and organisations
- Our core values: Open, Generous and Brave
We hope:
- To give people the space to come together and see ourselves and the world differently
- To connect people, ideas and places
- To create space for discovery, difference and joy
- To build community and make great theatre
Public Record (2025)
Public Acts are currently working in partnership with Sunderland Culture and Sunderland Empire to produce a new production Public Record, a celebration of the people and music of Sunderland performed by community members and professional artists from across the city.
Throughout 2024 we will be delivering a programme of creative workshops with our Sunderland-based community partner organisations including Back on the Map, Connect Company and the Sunderland Nigerian Family Group.
The production will take place from 25 – 27 April 2025 at The Fire Station in Sunderland.
Rehearsals in Sunderland for The Odyssey: Episode 4 – The Island of the Sun (2023). Photo © Joseph Lynn.
The Odyssey (2023)
The Odyssey was the five-episode story of Odysseus’ epic journey, created by and performed at our partner organisations across the UK. The journey of Odysseus, the most resilient of heroes, told a universal story of endurance, loss, healing and of finding a way forwards together. We are so proud of our collaboration with communities from across the country who told this story of hope as one united national company.
The first four episodes were created, written and performed by local artists and communities in four partner organisations across the country: Restoke in Stoke-on-Trent, Cast in Doncaster, Trowbridge Town Hall and Sunderland Culture in partnership with Sunderland Empire.
The fifth episode’s company was made up of professional actors and community members from each of our partner locations, with 146 members taking to the Olivier Stage at the National Theatre in August 2023.
Each part of The Odyssey was written by a local writer: Gabriella Gay for Stoke-Upon-Trent, Tajinder Singh Hayer for Doncaster, Florence Espeut-Nickless for Trowbridge, Lindsay Rodden for Sunderland, and returning writer Chris Bush for Episode 5 in London, who was also dramaturg for the whole story.
More from The Odyssey
The Odyssey: Episode 1 - The Lotus Eaters
The Odyssey: Episode 2 - The Cyclops
The Odyssey: Episode 3 - The Four Winds
The Odyssey: Episode 4 - The Island of the Sun
The Odyssey: Episode 5 - The Underworld
The Galley
Journeying alongside the productions, The Galley appeared in public places including markets, local beaches and parks to collect messages of remembrance from the local community.
A 10-metre-long ship crafted from sustainable materials including bamboo and rope, The Galley represented Odysseus’ epic voyage and the nationwide connection between the communities who told the story. After each of the episodes, The Galley transformed into the stage of a closing ceremony to pass the baton of the storytelling forward.
The Galley was created by Mervyn Millar and Ridiculous Solutions.
Photo © Joseph Lynn
Community partners
Partnership is the bedrock of the Public Act’s programme. We work in collaboration with social change and arts organisations delivering visionary work in their commnities across the country.
Pericles & As You Like It
Theatre partner:
National Theatre, London
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Outer East London and South Essex
Community partners:
Bromley by Bow Centre
Body & Soul
Coram
DABD
Havering Asian Social Welfare Association
Open Age
Thames Reach
The Faith and Belief Forum
The Doncastrian Chalk Circle & The Magic of Wild Heather
Theatre partner:
Cast, Doncaster
National Theatre, London
Community partners:
b:friend
Cast Young Company
Changing Lives
Conversation Club
darts
Edlington Community Organisation
Right Up Our Street
The Odyssey
Theatre partners:
Cast, Doncaster
National Theatre, London
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, Outer East London and South Essex
Restoke, Stoke-on-Trent
Sunderland Culture and Sunderland Empire, Sunderland
Trowbridge Town Hall, Trowbridge
Trybe House Theatre, London
What we’ve made together
This is probably the first time ever in my life that I felt accepted, and cherished, for who I was as a person… everyone found a way to support and encourage me.
– Doncaster Community Member, 2021
As You Like It
In August 2019, the second Public Acts production, a musical adaptation of As You Like It, played at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch.
The Doncastrian Chalk Circle
An epic musical reimagining Bertolt Brecht’s classic, The Doncastrian Chalk Circle was performed by over 100 community company members at Cast in Doncaster in August 2022.
An amazing experience – life changing, and in some ways life affirming, seeing so many people from so many backgrounds working together.– Hornchurch community member, 2019
The Magic of Wild Heather
A community cabaret with food, music and storytelling, created at Cast by the people of Doncaster in August 2021.
Stories to Get Us Through
A storytelling podcast written and performed by the people of Doncaster, inspired by real life events and created during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
The Odyssey
A contemporary retelling of The Odyssey, performed on the Olivier stage in August 2023 to mark the fifth anniversary of Public Acts.
The impact of Public Acts
Since 2017, we have collaborated with Professor Helen Nicholson and our Public Acts community to research the impact of the programme on our social change, theatre and community partners, as well as our own organisation. Read on for a summary of the research findings.
Finding community
Public Acts supported participants to find community through:
- Connecting people, community organisations and theatres
- Creating the conditions for individuals to overcome isolation
- Building community cohesion among participants from a wide range of backgrounds
Increased confidence
Almost all participants reported increased confidence due to:
- A sense of achievement as a result of taking part in the programme
- Improved physical and mental health
- Encouragement to pursue new creative interests
Public Acts values everybody as individuals – making a show that’s so personal to everybody is why we kept coming back – so genuine – real community.– London Community member, August 2023
Delivering for our community partners
The programme delivered for our community partners by:
- Increasing their high-quality arts and cultural activities
- Encouraging partners to reconsider the role of creative activity in delivering their core aims and values
- Developing staff confidence in approaching arts and cultural organisations for future collaboration
- Increasing understanding of the skills and resources needed to undertake successful partnership work
It’s that feeling of being part of something, and belonging – making a positive contribution and being acknowledged and valued for your skills.
– Restoke Community member, March 2023
Catalysing change
Public Acts catalysed change for theatre partners by:
- Building sustained relationships with participants and comunity organisations, which shaped new agendas
- Facilitating wider changemaking by strengthening inclusive theatrial practices and including staff from different parts of our partner organisations
- Emphasising the importance of inclusivity in theatre and its role in social justice
- Welcoming diverse audiences and attracting significant numbers who were new to theatre
Our funders
Theatre Nation Partnerships is generously supported by Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Fund and Garfield Weston Foundation.
Public Acts is supported by Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Fund, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The CareTech Charitable Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Mosawi Foundation, The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust and Susan Miller and Byron Grote.
Find out more about supporting our work
The Public Acts team
Emily Lim
Director
Ros Terry
Senior Producer
Lara Taylor
Producer
Amy Sutters
Programme Coordinator (on secondment)
Tom Chamberlain
Programme Coordinator
If you would like to get in touch with the Public Acts team please email publicacts@nationaltheatre.org.uk
The Odyssey photos © Brinkhoff-Mögenburg
As You Like It photos © Camilla Greenwell
The Doncastrian Chalk Circle photos © Robling Photography
The Magic of Wild Heather photo © Sam Taylor