Slung Low theatre company's transformation into coronavirus social care responder captured in new film

Delivering thousands of hot meals, arranging emergency psychiatric assessments and taking a cat to be neutered are not exactly the everyday actions of an internationally acclaimed theatre group - but for Slung Low, that has become the reality of lockdown life.
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Its base in Holbeck, Leeds, in the oldest social club in Britain, has taken on a new life during the pandemic, as volunteers from across the city’s arts community have joined local people in providing a support hub.

As well as running a foodbank, organising volunteers running errands for those shielding such as picking up prescriptions, and yes, arranging for a pet cat to be spayed, it has been the centre for social care referrals in the Holbeck ward - dealing with anything from families who cannot put food on the table to calls from concerned adults worried about their elderly parents.

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They have also stuck to their artistic values, by arranging a community art exhibition on lampposts around LS11.

A still from Brett Chapman's film,  A Club on the Edge of Town. Picture: Brett ChapmanA still from Brett Chapman's film,  A Club on the Edge of Town. Picture: Brett Chapman
A still from Brett Chapman's film, A Club on the Edge of Town. Picture: Brett Chapman

All of this and more has been documented in a new short film by Sheffield documentary maker Brett Chapman, who first connected with Slung Low when they took over The Holbeck, their base, two years ago.

Just like for that film, Mr Chapman had editorial control over what to put in their piece, which has been entitled A Club on the Edge of Town.

He said: “In the first film, they talked a lot about community, and being kind and useful, and what they have done in lockdown is the perfect realisation of these values. At a time when a theatre company can’t do anything on the stage, they have done incredibly to adapt in this way and become such a useful force for good.

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“This felt like a story that people needed to know about. There is a lot of conversation now about theatres going out of business, and a lot of huge organisations are really struggling, and I think it’s really inspiring that this theatre company, in the middle of Holbeck is doing such amazing stuff.”

Volunteer Jo Dean loads her can with food parcels. Picture: Steve RidingVolunteer Jo Dean loads her can with food parcels. Picture: Steve Riding
Volunteer Jo Dean loads her can with food parcels. Picture: Steve Riding

Since March, Slung Low have dealt with 1,300 referrals for help, which have come from the council, local schools, and “freelance community workers and exceptional neighbours” - who live in the community, know what’s going on at The Holbeck, and point those in need in their direction.

Slung Low’s artistic director Alan Lane said despite being in Holbeck for 10 years, with two at the club, the pandemic has made the group feel part of the community like never before, even meeting people “who live 12 doors down who we’ve never seen before”.

While social care may not seem part of an arts organisation, it fits well with Slung Low’s ethos.

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Mr Lane said: “The politics of community art and the politics of believing everybody should have the best cultural life they can is rightly embedded in us, and us talking about the food bank and the social care stuff is us keeping to our original promise. We didn’t change, the world did.

A still from Brett Chapman's film,  A Club on the Edge of Town. Picture: Brett ChapmanA still from Brett Chapman's film,  A Club on the Edge of Town. Picture: Brett Chapman
A still from Brett Chapman's film, A Club on the Edge of Town. Picture: Brett Chapman

“When we moved in, we promised that this building would be for everyone, and a place where people could be delighted and challenged, and educated. The space we can't use anymore, but collecting prescriptions, giving people food, checking in on people - all of that is the same impetus that we had before, but in this new world.

“For us this, this admittedly may be a radical change, but it's an extension of what we were already doing.”

While Slung Low admit it is not “financially sustainable” to continue indefinitely, they are not going anywhere for now - and they know their vital support will be needed long after lockdown ends.

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MrLane said: “When we first started, we met people who were on the edge. But now, the redundancies have started and things are getting pretty precarious for a lot of families - even for some of our volunteers.

“However long we are here, we’ve said we are not going anywhere until we’re not needed anymore. We’ll keep going.”