Photos: Royal Shakespeare Company FACTORY Takes the Stage at The Other Place

New production photos have been released from the Royal Shakespeare Company's Factory, now playing at The Other Place through September 19. Check out the cast in action below!

Commissioned by the RSC and created by campaign-led arts charity LUNG, Factory is a new verbatim play bringing together the voices of young people, teachers, headteachers, school staff and policymakers from across the education sector, including RSC Associate Schools.

The play examines the place of creativity and imagination within the education system and the impact of a world shaped by grades, targets and behavior points. Using the disruption caused by Covid as a turning point, the production explores the value placed on the arts and the role of teachers, young people and communities in sustaining creativity.

The Next Generation Act company is made up of young people ages 13-18 recruited from RSC Associate Schools in Barrow-in-Furness, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bradford, Cornwall, Hastings, Hull, Kent, Leicester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northampton, Nottingham, Peterborough and Sudbury.

The production is co-written by Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead and directed by Woodhead. The creative team also includes set and Costume Designer Reiltin Hart, lighting designer Oliver Chapman and composer and sound designer Owen Crouch.

The company is joined by Next Generation Direct and Next Generation Backstage trainees Joseph Oyewole as Trainee Assistant Director, Moss Good as Trainee Assistant Stage Manager and Chevorn Miller-Warren as Trainee Costume and Wardrobe Supervisor. The positions mark each trainee's first paid opportunity with the RSC.

All performances of Factory include an integrated BSL interpreter.

Factory runs for four performances from September 16-19 in the Studio Theatre at The Other Place. The production is part of a series of events marking 20 years of the RSC's long-term partnerships with schools, theatres and communities. On September 18, the production will also form part of the Building Partnerships: A 20-Year Story public arts symposium.

Photo Credit: Royal Shakespeare Company