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Pub Quiz project report
“A painfully funny observational comedy… tears were running down my face with
laughter, and that hasn’t happened for a very long time.” What’s On North East
In April 2008, the North East Theatre Consortium
produced and toured Pub Quiz, a new play written by
Carina Rodney. This was the first show to be produced by
the consortium, an initiative set up by New Writing North,
with The Customs House, South Shields, and the Queen’s
Hall Arts Centre in Hexham, to develop more
opportunities for quality new writing from the region to
tour North East venues and beyond.
“We’ve been delighted with the development of the
consortium and have been very grateful for the pivotal role
that NWN has taken (financially and structurally) in its
development. It’s great to see quality theatre emerging in
the region, outside of the Newcastle cluster. QHA was
pleased and proud to supply the production resources to
ensure a successful opening and to share the profile of a
well-received regional tour.”
Geof Keys, Director, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre
How the consortium worked together
The original venues involved in developing the consortium
were the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, The Customs House,
Arc in Stockton on Tees and the Gala Theatre in Durham.
All the venues identified similar issues, in that they were
interested in programming quality new work from the
region but were unable to source suitable product from
touring producers. Following an initial meeting, which was
attended by an Arts Council representative, NWN began
to put together a business and fundraising plan for the
consortium.
Fundraising and development of the first play took 18 months and during this period the Durham Gala Theatre stepped back
from participating in the project as they became more interested in producing their own shows in-house. The three other
venues continued to work together.
During this period we also delivered bespoke developmental work in two of the venues. At Arc we delivered a six-week
writer development programme, led by Carina Rodney, from April-June 2007. The project supported aspiring writers from
the Tees Valley area to develop their playwriting capabilities and to create short 15-minute plays, which were then performed
by actors and presented to the public at an event directed by Kevin Parker, director of Arc. The writers unanimously felt it
had developed their expertise and confidence:
“This was a great opportunity to develop my work, with a tutor who knew the business, and then see it performed by
professionals” Joe Kelly
“Magical, positive, friendly, supportive and encouraging. Carina is a brilliant teacher. A big learning curve!” Michelle Cook
The Queen’s Hall took full advantage of their participation in the consortium and in 2006 and 2007 received the Bite Size
lunchtime theatre productions into the venue. Bite Size Theatre was a series of short 30-minute plays written by writers from
New Writing North’s Emerge writing development programme. In 2006, following the first Bite Size initiative, Hexham ran a
programme similar to that at Arc, which involved the development of Northumberland-based writers, led by Carina Rodney.
The final readings were directed by Queen’s Hall director Geof Keys, who subsequently commissioned new half-hour plays
from two of the writers involved in this programme. These plays were then presented at the Queen’s Hall with a meal,
following a similar format to that of Bite Size. One of the writers involved in this second phase project, Judy Walker, went on
to become part of New Writing North’s Emerge programme, gaining mentoring support and training over a year.
The Customs House in South Shields has an established
record of writer development in their venue and was more
interested in audience development, so saw co-producing
Pub Quiz as a way to experiment with a longer run of a
new play to see whether an audience for new writing could
be sustained over a longer period.
By November 2007 plans were in place to produce Pub
Quiz in April 2008 and the consortium was meeting
regularly to develop the production plan and to co-ordinate
the marketing of the project.
In December 2007 however we learned that Kevin Parker
had left Arc. The venue was having financial difficulties and
as a result the board pulled back from a number of
programming commitments, including the consortium. This
news arrived as we were confirming the final print for the
show. We were unable at that late stage to replace the
touring dates that had been confirmed for Arc. The
production went ahead with the remaining venues, with the days that had been freed up by the cancellation used as
development days for new writers. These writers got to work with the Pub Quiz actors and hear their new work read for the
first time. Writers who benefited from this opportunity were Barrie Darke, Louise Taylor, Paul Wheaton and Carina Rodney,
who used the opportunity to workshop her new play.
The creative team
Carina Rodney, writer
Carina Rodney was commissioned to write Pub Quiz by New Writing North in 2004. New Writing North had worked
very closely with Carina on supporting her to develop her career since she won the People’s Play Competition in 1999.
Carina has had success writing for BBC Radio and in developing work for TV. She had never had a full-scale theatre play
produced before.
Psyche Stott, director
The show was directed by Psyche Stott, who at the time was undertaking the Channel 4 Directors’ Bursary at Northern
Stage. Psyche has directed work at the Kings Head, Clore Theatre, Old Red Lion, Young Vic and Jersey Arts Centre.
Mila Sanders, designer
Mila’s recent work has included the co-design of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for National Theatre Education. Other work
includes designs for Little Angel, The Clerks Group, Hampstead Theatre and Union Theatre.
Anna Watson, lighting designer
Anna has collaborated with a wide variety of directors and designers, on theatre, dance and opera productions. Recent
projects included work at the Young Vic, Royal Opera House, Southwark Playhouse, Almeida and Northern Stage.
Technical and stage management team
Young Newcastle University graduate Abigail Graham took the role of assistant director. North East-based Simon
Henderson production managed the show, Chloe Ribbens was deputy stage manager, Kieran Dunlop was the sound
designer and the final member of the creative team was stage manager Shona Wright.
The Pub Quiz tour
We began to book the tour for the show in spring/summer 2007 but with a limited reputation for producing theatre, we
found it difficult to attract the attention of venues and theatres. Our aspiration was to book a tour which encompassed the
North East as well as some wider venues in the greater north of England (mainly Yorkshire and the North West). We were
also keen to stage a Newcastle run of the play. The final tour went to Hexham, South Shields, Berwick upon Tweed, Alnwick
and Newcastle and ran between 3-26 April.
In all the touring venues the show exceeded the forecast ticket sales for a new writing show. By the time the show reached
Northern Stage, an extra matinee had been added to accommodate the audience demand.
Venue
Queen’s Hall, Hexham
Customs House, South Shields
Maltings, Berwick upon Tweed
Alnwick Playhouse
Northern Stage, Newcastle
Total
Attendance by venue
Forecast
attndnce
140
70
-
Actual
attndnce
271
555
66
108
774
1774
Full-price
Over 60’s
Concs
Comps
89
229
28
43
471
860
73
131
16
15
152
387
61
154
3
50
118
386
48
41
19
0
33
141
Total tickets sold by ticket type
Queen’s Hall, Hexham
Customs House, South Shields
Maltings, Berwick upon Tweed
Alnwick Playhouse
Northern Stage, Newcastle
Full-price
Over 60’s
Concs
Comps
For the next consortium tour we intend to build on the contacts that we made in 2008 and extend these to encompass
more venues both inside and outside the region. At the beginning of 2008, a show that NWN had developed and
co-produced, Scarborough, ran at the Royal Court in London to much acclaim. This has raised interest in our work among
theatre producers around the country that the success of Pub Quiz then built on.
Marketing the tour
We put a great deal of energy into ensuring the play was well promoted and worked both directly and with tour venues to
ensure that regional promotion was well planned and efficient.
Marketing initiative
• Play flyers (overprinted for venues)
• Play posters (overprinted for venues)
• Play flyers (direct mailed by NWN)
• Play posters (direct mailed by NWN)
• NWN spring brochure feature
• E-marketing with special offer to businesses
• Writing workshop offered to writing groups following group booking
• Regional pubs with pub quizzes offered tickets as prizes for quizzes
• Direct mail letter to Bite Size attendees
• Direct mail to associated new writing lists from other venues
• Writing workshop promotion to heads of drama for group bookers
• Show featured in NFM and Writers’ Guild newsletter
• Carina Rodney wrote a production blog for the show
• Promotional film for show circulated via e-lists and featured on YouTube
• E-marketing to NWN lists
• A pre-show ‘meet the writer’ event with The Journal’s Culture Club
Reach
10,000
500
4,000
100
5,000
Seven targeted large businesses (Nexus etc)
50 groups targeted
25 targeted
750
500
All schools in Tyne & Wear and Northumberland
8,983 site visits
7,500
Attended by 12 people
Press coverage
We worked hard to try and engage national press with the show but found this hard to achieve, largely
because many nationals will not review shows with a run shorter than three weeks. We worked with
Northern Stage to offer national reviewers a package visit to review more than one show and followed
up with a number of contacts who had reviewed our work in London. Although this was disappointing,
it’s not unusual for a show produced in the North East to experience this lack of interest.
The regional press were much more interested in the show and we were delighted with the range of
coverage and amount of reviews that the show received.
• The Journal: Culture magazine Preview and interview with Carina –
journalist attended first day of rehearsals. March
• Berwick Advertiser
Preview, 28 March
• The Crack
Preview, April
• Metro
Preview, 1 April
• Metro
Preview, 3 April
• The Journal
Review, 4 April
• What’s on North East
Review, 4 April
• Hexham Courant
Preview (Carina in schools), 4 April
• The Evening Chronicle
Opening night photo and article, 4 April
• Sunderland Echo
Preview, 5 April
• The Journal
‘Director’s talk’ article, 7 April
• The Evening Chronicle
Review, 8 April
• The Evening Chronicle
Article, 11 April
• Northumberland Gazette
Preview, 11 April
• Sunderland Echo
Review, 14 April
• News Guardian (Whitley Bay)
Article, 14 April
• Hexham Courant
Feature about opening night, 17 April
• Berwick Advertiser
Preview, 17 April
• Northern Echo
Interview with Carina,19 April
• Metro
Review, 22 April
• Hexham Courant
Review by student, 24 April
• What’s on Stage
Review, 24 April
• British Theatre Guide
Review, 30 April
Total number of articles
23
“This play is a must for all pub-quizzers, as it touches so many raw nerves… The author did the difficult thing in finding a
suitable ending with a real twist in the quiz result… Star rating – 9/10” The Evening Chronicle
“In her new play, Carina Rodney has a lot of fun with the notion of pain masquerading as pleasure – and it’s fun for the
audience too… The action builds gradually and there are flashbacks presented by dream-like sequences recreating famous
TV quiz shows: The Weakest Link, University Challenge etc. All explain why this sorry lot are drinking in the last chance
saloon. The climax is gloriously ghastly. It will strike many a chord when Psyche Stott’s production hits the road.”
The Journal
“There is no doubting that Pub Quiz is entertaining and deserves the packed audience.” Whatsonstage.com
“Carina Rodney’s dark comedy delves beneath the superficiality of pub banter to uncover a seething mess of rejection;
failure and pain… a well scripted play.” Metro
“Pub Quiz is truly a fantastic play, exceedingly well written by a talented playwright, containing countless laughs and punch
lines and a lot of twists in the storyline that will keep you guessing and hooked. It is a must see for everyone.”
The Hexham Courant
“This is yet another occasion that we can proudly reflect on the huge amount of theatrical talent we have in the region…
Psyche Stott’s bright direction allows the piece to move constantly while Mila Sanders’ stunning set makes us the audience
feel we are actually at the quiz… Rodney’s wit coupled to excellent delivery from the actors provided many laugh-out-loud
moments… this runs until Saturday and it’s well worth giving the telly a miss to see such high quality live theatre.”
Sunderland Echo
“A cast of seven hit a good balance between recognisable types
and individual variations, offering some deftly precise touches of
identity… The catalyst that opens up the emotions behind their
various facades is, of course, the arrival of an outsider… Asram
is Eastern European, polite, intelligent and anxious both to know
the rules and to play by them. His presence acts as an
unwelcome yardstick of clarity to the layers of self-deceit,
insecurity and regret that everyone else has brought to the party.
There are some powerful observations here about missed
opportunity, to which the artificial tension of the quiz provides a
revealing counterpoint. The warmth and humour that the initial
set-up seems to proffer is undercut by the eventual stripping
away of comfort zones and self-delusions… I did wonder
whether the changes in tone were working for the audience, but
quite possibly they were exactly what drove the play on.”
The British Theatre Guide
Funding
The show was supported by a grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (who offered three years of funding to underpin
the consortium), by Arts Council England via Grants for the Arts, via the consortium venues, the Cultural Sector
Development Initiative (European Regional Development Funding accessed via Arts Council England) and via box office
income from the tour. The project came in on budget.
Evaluation of the project and ideas to take forward
We have worked with our partners and discussed in depth how the project worked this year and have come up with three
issues to take forward into 2009:
Partnership marketing
Northern Stage worked very closely with us to promote the show and this way of working paid off in terms of ticket sales.
This way of working is desirable and we aim to develop it with the consortium and tour venues in 2009.
Embedding the show for longer
We have learned that it is difficult for actors and the creative team to embed the production when touring begins
immediately. In 2009 we will aim to provide the company with a longer stretch of first performances and potentially longer
runs in each venue.
Creative teams
There is an issue with needing to find good quality creatives to work on the production. There is not a big pool of theatre
freelancers in the North East to draw on and experienced people are less interested in working away from London unless
the show is touring to higher profile venues. We need to continue to build up contacts with a wider pool of theatre
professionals and to devote time to seeing work by new directors and actors.
Summary of the project
• Ticket sales at all venues exceeded set targets
• At Northern Stage, a four-performance run sold out and a matinee was added
• Audience feedback and critical response was very positive
• An increased awareness of the consortium and NWN’s role as a producer gained regionally and nationally
• Project delivered on budget
• A play text of the show was produced, which post-show shared the project with theatre producers nationwide
• Carina Rodney gained a new agent, some work writing for C4 and an attachment at the National Theatre following the
production