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BRASH Theatre Company in association with Park Theatre presents the UK Premiere of
Ankles, A Book of Spells
BETHAN KITCHEN I WRITER & DIRECTOR
LYDIA BRICKLAND I PRODUCER
ROMA YAGNIK I SOUND DESIGNER
MAGNUS RACK I STAGE MANAGER
WRITERS/CREATIVE CONSULTANTS
This production was developed through workshops with young women and non-binary people from Newcastle East End schools, Shieldfield Youth Project, and via Our Streets Now. These young people acted as creative consultants for the show’s content, and were also writers of the recorded spells you will hear throughout the performance. Participants included 11 anonymous young people, plus: Melody Sproates, Titi, Zouhal, and Kenzhegul.
Bethan Kitchen I Writer & Director
Bethan is the Artistic Director of BRASH Theatre Company and has written and directed all their shows, working with young people from the North East to interrogate their intertwined experiences of class, gender, and sexual health. She was a 2017 Soho Theatre Young Writer, and has trained at National Theatre, ITV Studios, and Live Theatre.
Bethan is also Young People and Communities Producer at Northern Stage.
Writing/Directing credits include: Raising Shame (Northern Stage and regional tour); Shoefiti (Northern Stage/Alphabetti Theatre/Salford Arts Theatre/Live Theatre); My Bed (RIFT theatre); Wean (Old Fire Station); and Gender the Elephant (Camden Fringe, ADC Theatre, Brainchild Festival).
Bethan says, “This show represents the very soul of BRASH as a company. It amplifies the voices of underrepresented young people to make a real difference in their lives. It is furious and passionate, and bracingly honest; it forces adults to sit up, listen, and make the changes necessary to make the world a safer, fairer place for people of all genders. What an honour to take Ankles on as a Writer/Director for the final time, a real mission statement for the company’s future!”
Roma Yagnic I Sound Designer
Award-winning sound Designer Roma is a composer based in the North East working across theatre, film, television and events in the UK and further afield.
Theatre credits include: Key Change, Rattle Snake and Sugar (Open Clasp Theatre Company); Leaving (Curious Monkey); Tensile Strength (Holly Gallagher); Raising Shame (Northern Stage and regional tour).
Roma says, "It has been and continues to be a total joy to work on this piece of fresh and visceral theatre with young people at its very core, crafting the sound right from the very start alongside Bethan's brilliant words."
About BRASH Theatre Company
BRASH is a bold, educational theatre company that strives to make sex and relationships education relevant,empowering, and unafraid.
Our shows weave together stories through spoken word, punchy dialogue,blistering humour, and visual-audio delight.
We don’t see sex education as a compartmentalised phenomenon, but as connected to power systems andprocesses through history reflected in today’s culture. All our work is rooted in the real lives of teenagers, andare developed through interactive workshops.