Studio Brief 02 - Research

Background Information

- Slung Low were created in 2000 by Alan Lane and Matthew Scott.
-  They toured around from Liverpool, London to Singapore.
-  As time went on their funding and ambition grew until finally it was necessary to take the next step and obtain a premise that would become their centre.
-  In 2010, ten years after the group was created, they obtained the HUB in Holbeck Leeds.

What they stand for?

- In 2011 Slung Low made a statement of intent for their use of the HUB. The statement says Slung Low HUB will try to make as many of their performances a ‘Pay What You Decide’ and they will share their space and equipment with other theatre groups.
- They believe that theatre should be available to anyone of all ages and backgrounds, and that extortionate prices shouldn't have to be paid, and that the actors get paid based on their performance. 

Shows

-  2011 Original Bearings 
-  2011 15 Minutes Live 
-  2013 Moby Dick 
-  2013 15 Minutes Live at the HUB 
-  2013 The Parade 
-  2013 The Johnny Eck Dave Toole Show 
-  2013 15 Minutes Live 
-  2014 The White Whale

- Original Bearings was Slung Low’s first project in Leeds in 2011, the year after they had obtained the HUB, and it was in partnership with the West Yorkshire Playhouse Furnace programme.

West Yorkshire Playhouse

- Furnace is the name of a new, short season at West Yorkshire Playhouse and it is going to be full of searingly hot new work, so hot that some of it hasn’t yet even come out of the creative oven. It is also frustratingly difficult to actually pin down and define. It is the idea of one of Yorkshire theatre’s most exciting new additions, a young producer in her early 20s who is breezing through the West Yorkshire Playhouse like a blast of fresh air. 
- Traditionally the Playhouse has a lot of pressure to sell tickets and put on shows that will draw in an audience, the Action Research Grant looked at how it can support work at an earlier stage, work that might not be ready to go onto one of its big stages, but is the sort of theatre that the Playhouse might be able to give its own space and allow to flourish. 
- There is a real sense of community about the work that is being made here and about the companies in and around the city. 
- Audiences seem to find it exciting to be involved in a piece of work from the early moments of its creation. With this piece of work, you don’t even know what it looks like. We are asking audiences to come and see what we have, to be playful with the ideas and then we will go off and develop the work.
- Slung Low and West Yorkshire Playhouse performances actually involves the audience within their plays, therefore they help to create it. 

The White Whale

- In Slung Low's performance of the White Whale, it was a very different play to others.
- The audience were given a set of headphones, therefore the actor's sound like they are whispering in your ear, and the sounds and music are much more intense.
- It took place at Leeds Dock, on the water, by the side of the canal. 
 -The play becomes an adventure in itself, it all happens in front of the audience, live, with live action and in actual situation. 

Original Bearings

- Original Bearings was a performance which moved around the area, an exploration of Holbeck and Leeds and the stories of the places and the myths that have been created there. 
- 100 signs appeared throughout a period of a week, some were from local residents, some were pieces of history, some were made up. 
- It began as a bus tour, but then eventually ended as live action events happening around the city from a Spitfire exploding to a cowboy riding a horse who had arrived to tell his story. 

Who are Slung Low?

- Slung Low are an unconventional theatre production company, that makes adventures for audiences outside of conventional theatre spaces.
- Their aim is to create unlikely, ambitious and original performances and adventures for audiences, each with powerful and meaningful stories about and around the city of Leeds.
- Slung Low have pushed the boundaries of how audiences should go and see a piece of theatre.
- Their ambition is to take the audience to new places and see places that they already know in new perspectives.
- The HUB is their rehearsal space, which they lend out to other companies in need when they aren't using it. It also acts as a makeshift performance space.
- Slung Low believe that everyone has different circumstances and that committing to a piece of theatre isn't easy or attractive to everyone, therefore they make most of their shows a 'pay what you decide', where the audience will give the amount of money they think is right after seeing the show.

Slung Low's Statement

- Slung Low wanted a space that would act as their home for all activities, developing ideas, building systems, rehearsing shows, and preparing for an audience.
- A place that would help to develop their work, create more time and space for ideas and somewhere where they could be in control of their process.
- A key part of their mission is to have as much freedom over their work as possible.
- A key idea is that a company which performs across the country can become a part of the city's cultural activity, to have a home base.
- They believe that there are more and more people exploring progressive acting, and people needing a space to house their development work and rehearsing.
- The HUB, although Slung Low are responsible for it, they believe that it was bought with public money and should therefore be shared, it also is not actually needed to be used by Slung Low at all times. They want to share.