Announcing Camp Phoenix - Zest's first production in 4 years!
/For the first time since the pandemic began, Zest is back with a brand new show!
Written by Bush Theatre’s Young Company Director, Katie Greenall, with new songs by Vocal Looping Artist, Koko Brown, Camp Phoenix is a show packed with adventure, new music, and vital life lessons. Each performance features a dynamic cast of professional performers and the local young people who helped develop the show.
This new show has been commissioned by Lincoln Arts Centre, Barnsley Civic, and ARC Stockton, and will be our first touring production since becoming an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.
What advice do teenagers wish they’d been given when they were still kids? Camp Phoenix has been developed through conversations with over 650 young people nationwide to find out. 9-year-olds shared their worries, and those aged 16+ responded with expert wisdom. Camp Phoenix shares that wisdom with honesty, hope, and humour.
Making our first return to making and touring theatre since the COVID-19 pandemic started, we travelled the country to research this new show, meeting children and young people from Lincoln, Stockton-on-Tees, Canterbury, Barnsley, and Lewisham.
By facilitating workshops for Key Stage 2 pupils, they were able to share their thoughts, questions, and concerns about growing up and their transition to Secondary School. Then, post-16 performing arts students responded with the advice they wished they’d received before they started secondary school, spending time with the Zest team to develop creative content, which is now the crux of this brand-new show.
Featuring a company of professional actors and the local Post-16 performers Zest met during the research period, this new production will joyfully share the wisdom and lived experience of those aged 16-18 to support and inspire audiences of 10–12-year-olds (and beyond) when they need it most.
What’s it about?
Camp Phoenix follows Zia, who turned 17 last week. When they arrive at Camp Phoenix for a compulsory weeklong residential, they aren’t sure if it’s for them. The camp helps young people emerge from the dust of their younger selves, just like a phoenix. Through regulated activities, young people develop the skills to rise into the next phase of their lives to become great citizens and employees.
But not everything goes to plan. When Zia and their newfound friends realise that the camp’s values don’t include everyone, they discover that the most valuable lessons are those learnt from the people around them.
The production will be suitable for anyone aged 9+, with every performance featuring integrated Audio Description.
Zest Artistic Director & CEO, Toby Ealden said:
“This new production feels like an exciting reset for the company. It opens precisely four years since our last public theatre performance of Youthquake closed in Teeside weeks before the lockdown began. Camp Phoenix is our first national theatre tour since the pandemic and our first as a brand-new Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation. It's serendipitous for us that we premiere this show back on Teeside before returning home to Lincoln and touring to our other partner venues.
We’re excited to have given Katie Greenall and Koko Brown their first professional commissions as Writer and Songwriter, respectively. Working with young people, they have crafted an energetic script and set of new songs that beautifully capture the hopes and fears of the young people we met in communities across the country.
At a time when young people continue to face a mental health crisis and remain unheard in broader society, productions like Camp Phoenix are vital. A moment to make space for each other, share wisdom, and have fun through creativity at venues right in the heart of the places they call home.”
Tour Dates
On sale soon!
ARC, Stockton
1st & 2nd February 2024
Lincoln Arts Centre
8th & 9th February 2024
Gulbenkian Arts Centre, Canterbury
22nd & 23rd February 2024
Barnsley Civic
29th & 1st March 2024
The Albany, Deptford
7th & 8th March 2024
Creative Team
WRITER
Katie Greenall
SONGWRITER
Koko Brown
DIRECTOR
Toby Ealden
SET & COSTUME DESIGN
Caitlin Mawhinney
SOUND DESIGN
Guy Connelly
LIGHTING DESIGN
Ben Pacey
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
Phao May
AUDIO DESCRIPTION
Quiplash
PRODUCER
Adam Pownall
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Tom Robbins
R&D PRODUCER
Laura Killeen
R&D SUPPORTING FACILITATOR / ARCHIVIST
Wambui Hardcastle
IMAGE DESIGN
Fabric.
Participating Colleges
Barnsley College
Canterbury College
Lewisham College
Lincoln College
Stockton Riverside College
