A Wonderful Winter Tour!

A look behind the scenes of our recent Arts Council funded tour of
London hospitals, cancer centres and care homes with my adaptation of A Christmas Carol!
Featuring Victoria Adler, Amy Floyd, Emma King-Farlow, Belle Quinlan, Sarah Robinson & Alice Hope Wilson. 

This Christmas, our theatre company embarked on a heartwarming tour of London hospitals, cancer centres, and care homes with our production of A Christmas Carol (which I first adapted back in 2019,a few months before the pandemic), thanks to the generous support of a grant from Arts Council England. 

Over the festive season, we brought live theatre, music, and storytelling to those who needed a little extra cheer, visiting places like Charing Cross Hospital (elderly care, neuro-rehab, stroke, and other wards), The Mulberry Centre, Maggie's Cancer Support Centre, the Teenage Cancer Trust, Viera Gray House, Lynde House, the Royal Variety Charity’s Brinsworth House, and local charities such as FiSH and Age UK in Barnes. 

Our tour didn’t stop at Christmas - after a hectic run of eight shows in six days leading up to the holiday, we then returned for more performances after Christmas, starting again on December 27th, and wrapping up at Maggie's on January 6th, Epiphany.

It has always been important to Shadow Road to bring theatre to those who might not otherwise have the chance to experience it - and never has that been more important than at Christmas, a time when it’s especially easy to feel left out or forgotten if you’re ill, living alone, or in hospital. Live theatre has a unique ability to create moments of connection and joy - and we were privileged to share that magic with so many incredible people this winter.

One particularly touching moment happened at Charing Cross Hospital, where we met Peter, a dementia patient who had spent six months in hospital, rarely engaging in activities (according to the staff who looked after him), and often appearing quite withdrawn.

Yet as soon as the show began, Peter lit up! He sang along with the carols, immersed himself in the story (even providing a bit of running commentary, to everyone’s delight! 😂😍), and couldn’t stop smiling. His transformation was so remarkable that numerous staff members gathered in the corridor outside to watch him watching us and marvel!

At the end of the performance, Peter posed for photos on our set, wearing one of our top hats - and when we returned to the hospital the following week, the staff brought him up to the 8th floor just so that he could watch the show again. 

There were numerous other moments like these throughout the tour - each of which reminded us why we do what we do, and underlined just how powerful the Arts can be in bringing people together and lifting spirits. 🎭

With the tour itself over and all our own match funding now raised, there is only a feedback session with the cast, and a lengthy report for the Arts Council, left to go! 

We cannot thank the Arts Council, all our wonderful supporters, and our fabulous cast enough for making this whole tour possible. THIS is why we do what we do. It was very hard work, but couldn't have been more worth it. An utter joy and a privilege. 

Here's to doing it all again for Christmas 2025...

Something Wicked(ly Good) This Way Comes!

 

On April 23rd, Shakespeare's 460th birthday, I am delighted to share Shadow Road's new trailer for our much-loved production of Macbeth: Sleep No More!

Adapted from the Bard's original by yours truly, this four-woman production (along with both a three-woman version, and a 19-person one!) has been performed at venues ranging from the Turbine Theatre, Southside House in Wimbledon, The Coach & Horses, St Mary's Barnes, and theSpace at Niddry Street in Edinburgh!

As you may be aware, from earlier Shadow Road newsletters or social media, Macbeth: Sleep No More will return to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer (this time at theSpace on the Mile, at 10.35am from the 2nd-10th August) - but, before then, we first have the honour of opening the Mayfield Festival of Music & the Arts in East Sussex, this coming Friday 26th April at 7.30pm!

We'd love you to take the advice kindly given by The Wee Review to Edinburgh theatregoers last year, when speaking of our production of Macbeth - “Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once!”, whether in Mayfield or in Edinburgh - but in the meantime, we hope you enjoy the new trailer!

From One Exciting Year to Another!

As you can see from these photos - and as many of you saw in person at one or more of our shows and events - we at Shadow Road had a very busy and brilliant year in 2023! We are so grateful for your ongoing support and your fabulous feedback after each one.

Now a new and even busier year beckons - and we couldn't be more excited about it! 

I've been using the first weeks of 2024 to write (two new plays), to plan (all of the year's upcoming productions, another visit to Edinburgh - along with all the fundraising that requires - and the launch of the next new project), and to learn (more workshops with Theatrical Intimacy Education, Theatre503, and the Society of Authors). Soon, however, we'll be back in the rehearsal room for one thing after another - with more writing squeezed in between times - and performing in a number of different venues, both indoors and outside. 

Here are some of the main dates for the diary (both mine and yours, if you'd like to come along and see us!) between now and the summer:

MARCH

• Friday 8th: I'm delighted to be going back to my old school, along with numerous other alumnae, to talk to the girls about working in the arts for their Careers Day!
  
  
• Saturday 30th: Our second Cake & Coffee Morning of 2024 at St Mary’s Barnes, SW13. Do come and join us to catch up on all the news, over homemade cakes baked by our wonderful cast and supporters of Shadow Road, as the fundraising for 2024 begins!

APRIL

• Friday 26th at 7.30pm: Macbeth is going to Mayfield! We are taking our fantastically well reviewed four-person production of Macbeth: Sleep No More to the Mayfield Festival of Music & the Arts, where we will perform in the round at the ancient St Dunstan's church.
  ~ Tickets are available on the festival website - BOOK HERE!
  
  
• Exact date TBC: Following our success in Edinburgh, this Spring will see us testing out the new, immersive element of our latest project Secret Storytellers with a soft launch event for a small, invited audience. Watch this space for more details coming soon!

 

MAY

• Wednesday 29th – Friday 31st: Robin Hood's Quest at the National Trust's Morden Hall Park. Following the success of 2023's St George's Quest, we are returning to Morden Hall Park's beautiful Rose Garden with a brand new interactive adventure trail, this time inviting young Outlaws (and their accompanying adults) to help rescue Robin Hood from the dastardly Sir Guy of Gisborne’s jail!
  ~ Tickets are available from our TicketSource page HERE!
  
  
• May/June – Dates TBC: Following the test event earlier in the year, the official launch of our new, immersive element of our latest project Secret Storytellers is due to take place in late spring/early summer.

 

JUNE

• Sat 15th at 7.30pm: Songs, Scenes & Swords Fundraiser at St Mary's Barnes. Join us for a special evening of music, sword fighting, and scenes from Shakespeare and beyond, to raise money for our trip to the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe! (If any of you feel like lending us your talents for this one-off event, whether onstage or off, please do get in touch - we'd be most grateful!)
  ~ Tickets are available from our TicketSource page HERE!

 

JULY

• Wednesday 10th & Thursday 11th at 7.30pm: London Preview of Treasure Island at the OSO Arts Centre. This will be followed by a Q&A with the team, where we will be talking about the play itself and what goes into putting a production like this together - adapting a play, casting in general, gender blind casting, directing, fight directing, and even how to go about taking a show to Edinburgh! 
  ~ Tickets will be available from the OSO's website from April onwards.

At the end of the month, we'll be travelling up to Edinburgh to settle in and get ready for our nine-day, 18 show, run in August.

AUGUST

• Friday 2nd – Sat 10th: Edinburgh Festival at theSpace on the Mile. Shadow Road Productions will be returning to the Edinburgh Fringe with the wonderful theSpaceUK venues, reprising Macbeth: Sleep No More at 10.35am and performing a brand new adaptation of Treasure Island at 4.25pm each day from the 2nd to the 10th August!
  ~ Tickets for both shows are now available HERE via the main EdFringe website! 
  
  

As for what will happen after August? Well, some irons are in the fire and things are looking interesting - all available digits are very firmly crossed in the meantime...

New Interviews!

THAT MENTAL GINGER SHOW - JANUARY 2022

Auditions, Money and Sweeping Generalisations with Emma King Farlow

On today’s show we talk to actor and director Emma King-Farlow about her journey in the arts and her new podcast The Price of Love. (And yes, her Christmas Carol show was a success!😊)

Please check out The Price of Love wherever you get your podcasts. 

Until next time, take care, stay safe, bye bye. Audio-only link HERE

PRETEND WORLDS REAL PEOPLE - JUNE 2021

Episode 41: Emma King-Farlow

" Find what you love, make your own work."

This week, we're joined by the incredibly talented, Emma King-Farlow! The donner of several different hats in the world of theater. As a Writer, Director, and Producer; Emma has created both fantastically-original worlds, as well as genre bending adaptations of classic works for the stage. She takes Steph and Tyler through her battle with stage fright, finding her niche in writing, and spreading mental health awareness in the arts industry. What are you doing? Check it out!