Tale Be Told Theatre use interactive theatre as a tool to educate, inform and raise awareness of social issues. We often tackle the stories of people and communities in crisis, providing a platform for the human truth behind the often brutal statistics. Our work is shaped by and for communities and we strive to create experiences that are accessible to all, providing opportunities to engage with the arts to those that are disadvantaged in society. Alongside professional theatre productions, we create bespoke arts projects designed to empower participants and provide them with the means to become socially active and community minded.

Discarding the fourth wall, we share interactive, verbatim-led stories whilst utilising elements of visual and physical theatre to challenge audiences to place themselves in the shoes of others. We feel that the audience member should be seen as a participant to the play rather than simply a spectator and so our plays involve them on the journey our characters take.

Tale Be Told Theatre was launched in 2015, with the initial aim of providing arts theatrical experiences for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. It became clear, through working within communities, that there were many stories ignored by wider society or going unheard. We feel these unheard stories deserve a platform from which to be heard.

We have developed a process whereby the people affected by these times of crisis are put at the heart of our work. It is their story we are reflecting on our stage and we devise from the very words they have spoken to tell it. From initial research, workshops, script development and rehearsals we foster a collaborative process that keeps the honesty of the story we are telling and ensure we communicate their tales of crisis effectively. At the root of our work is the desire to tell a tale, and to help others tell theirs.

Tale Be Told Theatre in the past year have begun to place mental health at the forefront of its work. We have been delivering programmes to support mental health and combat social isolation through theatre & drama, photography, film, creative arts and play. Our sessions have been resourcing our participants with tools and strategies to build resilience, support their own mental wellbeing and encouraging connections across communities to boost support networks. We work alongside NHS partners and Mental Health professionals to support individuals through our work.

The Team