20 Stories High Announces TOUCHY, Five Short Films Commissioned By Wellcome Collection

In late 2019, 20 Stories High set out to create a piece of theatre inspired by the concept of touch, commissioned by Wellcome Collection as part of its Touch Test study. The company began research and development with a group of young artists but soon after touch became prohibited as the world faced a pandemic, and the commission had to be completely reimagined

 

Now Touchy launches online: a mash up of theatre and music video, interweaving beats, drama, poetry, animation, visuals and original music. A series of five online pieces, Touchy follows the journey of six characters as they navigate their way through the tactile highs and lows of young adulthood.

Jemell's Story blends hip-hop and storytelling to share the story of a young Black lad living with undiagnosed autism. Sophie's Story explores how a young woman renegotiates her relationship with her Grandad Kojo during lockdown. Ella and Ste's Story investigates consent, with a story that explores the conflicting understandings of an intimate moment many moons ago. Jazz's Story is a tender and uplifting R'n'B love story exploring public displays of affection in a same sex relationship. In Max's Story, a young trans guy guides us through his discoveries around social touch with a funny and heart-warming animation.

Touchy is created by young Liverpool artists Izzy Campbell, James Cast, Faye Donna Francis, Mal Lidgett, Pari Richards and Anita Welsh, most of whom have come through 20 Stories High Young Actors Company or Youth Theatre. They have worked in collaboration with other local artists including Kay Dale (Comics Youth), Amber Akaunu and Emily McChrystal. Keith Saha, Julia Samuels and Amy Golding (Curious Monkey Theatre) direct the pieces, with Kofi Owusu (GoPlay Studios) on board as filmmaker and music producer, and design by Miriam Nabarro. 

The commission originally involved 20 Stories High working with members of its Youth Theatre and Young Actors Company a group of young people in Liverpool to explore what touch meant for them. Six performers were cast - actors, poets, musicians and rappers, was cast - some with lived experience of the stories they wanted to tell. As lockdown set in, the project was developed for an online audience. Films were created in the artists' homes and on location utilising people in their support bubbles as well as the creative team on Zoom. Wellbeing has been at the forefront of the project with self-care kits provided for staff, and wellbeing sessions, games and check ins.

Keith Saha, Co-Artistic Director: "The making of Touchy has been a unique experience. We have been on a journey of translating a piece of gig theatre to the world of short film. The artists and whole creative team have been amazing in being so adaptive, making these on Zoom at home. In addition, we had a lot of soul searching into how to adapt the narratives when to this, the theme of touch last year suddenly took on a whole new meaning, which took a lot of soul searching into how we adapt these narratives."

Faye Donna Francis, writer/performer: "Lockdown was hard. Young creatives work best when communicating and collaborating with other young people. And there was an unhealthy air of guilt lingering if you weren't creating, or networking or learning something new. Touchy gave me the chance to work with others - and reassured me of how talented and inspiring the local talent is in Merseyside. It gave me the passion to explore what it is to be a writer, a singer and a producer. Working over Zoom with the engineer and producer - watching how a song is made - was magical. It has really motivated me to make my own music." 

During the pandemic, 20 Stories High has focused on remaining creative whilst making space for wellbeing, reflection and activism. Two days after restrictions were lifted on outdoor theatre performances in July, it premiered Knocking On, a piece of doorstep theatre performed for households in Toxteth and Liverpool 8 in collaboration with Brodie Arthur, for which it was recognised by The Achates Philanthropy Prize and The Stage 100.

Further lockdown work has included Chokka, an audio-play written by Luke Barnes with 20 Stories High Youth Theatre, and Black with a Capital B, a series of 7 exclusive commissions by Black Liverpool artists. In April, the company also premieres Buttercup written and performed by Dorcas Sebuyange. Buttercup is a BBC Arts commission as part of Lights Up, co-produced by Tigerlily Productions with Associate Producer Odile Mukete.