Cherwell Theatre – Time for Heroes

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The Time for Heroes coming of age comedy drama explores the highs and lows of teenage life, seen through the eyes of young musicians. With original songs and a dynamic ‘gig theatre’ staging, the play is a love letter to a time and place; dramatising the tension between friendship and artistic integrity and the joys of creating music with the world at your feet.

It’s post-post Britpop and a spate of alternative bands are playing fast, sweaty gigs in dark, grimy pubs. Indie rock is back in the mainstream and everyone wants to be the next big thing. Alex has a band. They may not have a name, or any gigs yet, but they’ve got a Myspace page, some battered guitars and a practice room above a carpet shop.

“You have to give everything to this. Your whole self. Nothing less than bleeding heart, none sparing honesty. Because what’s the point in anything less?”

The project has been funded by Arts Council England, Garfield Weston Foundation, Northamptonshire Community Foundation, The Garrick Charitable Trust and Northampton Borough Council. It is produced in partnership by Cherwell Theatre Company and Royal & Derngate Theatres Northampton. Performances are scheduled at The Picturedrome, Northampton from 11-28 August 2022.

Overall dates are:
  • Outreach workshops with community organisations and schools: March/April 2022
  • Weekly sessions at Royal & Derngate after the Easter holidays
  • Rehearsals with professional company: 11 July – 5 August 2022 (Royal & Derngate)
  • Tech and dress rehearsals: 8,9,10 August 2022 (Picturedrome)
  • Run- 20 x performances between 11-28 August 2022 (weekdays and weekends)
We’ll aim to start outreach in March/April. We we visit different settings to provide a music and drama workshops, in which young people aged 14+ will integrate movement, text and live music with our movement and musical director.

We’ll then start weekly workshops to continue this work on the play at Royal & Derngate after Easter. 24 sessions in total, we’ll start weekly, building up to twice weekly in June and more intensive in July. There will be an acting and movement ensemble and a musicians ensemble.

Weekly rehearsals will be Tuesdays 7-9 at Royal & Derngate

There are opportunities for local bands to perform a few songs before the August performances as well (sort of like an ‘opening act’ each night!) they can work with our musical and movement director on their sets.

We can also provide opportunities to work with the lighting designer during tech/the run too if you have any young people interested in lighting

Hosting a Poverty Truth Commission in Northamptonshire

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North Northamptonshire will be funding Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire to host a Poverty Truth Commission specifically for the North in April of 2022.

Whilst the emphasis may be slightly different from that of the West (where a Poverty Truth Commission has been running since June 2021) we are hopeful that real life experience from individuals and communities will help to inform better Anti-Poverty Strategies, particularly in communities where levelling up is required.

If you live in the North of the County and wish to tell your story, please contact russell.rolph@voluntaryimpact.org.uk in the first instance.

If you are a community organisation that works with beneficiaries on the edge of financial vulnerability please talk to us about how we can get their stories heard and raise the profile of some very important and critical issues.

Poverty Truth Survey

Poverty Truth Survey – Latest

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As hosts of the Poverty Truth Commission in West Northamptonshire, Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire (VIN) has been conducting an ongoing Poverty Truth Survey on the issues affecting individuals within our communities. The latest results can be viewed here

The survey will continue, and we encourage people to take 5 minutes to complete the questions. The information provided will help to inform the Anti-Poverty Strategy currently taking place in the West.

While the sample is still small, the responses are worrying, particularly the number of people who are genuinely concerned about how they will cope or are living on the edge of financial vulnerability.

If individuals want to tell their story in more detail, then please let us know at info@voluntaryimpact.org.uk. We will ensure the story gets the profile it deserves.

If community organisations know of people who might want to tell their story of vulnerability, then please contact us and we will take the process further with the identified individual.

We all know that poverty and mental health will be the two largest issues to face our communities in the near future.

Help VIN to get these stories heard.

Friday bulletin

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In this weeks bulletin, safeguarding podcasts, we need more stories for our Poverty Truth Commission, become a trustee at Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire, Enhanced Membership Training for Safeguarding Adults and the latest news.

Queen Baton Relay batonbearers nominations

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This is a huge milestone for the Queen’s Baton Relay, as following its journey across the Commonwealth, the Baton will return to England, where it will spend 25 days traveling the length and breadth of the country and we need 2,022 Batonbearers to take on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of carrying the Baton!

Get involved

Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games encourages you all to submit a Batonbearer nomination via their website, for an inspiring individual in your life or networks. To submit a nomination simply explain in 100 words or less how your nominee meets the Batonbearer criteria below. Please note arts, culture, and charity are represented in the criteria list, so it’s a great chance to highlight our wonderful sector.

The criteria for a Batonbearer is someone who meets one or more of the following:

  • Always willing to take on a challenge and has a unique and inspiring story
  • Has made a meaningful contribution to sport, education, the arts, culture, or charity
  • Is a figure of inspiration that positively challenges others to achieve their best, and
  • Has taken on a challenge or cause and made a positive impact within their community.

Join the Midlands Learning Together programme

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Midlands Learning Together programme free to join, as part of Thriving Communities which aims to support community health and wellbeing groups sustain their work for Social Prescribing

Thriving Communities is a new national support programme for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise groups, supporting communities impacted by COVID19 in England, working alongside social prescribing link workers.

The learning together programme will help you understand the developments of Social Prescribing and how your work is part of Social Prescribing. You will have the chance to create partnerships with fellow community groups and other professionals across the health and local authority system to sustain your work in the long term.

Click here to learn more about the Midlands Learning Together programme as part of Thriving Communities National Academy for Social Prescribing.

Friday Bulletin

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In this week’s bulletin, Annual Snapshot for the Year 2020/2021, become a trustee, VIN Registered Office service: Expressions of Interest invited and much more.

 

Voluntary Impact Northampton – looking back at 2020

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Our annual snapshot for the year 2020-2021 is now available here. As we launched our two-year operational strategy entitled Connecting People to Places in May of 2021, we have opted for a condensed document which we hope you find of interest.

Office space survey

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In the current climate, a lot of organisations are re-thinking how they use office and meeting spaces and VIN are no exception.  We’d be really interested in hearing about the needs of the sector regarding physical spaces for staff, and how we can best support these.  Please could you spare one minute to complete this form and let us know your thoughts – https://forms.office.com/r/7YHin3hucR

Northampton Film Festival 2022

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Northampton Film Festival 2022 is now open for film submissions to the Schools Competition and Main Short Film Competition

After 2021’s virtual festival, Screen Northants are excited to be launching the short film competitions for Northampton Film Festival 2022 ready for events around Northampton town centre in May. Northampton Film Festival 2022: Know Your Place will bring people together in Northampton town centre to watch locally-connected short and feature-length films, and take part in Q&As and masterclasses with film industry professionals.

Becky Adams, Producer at social enterprise film company Screen Northants says

The theme in 2019 was Coming of Age followed by Kind of a Big Deal for our virtual 2020/2021 festival, and now in 2022 we think you should Know Your Place…. That means knowing there’s a place for you in the film industry if you want it and knowing there’s plenty to celebrate in Northampton.

Northamptonshire filmmakers can now submit their short films for free to a number of different categories

  • Schools Competition with a prize of £2000 worth of filming equipment sponsored by Northampton Town Centre BID
  • Main Short Film Competition for films made by Northamptonshire writers, producers or directors, or filmed in Northants, with both drama and documentaries subcategories
  • and the new Sketchy Link to Northants short film category so NFF can celebrate work from those with a connection to the county even if the link is a little tenuous or outdated, such as having studied here some years ago.

Paul Mills, Producer at Screen Northants, says

Screen Northants have worked with so many talented young people in Northamptonshire over the last 5 years that we thought there should be a platform to show their work and to celebrate their talent. And as we’re Northampton Film Festival, if you are a Northampton school, we are offering free workshops to inspire and equip students to make their own film. We’d urge local schools to get in touch, if they haven’t already, and take advantage of these opportunities kindly supported by Northamptonshire Community Foundation and Northampton Borough Council.

More information on the film competitions can be found on the festival’s website www.northamptonfilmfestival.co.uk

In December Screen Northants are hosting events at their premises in the Grosvenor Centre Northampton where the public can watch previous festival films, meet other local film fans and makers, and learn about NFF. Plus they start their free-to-enter 48hr Film Challenge series. Details are on the festival website.

The Northampton Film Festival has been made possible with support from Film Hub Midlands through funds from the National Lottery. Film Hub Midlands support people to watch, show, and make films in the Midlands. Screen Northants receives on-going support from Northampton Filmhouse and also the Grosvenor Centre where they are based. To find out more visit www.northamptonfilmfestival.co.uk or find @NNFilmFestival or www.facebook.com/NorthamptonFilmFestivalUK on social media.