York Theatre Royal to commission new work from local artists for Green Shoots show

We will be commissioning new work from dozens of local professional artists from York and North Yorkshire across a variety of art forms in a new project called Green Shoots.

This is a follow-up to Love Bites, the hugely successful show that reopened our theatre following the lifting of restrictions in May 2021, that featured 22 pieces of short work from local artists.

Now comes Green Shoots, featuring new work from local professional artists centred around rebooting post-pandemic and looking to the future of the planet.

We will be selecting 20 commissions, offering £1,000 per commission plus £150 each time they are performed.

Our Creative Director Juliet Forster said: “Love Bites last year was a joyous event that will live long in my mind, not just because we were reopening after 14 months of enforced closure, but also because our stage was filled to overflowing with the tremendous talent and ingenuity of local artists. It was moving, spectacular, surprising, thought-provoking, and funny in equal measures. We have created this new opportunity, because we are excited to see what they will do next!”

The work celebrating local talent and live performance will be performed on our main stage, 07-08 June, as part of our new Rumours & Rebels season.

More than 200 artists across a variety of art forms applied for Love Bites, ranging from spoken word to circus.

The commissions should respond to the title Green Shoots in any way that can be interpreted – pieces might be about hope, recovery, new beginnings, revolution, new life, growth, the environment or anything else that can be imagined as a response.

The work should be able to be performed or shared both live and in a digital form, and have a duration of up to 5 minutes.

Artists may apply as individuals and/or as part of a collective. We are keen to incorporate as wide a mix of art forms and interpretations of the theme as possible, so welcome submissions from artists working in any medium.

Interested artists are being asked to write a short proposal for their piece, how it might be performed live and how it would translate this into a digital form. Artists should introduce themselves and their work (including links to websites or previous work) and where they are based. Closing date for submissions to commissions@yorktheatreroyal.co.uk is midday 24 March 2022.