Tricycle Theatre announces six new theatre companies

The Tricycle Theatre has announced six new theatre companies created both for young people and for all ages, which will engage with the communities of Brent.

Mapping Brent is the name of the initiative, which will see the Tricycle work with six venues across the borough. Five theatre companies will be for young people and the sixth will be available to all ages.

The companies will stage workshops, events and activities in Neasden, South Kilburn, Stonebridge, Wembley Park, Harlesden and Kilburn.

Playwrights and directors including Sonali Bhattacharyya, Cressida Brown, Toby Clarke, Tinuke Craig, Emma Dennis Edwards, Shereen Jasmin-Phillips, Chino Odimba, Nadia Papachronopoulou, Toby Peach and Somalia Seaton will lead the project.

The members of the companies have been drawn from the local community and will begin working on their acting skills over 20 sessions. The project culminates in six new performance pieces in spring 2017.

Artistic director of the Tricycle Indhu Rubasingham said: "Today more than ever it is vital for us to give young people a voice and a platform to be heard. The work our young companies produce will tell us what matters to them, what’s on their mind and how they view the world today."

The project has been funded by the Brent London Borough Council, the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, John Lyons and Arts Council England.