How the show goes on for local theatre company Wrongsemble which has thrived during lockdown in Leeds

Wrongsemble has taken the stage to pub car parks, school playgrounds and is now going digital as it works on its latest piece for Christmas. It comes as whether traditional style theatre performances can still go-ahead over the festive period is still very much in the dark.

When lockdown was imposed on theatres back in mid-March, Wrongsemble made a commitment to continue serving the families of Leeds with high-quality, accessible theatre and especially in areas where there might be barriers to arts and culture.

It embarked on an ambitious collaboration with Holbeck-based theatre company Slung Low, supported by Leeds 2023 and, working as part of a consortium of the city’s family theatre makers, such as tutti frutti productions, Fidget Theatre, Alive & Kicking, 154 Collective, Unlimited Theatre, Interplay, and Theatre Company Blah Blah Blah, it aimed to develop and test ways in which families could, safely, enjoy outdoor theatre this year.

With support from Slung Low, the company performed Three, a mischievous musical adventure weaving together three famous fairy-tales, on a flatbed truck in the car park of The Holbeck Working Men’s Club.

The audience watched from socially distant safety pods, spaced with two metres either side, each occupied by a single household. The show was repeated later for Ingram Road Primary School, performed outside for the children of key workers.

Elvi Piper said "the power of collaboration has never been clearer, or more necessary" while Alan Lane, artistic director of Slung Low added: "Wrongsemble is the most exciting theatre company making theatre for families. To see the joy they brought to the families of Holbeck through Three was the highlight of our season. Artists of this calibre working in direct contact with communities is what this moment requires, and it was such a pleasure to see that happening here at the Club, and the local school.”

It has since been announced that Wrongsemble would be one of the two companies commissioned by ARC in Stockton and The Albany to create new family Christmas shows for 2021 and 2022.

As for this Christmas, while many theatres will still remain dark, the company will be taking its usual festive offer online with Humbug – a brand-new digital adventure for the whole family.

Ms Piper added: "We can’t wait to treat new and existing young audiences with a Covid-19 responsive theatrical experience that they can enjoy from home."

Details of ‘Humbug’ will be released in autumn, while ‘The Not So Ugly Sisters’, a musical which Wrongsemble was gearing up open in spring with Leeds Playhouse and Red Ladder Theatre Company, has been rescheduled to tour in Spring 2021.

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