The Show Must Go On: The Intimate Theatrical Power Of Lancashire Peoples' Theatre

Covid-19 has had a huge, detrimental impact on the arts world across the country and with the future still uncertain, theatres and performing artists still very much remain in a state of limbo.

Here in Lancashire, I am told the theatre scene is relatively quiet even in usual times, which is why Lancashire Peoples’ Theatre (LPT) was set up in 2018 by husband and wife team Neil Proctor and Anthea Carpenter-Proctor.

They established the theatre company to give actors the chance to work from their home county, as both Neil and Anthea had found they often were required to travel out of Lancashire for their own professional work. Both actors, Anthea is also a director and drama teacher, with TV, film and stage credits to her name. Neil is motivated to tell the unknown stories of Lancashire and its people through the medium of theatre, and one founding principle of LPT is to inspire people throughout Lancashire to embrace their rich heritage.

LPT works with Lancashire based actors and directors. Their performances are all original, developed collaboratively with two professional writers (Su Moffat and Alan Livesey) together with the valuable contributions of their associate artist and actor Steve Fairclough.

In usual times they are based at the Stanley Arms in Preston city centre. The company creates all its own costume, scenery and make up but things are kept to a minimum, so the focus is on the performance, rather than the props.

The subject matter of their plays is bespoke, personal and reflective – challenging audiences to question their own assumptions, and to confront issues that affect perhaps a wider demographic than might be anticipated. Their current project is the development of a play about men who suffer eating disorders; this reflects both Neil and Anthea’s personal exposure to the matter, but also embraces Anthea’s passionate belief that theatre and performance can change peoples’ mental health and enact change in society. For Neil too, it tells an unknown story, challenging the common, but incorrect, belief that eating disorders are suffered only by teenage girls and women. The play, entitled Boy’s Not Right was ‘trialled’ to great acclaim last year. The pilot, a shorter version, was to establish whether their ideas could be understood by an audience, whether their investment of time would deliver the required impact. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with audience members genuinely moved.

Production of Boy’s Not Right has inevitably been put on hold during lockdown, but LPT have been keeping busy. Lancashire Briefs is an annual project where they partner mainly amateur writers with professional actors to develop 5-minute monologues or dialogues on a given theme. In 2019 they performed in an intimate theatre setting, however this year the performances were self-recorded and broadcast via the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lancashirebriefsinlockdown). The 2019 debut of this project saw more than 140 people come to watch over the two nights, without even standing room left in the audience.

The theatre company members have all missed the intimacy of developing work as a group, but hope post-lockdown to be able to access funding and tour their work throughout Lancashire. Theatres may well open come July, but without live performances it remains to be seen how theatre companies will adapt. However, with some innovative thought, I believe that Neil and Anthea will remember what spurred them to turn to professional acting in the first place: self-belief in their ability to see things through. However they adapt, LPT will live to fight another day, and hopefully be performing in a venue near you in the not-too-distant future.

You can follow LPT on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lancashirePeopleTheatre/ and on Twitter @Lancashirepeop1

Please consider supporting the Public Campaign for the Arts calling for government action to help Britain’s theatres, music venues and performing arts companies as we come out of lockdown: https://www.campaignforthearts.org/