Bradley Travis, Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive at Half Moon Theatre
Half Moon Theatre enters a new phase this year, with Bradley Travis becoming Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive, alongside Executive Director Louise Allen. This is a really exciting transition for the theatre, so we were delighted to get the chance to ask Bradley all about it.
Hi Bradley. Thanks very much for chatting with us today. So you’re picking up the baton from Chris Elwell and Jackie Eley, who headed up the Half Moon for nearly three decades! How does it feel?
It feels fantastic. Half Moon is a theatre that I’ve long admired, and, as it happens, I performed here in an opera for babies with English Touring Opera. I remember walking into the theatre and thinking “Wow, I love it here – it would be great to work here one day.”
Picking up the baton from Chris and Jackie feels in part daunting, given how long they were here, but mostly exciting and energising as they cultivated such a wonderful and inclusive culture, which Lou and I are excited to continue and build on.
Can you tell us about your background and what it is about your experience that has set you up for this position?
One could say I’ve had a rather unusual route to this position. I studied music and trained as an opera singer at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester and the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London, and when I graduated was a freelance ‘jobbing’ opera singer, performing all around the country. I started to develop a close affiliation with English Touring Opera (ETO) and performed with them most years.
A real turning point for me was when I was involved with making a new opera with, and for, Learning Disabled young people called This is My Bed, in a special school in Wimbledon. It opened my eyes to where the really important work was going on.
From this point, I was keen to do more work making opera and theatrical experiences for young people. As it happened, Tim Yealland, who had been Head of Education at ETO and writer/ director of This is My Bed, left ETO six months later, so I applied and thankfully got the job.
One of my main responsibilities at ETO was to commission and produce two new operas per year for young people which toured schools and small studio theatres – much like Half Moon. While I was there, I commissioned 15 operas which toured both in the UK and internationally, four of them award nominated, and one winner at the International Young Audiences Music Awards (YAMAwards). Alongside the commissioning and producing side of things, I also continued to perform, and direct and write shows for children.
Half Moon is a truly unique venue, with exceptional creative output – particularly for its size. What is it about the theatre that makes it special to you?
The word that springs to mind is community. Not only in the traditional sense of Youth Theatre, after school clubs and schools, but in the sense of our brilliant staff, incredibly loyal family audiences, and the unique and loyal artistic community who have either been touched by Half Moon as they were starting out through artform development or our Half Moon Presents programme.
There are also those visiting theatre companies who continue to visit Half Moon, even if it’s a little smaller than other places they perform in, as they – like me – love the flexibility of the space and the warm, welcoming atmosphere in the theatre. There’s something about Half Moon that inspires people to be creative; to take risks, be daring and make fresh, new and exciting work
The theatre has superb community links. Have you had a chance to spend time with any local groups and schools yet?
Absolutely. One of my mantras since starting in the job has been to get out into the community and experience as much of what Half Moon does as possible. The only issue is that there’s so much of it and not enough hours in the day!
It really is extraordinary that every week we have eight Youth Theatres, three After School Clubs and early years Creative Play sessions taking place across Tower Hamlets. We’re also engaging with hundreds of young people through drama and participation opportunities – that’s not even mentioning the full summer of activities, including our Next Steps transitions programme, supporting Year 6 students move from primary to secondary school.
I think this speaks volumes to the trust that schools and the wider Tower Hamlets community put in the work that we produce. They know that what we offer is going to be thought-through, of a high quality, and valuable to the young people and families experiencing it.
At Everything Theatre we flippin’ love Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA), but it is often underrepresented and perhaps undervalued in the industry. Do you foresee any possibilities to help change this profile from your new role?
I think one of the main things is to get out there and talk to people, advocating for the joyful and daring work we do inspiring young people. We want to put a metaphorical neon sign on Half Moon, and in turn the TYA sector as a whole, to say, “Look over here at all this extraordinary, cutting edge and artistically excellent work going on.”
It feels like being new in the role allows me to do this in a passionate and unencumbered way as I’m not ‘blowing my own trumpet’, if you like; I’m genuinely amazed at the body and quality of the work and believe everyone should know about it.
I hope when I’ve been at Half Moon for 27 years, as Chris was, TYA representatives are sitting at the ‘top tables’ of theatre and the arts, having their voices heard and respected. We’ll aim to be change-makers in this regard.
You’ve only been in the job for a few months, but have you already got plans ahead? What will you focus on first?
Oh yes – lots of exciting plans. One of the great things about us at Half Moon is that we’ve always been fleet of foot, and able to make things happen quickly – and this is something that I’ve relished in my career.
In terms of what I’m focussing on first, we’re looking at what it means to be genuinely wellbeing-focussed and community-driven, and into how we can make a new look artform development programme that not only serves Half Moon in seeding work for upcoming seasons, but that also serves artists in their wider practice – building sessions around work of a particular theme or age group.
Alongside that, among other things, we’re remounting Grandad Anansi, by Elayne Ogbeta, putting the final touches to our new show Brave Bettie, by Tatenda Naomi Matsvai (Hot Orange), which is in R&D co-led by young people from our Youth Theatres and After School Clubs, and relaunching our Half Moon Presents programme, supporting smaller TYA theatre companies.
It’s certainly varied – and busy – but such good fun.
Thanks so much to Bradley for talking with us today. We’re so excited to see what’s ahead for the Half Moon theatre and hope to report back in the months ahead!
You can find out more about Half Moon Theatre here.
