Big Telly Theatre Company
Big Telly Theatre Company
Big Telly is the longest established independent theatre company in N. Ireland, celebrating its 30th year in 2017. The company’s range and scale of work is unparalleled, with its reputation for innovation built upon distinctive professional theatre productions which tour nationally and internationally; creative collaborations; and pioneering community-based participation projects. We concentrate on the visual potential of theatre through fusion with other art forms such as dance, music, circus, magic and film to create a unique sense of spectacle. The company is extremely proud of its regional identity, and our programme of work reflects a continuing commitment to the local area combined with the ambition and capacity to extend our work within the global market, becoming ambassadors for the skills and creativity of Northern Ireland and placing it firmly on the world stage.
Big Telly's mission is to invest in the development of professional theatre, theatre skills and creative expression through theatrical experiences that surprise, stimulate and entertain.
Big Telly aims to innovate, involve, inspire, excite and ignite the imagination through the company's design, delivery, production, touring and training activities.
Over the last ten years we have reached audiences totalling 95,500 through our touring productions and 34,300 participants through our outreach and educational programmes.
Big Telly’s shared creative space - The BOX - continues to be a vibrant hub presenting diverse cultural experiences by and for our local residents and visitors. It places innovation and integration at the centre of the community and involves as many people as possible in this highly visible work. We believe that there is a direct link between creativity and tolerance, so we are using The BOX to increase opportunities for both participants and audiences to engage with the arts by broadening the definition of creativity, harnessing the passions and interests of local people and using this energy to build social capital.
Services
Key Services:
- Educational and outreach programmes, open rehearsals and community creativity projects, workshops, talks and summer schools
- The production and touring of new work, and production and touring of classic texts and published work which are presented in an innovative manner
- Acting an agency role to support skill development of teachers, actors, community groups and staff
The company is one of the largest theatre employers in Northern Ireland, and a typical annual programme of work includes two original theatre productions which tour nationally, a year-long outreach programme with older people including five to ten productions and 200 workshops, at least three community-based events, and projects with five to ten local schools and one/two collaborations with the business community and an ongoing youth theatre creating site-specific and street theatre.
Young people at school age, under/post graduates and unemployed graduates can avail of the following workplace opportunities – work shadowing/work placement (GCSE, AS & A level pupils, College students), internships (student volunteers - term time/summer programme), graduate programs (placements in partnership with local colleges/universities), international internships (placements in partnership with Leonardo da Vinci training programme and individual American Universities). Big Telly in partnership with Jobs & Benefits Pathways to Work programmes launched our new CATS (creative arts trainee scheme) programme in May 2014, where unemployed young adults can gain valuable work experience, or continuous professional development, by taking part in an 8 week placement with the company, followed by a 6 month skills development programme.
Opening hours
Office hours are 9am - 5pm Monday - Friday. Weekends vary according to when projects are running.
