2019 Festival Tour.

Aim

To support a 2019 tour of: 'Toby Belch (is unwell)' and 'Caliban's Codex' at the Prague, Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals.

For the past few years I have largely supported my work through ticket sales and the generous support of local people. This has enabled me to continue to develop and produce theatre pieces with an emphasis on new writing. In 2019 I will have the opportunity to take some of these works further afield and build a profile which will help and support the development of independent theatre in Hastings. However, I am overstretched financially, with not only 'Toby Belch (is unwell)' and 'Caliban's Codex' being offered opportunities next year but also new works: 'Punched' and 'A Fiction Romance' to produce. Any festival is expensive to attend, with costs such as: flights, travel, accommodation, festival fees, marketing and venue hires, all adding up. I've been lucky to have support from venues in Brighton and Edinburgh which will help in promoting and financing the major costs and already a generous local sponsor has kicked off our Prague trip with support towards our fees, but, I still need to find a way to make this happen financially overall. The £3000 I am asking for, will go a long way to helping to produce these shows and with ticket sales we should break even.  At the end of 2019 we will have reviews from not one, but three major festivals and a growing reputation outside of Hastings. This is the springboard that I and Fetch Theatre need, to continue to create works like; 'Toby Belch (is unwell)' and 'Caliban's Codex' and without your support it's unlikely that I can make full use of these fantastic opportunities. 

There are of course hundreds of worthy causes to support so why this one? I believe in the importance of theatre, to speak of who we are, to question and not least to entertain. I believe that art and theatre are important if for no other reason than the fact that we need them. To quote the late Stan Lee: "I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people’s lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you’re able to entertain people, you’re doing a good thing." – Stan Lee 

Thank you. John Knowles - Fetch Theatre. 

This project successfully funded on 15th April 2019