Black Theatre Live to Tour New Show BIG FOOT This Autumn

Black Theatre Live in co-production with Stratford Circus Arts Centre has announced that they will tour new show Big Foot, an autobiographical coming-of-age tale from emerging company HighRise Theatre, written by Joseph Barnes-Phillips and directed by Dominic Garfield.

With grime music and Guyanese folk stories, Joseph Barnes-Phillip's story is a comic, tragic and honest portrayal of becoming a man. Exploring masculinity, responsibility and illness, Big Foot tells the story of a young London teenager who becomes carer for his mother.

Big Foot will tour in Autumn 2017, the sixth Black Theatre Live show following Britain's first all-black Hamlet, new play She Called Me Mother, one-woman show The Diary of a Hounslow Girl, Inua Ellam's An Evening with an Immigrant and Macbeth. The show will tour the consortium's eight venues across England, which have come together to commission and showcase excellent theatre of BAME companies.

HighRise's show was selected from a range of productions by emerging artists put forward by the venues: Big Foot was championed by Stratford Circus Arts Centre. Nationwide tour dates are to be announced.

HighRise Theatre is a collective of diverse artists with family roots that span five continents, resulting in an eclectic and dynamic approach when telling stories, keeping an ear to the street and the communities they work in. Their work has included collaborations with Arts Council England, CHICKENSHED, London Bubble, Tangled Feet, Oval House, The Yard, artsdepot, CONEY, MUJU, Fun Palaces, Croydon Council, BAC and many more.

Black Theatre Live is a pioneering national consortium of eight regional theatres led by Tara Arts, committed to effecting change for BAME touring theatre through a sustainable three­year programme of national touring, structural support and audience development. Black Theatre Live is a partnership of Tara Arts, Derby Theatre, Queen's Hall Arts (Hexham), the Lighthouse (Poole), Theatre Royal Bury St. Edmunds, Theatre Royal Margate, Stratford Circus Arts Centre (London) and Key Theatre (Peterborough). Black Theatre Live works with emerging and established BAME companies across England to commission and tour high quality productions to the consortia theatres. The structured audience development and community engagement programmes will include live digital streaming and cinema relay.

Stratford Circus Arts Centre Stratford is dedicated to providing accessible experiences and artistic excellence. Its mission is to inspire the diverse communities of East London and develop local talent in collaboration with the best artists in the United Kingdom and internationally. Stratford Circus Arts Centre curates a programme of theatre, dance and circus, alongside a programme of work for young people and families. It is committed to remaining a safe and accessible community-centric venue at a time of great transformation in East London. The venue is adjacent to Stratford City and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the London Borough of Newham. With a 300-seat auditorium, a 90-seat Studio Theatre, and a large studio, Stratford Circus Arts Centre receives more than 120,000 visits a year - reaching over 60,000 people annually through its artistic and creative learning programme.

For more information, visit:

@blacktlive | www.blacktheatrelive.co.uk

@StratfordCircus | stratford-circus.com

@HighRise_UK | www.highrisetheatre.com