CATCHING COMETS E PROGRAMME
In an effort to save trees, we've transferred our programme's to the internet - so that you can find out more about the play, production, our team and see the comic book strip we co-produced with our partner The Men’s Room, without accumulating excess paper.
Scroll down for the juicy details.
THE PLAY
A disaster movie about falling in love. Or a rom-com about the end of the world.
After discovering a comet hurtling towards Earth, Toby snaps and turns into the action hero in his own movie on a mission to save the world from impending doom. Flashback a year: Toby is knocked off course when somebody crashes into his life.
Catching Comets is a show that asks how we're supposed to be big, brave and strong when we look and sound nothing like the heroes we grew up with on our screens.
This production was originally commissioned by the Royal Exchange Theatre through Co:LAB Festival 2018, and was made with the support of Waterside Arts, Royal Exchange Theatre, Sheffield Crucible and the Arts Council England.
In Spring 2022, Catching Comets went on a national tour, performing in Manchester, Hereford, Harrogate, London, Bristol, Keswick, Guildford and North Wales.
OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
The Men’s Room
The Men’s Room is an arts and social support charity that works creatively to empower disadvantaged and marginalised young men aged 18-30.
They support male sex workers, homeless men and men involved in the criminal justice system; offering them opportunities to get involved in high quality arts projects whilst accessing one to one support for challenges they face in their everyday lives
Ransack partnered with The Men’s Room to deliver a number of workshops around bravery and vulnerability. The outcome of these sessions is a zine created by the participants and illustrator Cara Looij, which features below:
Beyond Equality
Whilst we are on national tour with Catching Comets, we worked with Beyond Equality to promote each other’s work.
Beyond Equality disrupt expectations, stereotypes and pressures to fit in. They open up the possibility for connection, support and personal growth through workshops and activities. They aim to equip young people with new perspectives, kick starting a process of community change and empowering us all to be better.
Throughout our tour, we provided free tickets to their members and young men they have been working with & promoted their work alongside our show.
Read about their work and find ways to support them here:
https://www.beyondequality.org/
THE CREATIVE TEAM:
PIERS BLACK, WRITER AND DIRECTOR
Piers trained as a director on the National Theatre Directors’ Course, where he was recently Staff Director on Nina Raine’s new production of Stories. Last year he was Resident Director at the Almeida Theatre where he assisted Blanche McIntyre on Ella Hickson’s production of The Writer. His additional Assistant / Associate Director work includes productions at Lyric Hammersmith, HighTide, Royal Exchange and HOME.
As a writer, Piers was the winner of the 2016 BBC Alfred Bradley Bursary award for Radio Drama.
CHI-SAN HOWARD, MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
Chi-San trained in Movement Directing at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2014 - 16).
Previous credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oxford Playhouse) Variations (NT Connections, Dorfman Theatre)Let Kilburn Shake (Kiln Youth Theatre) Skellig (Nottingham Playhouse) Under the Umbrella (Belgrade Theatre Coventry) American Idiot (Mountview) Carmen the Gypsy (Arcola Theatre) Bury the Dead; Homos or Everyone in America, Adding Machine: A Musical (Finborough Theatre) Describe the Night (Hampstead Theatre) Parade (Mountview) NeverLand (Guild of Misrule/Site specific) Love and Money, Pornography (ALRA) In Event of Moone Disaster (Theatre 503) Tenderly (New Wimbledon Theatre Studio) Cosmic Scallies (Royal Exchange Manchester/Graeae), Children of the Night (Oxford Playhouse/Oxford Arts Festival), These Trees Are Made of Blood (Arcola Theatre) Deposit (Associate, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs) Occupational Hazards (Associate, Hampstead Theatre) Moth (Hope Mill Theatre) Every You Every Me(Oxford Playhouse) The Tempest (Southwark Playhouse)
NATALIE JOHNSON, STAGE AND COSTUME DESIGNER
Natalie is a designer who trained at The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. In 2017, she was a recipient of the Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse Prize for Stage Design.
Her previous credits include: (As Designer) - Twelfth Night, Bridge House Theatre, London and Globe Neuss, Neyss, Germany. Mydidae, Wonderhouse Theatre, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Striking 12, The Union Theatre, London. Putting It Together, Aria Entertainment, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Eris, Airlock Theatre, The Bunker Theatre, London. To Anyone Who Listens, The Hen & Chickens, London. The Wasp, The Theatre Collective, Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Othello, Everyman Rep Company, Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. As Associate Designer - Forgotten 遗忘 , Yellow Earth/ Moongate Productions, Arcola Theatre, London. Hunch, Dugout Theatre, Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh.
MARK HARRIS, SOUND DESIGNER
Mark has been a long term collaborator and associate with Ransack having designed the sound for The Dumb Waiter (2014), Enveloped in Velvet (2015), MOTH (2017) and Minus Touch (2017). He is the best of us.
Outside of the company, Mark predominately works with artist GAIKA, with whom he has recently been on a world tour designing live shows at international festivals.
MATT LEVENTHALL, LIGHTING DESIGNER
Matt is a lighting designer and educator who collaborates UK wide and internationally. Matt is the Head of Lighting at RADA in London and recently delivered a lighting course at the National School of Drama, New Delhi, India.
Recent work: Trial By Laughter (UK Tour); The Secret Garden (York Theatre Royal), Terrible Infants (Wilton’s);The Events (Mercury); Light (Barbican and World Tour); Turn of the Screw (Mercury and UK Tour); Comedy About a Bank Robbery (Criterion, Associate LD); This Much (Soho Theatre); The Collector (The Vaults); The Vaudevillans (Assembly); Barbarians (Young Vic); Ant Street (Arcola); Scarlet (Southwark Playhouse); Sikes and Nancy (Trafalgar Studios); Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (Secret Cinema, Site Specific); Fishskin Trousers (Finborough); Madame Butterfly (UK Tour); TEDx London (The Roundhouse).
For more info visit www.mllx.co.uk
ALICE LONGSON, PRODUCTION AND STAGE MANAGER
After studying drama at university, Alice got into stage managing, and started working more generally in the technical side of theatre. At only 22, she was appointed Technical Manager at Hope Mill Theatre, where she has worked on productions such as Hair (Assistant Stage Manager), YANK! (Assistant Stage Manager), Putting It Together (Production Manager) and RAGS The Musical (Production Manager).
Her other stage manager credits include: The Trail (People Zoo Productions), A Kidnapping (Swaggering Crow), Lightning Under Their Skirts (Storm in the North Productions), The Party’s Over (Nonsuch Theatre), Planet Caravan (People Zoo Productions), The Horse Show (People Zoo Productions), PURGE (Collaboration), Edward Gant and His Amazing Feats of Loneliness (People Zoo Productions), Be//Longing (Take Back Theatre), MOTH (Ransack Theatre) and Bear and Butterfly (Hullabaloo Theatre Company).
HEATHER CARROLL, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Heather is co-founder of troublehouse theatre and Actors Workshop Manchester. She is also an Associate Artist and Director for Actors for Human Rights. Her directing credits include Fragmented (TakeBack Theatre), The Egoist (53Two) which was nominated at the GMF Awards, Purge (53Two), Something Quite Different (troublehouse theatre), This is Who I Am and The Asylum Monologues (Ice & Fire) and Ten Takes on Shelter (TakeBack Theatre).
Her Assistant credits include Alice in Sunderland (National Theatre R&D), Approaching Empty (Tamasha/Kiln Theatre/Live Theatre), Future Bodies (RashDash/Unlimited Theatre) for which she was the JMK Bursary funded Assistant Director, The Kidnapping (Hope Mill Theatre) and Remains (troublehouse theatre/Bolton Octagon).
BRYONY SHANAHAN, CONSULTING DIRECTOR
ALI MICHAEL, PRODUCER
CATT BELCHER, ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
MADISON CLARE, GRAPHIC DESIGN
CARA LOOIJ, WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
DANNY ORWIN, ASSOCIATE FILMMAKER
SOPHIE GIDDENS, PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHER
With special thanks to Morag Gray, Tess and Katie Crichton-Miller, Vicky Graham, Tilda O’Grady, Danny Orwin, Tim Foley, Chris Thorpe, Cara Looij, Matt Smith, the staff at the Royal Exchange Theatre, the staff at Waterside Arts and Arts Council England.
This production would not have been possible without the generous support and partnership of the following:
