Breach Theatre Co talk devising for and with young people on Time Sliders
New Diorama Theatre has a track record of pioneering successful fringe theatre for adults, with commissioned shows such as Operation Mincemeat and For Black Boys… going on to the West End following initial performances there. Excitingly, NDT’s programming is also extended to create work for younger audiences and this spring sees Breach Theatre presenting their brand new production Time Sliders, aimed at ages 7-11 years. We were eager to know more about the show and how it earned a prime slot at such an esteemed fringe venue, so called up writers Billy Barrett and Ellice Stevens to find out more.
Hello both. Thanks for chatting with us today about Time Sliders. Firstly, can you give us an idea of what the show is about?
The show predominantly is about Zack and the quest he goes on when he discovers that an exercise bike in the spare room of his Gran’s flat has the ability to travel through time. It’s a fun-filled, humorous adventure where Zack (from 2026) and a young version of his Gran, Tina, (from 1976) journey through the ages hunting for a lost medal, the first one she ever won during her illustrious cycling career. They get caught up in all sorts of scrapes during all sorts of time periods. But the show is also about bigger themes which are being explored through this adventure – loss, ageing, grief, and how we say goodbye.
Breach is known for its devised, often political work for adults. Why did you want to make a show for young audiences?
We’ve always secretly hoped New Diorama would ask us to do their schools project show as it’s an initiative they run every year (past companies have included Kandinsky and emma + pj) and we thought it looked like an exciting and brilliant challenge. It was interesting when we sat down together and thought “Okay, what is a Breach show?” We talked about that for a bit and then thought, “Okay, so what is a Breach show for young audiences?” Time Sliders is an attempt to tackle a big conversation and complex theme with a light, humorous touch – it doesn’t feel worlds apart from what we try to do in our work for adults.
You worked with local young people from Camden in the research and development process. What was that like, and how have you adapted your established theatre-making practice to include them?
It was brilliant! We were aware we’d never worked with groups that young before. We often do wraparound content for schools and youth groups with our touring shows, but that’s normally with older cohorts. So we went in a bit unsure how it would go. But they were excellent contributors – they generated so much material! It was a bit of a gift for us, because normally our shows involve us researching topics for ages before we get to be creative. However this process was a lot more instinctual and free, and it felt like a real privilege to have the students throw themselves into it.
Can you tell us about the technical aspects of the show and how video and sound recording are used alongside the performances?
The show has performed for three weeks around schools and community centres in London before arriving at New Diorama. Because the performance has been taking place in school halls the technical aspects of the production have to be incredibly light touch – we just perform under school hall lights normally. However, Owen Crouch’s sound design is so rich and detailed and it really takes you on a journey through different worlds and periods. It’s been a joy to watch young audiences react to it as they’re transported from where they normally have their assembly to different realms. It’s exciting for us that we get to introduce lighting into the run at New Diorama. Every show and every school has such a different vibe, so it feels like the theatre run will be a further extension of that.
Time Sliders is aimed at ages 7-11 years; has it been tricky to balance the required entertainment factor for this age group with exploring some quite deep themes?
Us and the cast were in the rehearsal room and had a conversation about shows we’d seen for young audiences and what we’d appreciated. Unanimously we really liked how unpatronising they were and how they didn’t shy away from hard conversations whilst still being predominantly fun. It did at times feel tricky because it was our first time making a show for this age group – but our research came from working directly with students between 7 and 11. We had to trust the process, and it’s been amazing taking the end product into schools and chatting to audiences after.
It’s fabulous to see Theatre for Young Audiences being given a prime slot at a leading fringe venue like New Diorama. How did you swing that, and might there be more to come?
New Diorama do this initiative every year and it’s a brilliant one. The teachers have appreciated it, the students have enjoyed it, we’ve loved it – it’s been a bit of a dream! We’d love to make more shows for young people, but we have a few for adults in the works too. It’s nice to know that both might lie in our future!
Thanks very much to Billy and Ellice for telling us about this intriguing new production.
Time Sliders is a riotous, playful and poignant adventure for ages 7–11, exploring family, loss, ageing and the power of the imagination. It runs at New Diorama Theatre from Wednesday 8 to Sunday 12 April.
