Donmar LOCAL Productions
Donmar LOCAL Productions
Local Stories. Global Stage.
We are passionate about sharing our work and our stage with those who live and work locally. We work in our home boroughs of Camden and Westminster to produce work that celebrates the stories and voices of our community, and share programmes which use theatre as a way to encourage discussion and debate.
THE TRIALS
As part of the casting process, the Donmar undertook an extensive engagement project with over 1400 young people, including working with school and community groups locally and across London, supported by Royal Central School of Speech & Drama and National Youth Theatre. Over half of the company made their professional debuts on the Donmar stage.
The Trials received its world première at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus in 2021, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. The Trials Junior Creative Assistants Programme was generously supported by the Backstage Trust.
Watch the video here
ASSEMBLY
Assembly, our first LOCAL Production, originally postponed due to the pandemic was reimagined as an innovative digital production.
Mixing live performance, animation and sound, ASSEMBLY looks at the impact of humans on nature and what we might build together for a better future. It’s about trying, failing, and trying again. In times of emergency, it is about hope.
Created by writer Nina Segal, director Joseph Hancock and the Donmar Local Company, ASSEMBLY was a unique live digital performance created in collaboration with video designer and director of photography Andrzej Goulding, set and costume designer Frankie Bradshaw, composer and sound designer Max Pappenheim and lighting designer Sam House.
Watch the video here
MONUMENTS
As anti-racism movements sweep the globe, young people are pushing for political action, drawing our attention to the racialised power structures embedded within society. Change is on the horizon.
The Donmar is located on the edge of Westminster, streets away from the historic heart of the British Empire, where statues are, for many people, a reminder of slavery and colonialism. MONUMENTS is a Donmar Local Project led by Resident Assistant Director Sara Aniqah Malik which explores how the legacy of the Empire continues to impact our community.
Working with Sara, writer Nessah Muthy, director of photography Femi Awojide and movement director Kane Husbands, a company of twelve Black, Brown and multiracial young Londoners have produced a bold short film exploring their own experiences of everyday racism.
Watch the full video here
ISOLATE ENSEMBLE
In April 2020, we assembled a group of artists to work with the Donmar’s Resident Assistant Directors to document the extraordinary experience of a nation in lockdown. The Ensemble produced a short film in June 2020 and have continued to engage with us through a masterclass series ever since.
Watch the video here