Three Young Company Tails...
7 Nov 2024
The Young Company has always been a great launch pad for theatre makers in Bristol, and as luck would have it, this year’s Christmas show The Little Mermaid has three members of the team with strong ties to the Young Company and its offshoot companies Made in Bristol and Young SixSix.
Let’s hear from Director Miranda Cromwell, Associate Director Julia Head and The Little Mermaid herself – Liana Cottrill.
- Hi guys! First things first - How are you all connected to BOV Young Company?
Miranda: I joined BOV when the building was closed in 2007 and the Young Company was the only company operating in the building. I was Young Company Director which involved working a lot in the building, directing sessions and large-scale shows with up to 150 people in the cast. We worked across the community in lots of institutions; Young Offenders institutions, City Academy projects, satellite Youth groups... and I started Made in Bristol (MIB) which is still running and now in its 14th year.
Jules: I joined the Young Company when I was 17 because I saw a show called Jane Eyre on a school trip (which was amazing). I was first part of a YC show called The Gigantic Beard that was Evil that Steph Kempson directed. And from there, I found out about Made in Bristol (MIB) and left school at 18 and joined MIB as part of the 2015 year group. By taking part in that, I found out what a director was – and I started facilitating YC sessions – something Miranda taught me how to do. I was then part of the YC team facilitating sessions in schools around Bristol. And then I went on to set up YoungSixSix.
Liana: I started as a movement director brought in for the first ever YoungSixSix show. About a week before it opened, someone dropped out and I then got brought in as an actor – something I hadn’t tried before. Then I started as part of Young SixSix, doing collaborative shows with Young Company. That was in 2018 when I was about 16–17.
- What was the best part about it?
Miranda: For me, still the joy of theatre is the discovery that takes place in the room. When that happens with young people and those who haven’t experienced theatre before, you really see them finding that space where the normal rules of life don’t exist and you can experiment, make mistakes and learn new skills. That joy of storytelling which not everyone gets to access is really beautiful. Seeing young people go from never having performed before to performing in front of hundreds of people and their families is a really beautiful journey.
Jules: The best part was that I was a young person – 17 or 18 – but I was treated like I was a professional theatre maker so that my artistic voice was taken as seriously as an adult’s would be. That was beneficial. But we were also working in a theatre where new theatre was being made. Rehearsing in the same room where they’d made the professional work that was going on. That meant we better understood the process of making theatre rather than just saying we’re going to be an actor in a play. We understood the mechanics of how things work and found out about other jobs you can do in theatre.
Liana: The fact that I had other young people around me and we were all trying to figure out what we enjoyed doing and what parts of acting and creating were for us. And maybe because I didn’t know that that’s what I wanted to do, it was quite exciting to find that out.
- Christmas shows are often people’s first experience of theatre at a young age – do you feel there’s an extra responsibility on you because of that?
Miranda: It’s a responsibility but also a privilege to give this experience to young people for the first time. We’re definitely making sure we up up up the magic and joy and those moments that make you go “wow” – so having circus, live music, beautiful choreography and costumes are all part of that magic and wonder of Christmas so the experience is going to be really special.
Jules: There’s probably a bit of extra pressure to make the show feel really welcoming – not just for young people but the whole community as often you come to a Christmas show as a family event. It’s important to make it feel so magical; as you want them to discover that the experience you have in theatre can be more magical than on film. The stakes of that magic are really high!
Liana: It’s a great responsibility because that trip to the theatre is something you remember for a long time as a kid – I want to make sure it’s something they enjoy and that they have a memory they take away and think that’s the coolest thing they’ve ever seen.
- What is your first/most important Christmas memory?
Miranda: I was thinking about this just yesterday! I went to a panto when I was young and a giant tongue reached out into the theatre and licked me from the stage. When me and my cousin were explaining this bizarre moment, she was so exuberant while demonstrating what happened that she knocked my two front teeth out.
Jules: When I was an ushering, it was always really fun to usher a Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day because we were all such a tight until and the vibes were really great. Everyone coming into the building was in such a nice mood, the fact people choose to spend their time there was really special so I would always love to usher then. My family would be really annoyed.
Liana: My nan would always take me to see a panto every year. That was my favourite part of the year. Watching people onstage is like watching a film as a kid but you’re in this world with them. Christmas for me means the pantomime.
- Who would win a fight between a mermaid and a shark?
Miranda: Mermaid’s always gonna win because she’s so fast and wily. They know all the shark’s tricks and have huge tails to confuse them with
Jules: Mermaid obviously – such strong core, slippery and muscular strength in their tail. The Shark would be absolutely finished.
Liana: Oh definitely the mermaid. 100% – maybe violence isn’t the answer...but she’d definitely win!
