WHO WE ARE
Open Aire Theatre is an emerging documentary theatre company made up of graduating Cambridge students committed to amplifying unheard voices. We've been shortlisted for Pleasance’s prestigious 2025 Charlie Hartill Fund and are now preparing to bring our groundbreaking semi-verbatim play “Managed Approach” to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at Gilded Balloon, Patterhoose.
Thank you for taking the time to consider donating to “Managed Approach”. Please read on for more information about our show and our planned run at Edinburgh Fringe!
Managed Approach at the Charlie Hartill Tryouts
THE PRODUCTION
In 2014, the UK established its first legalised red-light district in the Holbeck area of Leeds. This controversial initiative, known as the Managed Approach, allowed sex workers to operate without fear of arrest between 8pm-6am under police supervision.
'Managed Approach' examines this complex social experiment through authentic verbatim testimony from sex workers and a fictionalised narrative drama following 18-year-old Abbie and her mother Kate, whose opposing views on the zone's impact represent the community's divided response.
Following our critically acclaimed, sold-out debut in Cambridge (★★★★★ Varsity), we're committed to bringing this important conversation to a wider audience at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Leeds-based viewers were particularly moved by seeing characters that reflected themselves and the people in their lives - an experience all too uncommon in contemporary theatre.
Standing Ovation at the Cambridge Run
WRITER’S NOTE
I began writing Managed Approach shortly after I started university. At the time, I remember being surprised when my friends who weren’t from Leeds were unaware of certain aspects of the city’s history. I found myself explaining again and again about the creation of the red light district in 2014, or about Leeds hosting the first ever Reclaim the Night March in 1977. I decided that I wanted to write something centred around my city and the women who live in it.
Managed Approach is also a play about mothers and daughters and the complex relationship they share. It is about caring for someone so deeply that you find yourself pushing them away. It is about the conflict between having different political views to your loved ones. And most importantly, it is about strong Northern women, not partly based on the ones I know and love!
Writing this piece was cathartic for many reasons and the opportunity to take it to the Fringe is so exciting! If you can, any help would go a long way. Thank you!
Writer Jules Coyle, who also plays Abbie, and Eanna Ferguson as Kate
COSTS BREAKDOWN
We want to be completely transparent about where your donations go. The below represents the minimum we need to bring these important stories to Edinburgh.
Venue fee and Fringe Registration: £1384
Insurance: approx. £150
Marketing materials: £400
Accommodation (6 People): £5000-£9000
Travel: £600
Total: £7534- £11534
We are asking for £5000 to directly support our cast and crew's accommodation costs, making participation financially viable for our team. We hope that a strong marketing campaign can help us to get close to breaking even with your donations, as our key goal is making sure there is minimum financial burden on anyone in the company.
Thank you for considering supporting 'Managed Approach' at the Edinburgh Fringe. Your contribution will help ensure these vital stories reach the audience they deserve.