The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022
1 Dec 2022
The Big Give Christmas Challenge is a week-long, annual event that helps charities (like us!) raise money for amazing projects. For every donation we receive during the challenge week, The Big Give will double it at no extra cost to you.
This year, we're raising money for a huge community project which will take place over the next six months and culminate in a massive community production of Orpheus & Eurydice. This project will bring together hundreds of young people and adults from all over Bristol to create a Bristolian retelling of the ancient Greek myth.
Orpheus & Eurydice will feature a cast of over 150 participants from across Bristol Old Vic's Engagement programmes and partners across the city.
Meet the community groups that your kind donation could benefit:
Bristol Old Vic Young Company
Bristol Old Vic Young Company is one of the largest regional youth theatres in the UK. It provides an ongoing programme of weekly sessions, theatre masterclasses, community projects and full-scale performances to over 300 young people. The Young Company is led by a professional creative team and has made theatre performances in collaboration with the National Youth Theatre, Extraordinary Bodies, Young SixSix and Travelling Light.
Bristol Old Vic's Young Company and Young SixSix represent in my opinion the most interesting and necessary work currently conducted by the theatre as a whole, generating pathways into a lamentably exclusive art form for those who may not otherwise have obtained access.
- Bristol 24/7
Bristol Old Vic Adult Company
Bristol Old Vic Adult Company was formed after a group of non-professional actors from Bristol participated in a series of drama workshops with experienced facilitator and practitioner, Liz Hague in 2012. These workshops were just a taster of what was to come, as they led to the formation of the first participatory Bristol Old Vic Adult Company in Spring 2013, a class that is open to all and still runs termly to this day.
You get to meet an amazing group of people to work with. You learn a lot from these amazing directors that you get to meet and work with every single term. It’s fun, especially to be doing something creative. It's been amazing to be part of this ensemble.
- Rene, Adult Company participant
Young SixSix
Young SixSix is an ensemble of young people from across the centre and north of Bristol that meet regularly at Bristol Old Vic to make and watch theatre. It’s supported by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and led by Julia Head and Xahnaa Adlam. The aim of the project is to offer pathways into theatre for young people who may not have considered it before.
Being in a theatre group gives you a real insight into what being a real actor is like – it’s like, wow, this is professional. I’m now going to do a Professional Acting Diploma, which I don’t think I would have done if I hadn’t gotten involved with Bristol Old Vic.
- Liana, Young SixSix participant
Oi Polloi
Oi Polloi was formed out of Cardboard Citizen’s national programme Cardboard Camps (a three year project starting in 2019, partnering with theatres across the country to initiate conversations about what needs to be changed to address social inequality locally). Oi Polloi is led by professional theatre-makers Liz Felton and Benj Foster and works in partnership with Bristol Drugs Project to provide a creative programme for adults with lived experience of homelessness, people who use drugs or alcohol, or feel socially isolated for other reasons.
What Bristol Old Vic [has done], is make a space for people that have gone through difficult times, gone through crisis, whatever that may be, to have a space where they can use some of their experiences in a positive way to inform and to process that and give a cathartic, therapeutic space.
- Alex, Oi Polloi participant
Bristol Old Vic Community Choir
Bristol Old Vic Community Choir is led by Chloe Thurlow, a graduate of the ‘Made in Bristol’ scheme (a group of twelve young people aged 18-25 on some sort of 'gap year', who take residency in Bristol Old Vic for 2 days a week for a year to train together). Chloe formed the choir, which is open to everyone, with the idea to create the sense of community through singing and as a way of bringing music and theatre together.
Singing with the BOVCC has been a pleasure and has been a much-needed balm for my mental health after the last two years! Community singing is so valuable and it has been wonderful being part of the BOV community. I hope the community choir can become a permanent part of the BOV family.
– Bristol Old Vic Community Choir Participant
acta Company
acta is a community theatre hub in Bedminster, Bristol who work with people from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. The acta Company is a group for previous acta participants who have been in acta shows before and want to continue to develop their theatre skills. The group have devised many high-quality theatre performances over the years which have been performed in community venues all over Bristol.
I first joined when I was teenager in acta’s young carers group as I was a young carer, and have stayed ever since. I have performed in many performances with acta. I have enjoyed every minute of it and had a fantastic time over the years with acta. I have gained lots of confidence and self-esteem which I was lacking before I joined'
- Kat, acta Company member
Meadows to Meaders
Meadows to Meaders (M2M) began in 2016 after Bristol Old Vic's Engagement team worked with the group to create a soap opera based on the history of the development of Southmead housing estate after WW2. M2M is co-written by community participants and shaped by Ruth Myers to tell the story of two fictional families living on the estate, the Meadows and the Meaders.
The first performance was performed live on Ascot Road in 2017, since then the group have continued to develop the soap opera and are now working towards M2M 5, with the aim to perform it in 2023!
Since I lost my wife, it [Meadows to Meaders] has become part of my family. It gives me something to focus on. The community of Southmead is an absolutely brilliant community, it’s fantastic.
- Mike, Meadows to Meaders participant
We've got between midday Tue 29 Nov and midday Tue 6 Dec to hit our Big Give Christmas Challenge target. If you donate during these dates, your donation will be matched for FREE.
Find out more about our huge community project and how your donation can help:
