Terra Nova Productions

Terra Nova Productions is 15!

Please support Terra Nova Productions and help us to reach our initial target of £15,000 and to continue to raise money through ongoing donations that will allow us to bring our Intercultural work to life.

Who We Are

Terra Nova is the only company on the island of Ireland that is dedicated to intercultural theatre, with an immigrant Artistic Director, and a mixed board of all races and religions. We are a registered charity, founded in 2007. We have also worked with communities and fellow artists in Macau, Hong Kong, France, Egypt, Brazil, Southern Ireland, Germany and Greenland.

We engage and inspire the community, develop emerging artists, and showcase the best professionals.  In our fifteen years we’ve commissioned dozens of new plays, films, and audio works taking diverse theatre all across Northern Ireland.  

We showcase lost or hidden stories, giving hope to marginalised artists and bring rich new perspectives to everyone else. We do this while setting a high bar for professionalism and artistic exploration.

Research by Belfast City Council in 2021 showed that four out of five young people from global majority backgrounds intend to leave Northern Ireland because they believe there is nothing for them here.

So, Terra Nova lobbies, researches, trains, speaks about the importance of a rich, diverse artistic life in Northern Ireland and beyond. We walk the walk.

What the Critics Say:

"I think access to such meaningful theatre helps us grow and evolve as a society… not only did the play convey a significant message, the cast and crew brought the story to life in a unique and innovative way." - Comedy Culture Northern Ireland

"The intentional diversity of the cast - age, gender and ethnicity - is unlike any other show that you’ll see in Northern Ireland."  - Alan in Belfast Blog  

What the Audience Says:

"Engaging, humorous, informative, enjoyable, powerful authentic performances."

"I saw beautiful sets, lighting and costumes and amazing acting that blew me away."

What the Participants Say:

"Terra Nova Productions are innovative, original and give the people of a diverse background an opportunity to be part of timeless theatre. Terra Nova connects people, giving opportunities to actors and creates new productions despite the challenges of war and pandemics."

"An excellent company producing first-class diverse, multicultural theatre experiences."

What Artists Say:

"They have brought a richness. They have brought the full range of the community of Northern Ireland into the artistic process." - Jim Meredith/Writer

"One of the most important things, I feel, is how they are able to interconnect everyone and anyone really.... Before I had worked with them I had never been in a room that was so diverse.... It was so eye-opening and beautiful." - Raj Bajaj/Actor

What will we use money raised for

• We want to pay fair living wages
• We want to provide opportunity and support to our community
• We want to ensure those mission critical costs like insurance, IT health & safety, and good financial auditing can be paid for
• We want great ideas and outstanding creative artists to be supported by good professional production values 

Why Do We Need Support?

Terra Nova does not receive any sustained, reliable government funding.  Every penny we require comes from tickets and other earnings, grants, or is given through salary sacrifice and volunteering. Although we plan our projects years in advance, on average we are always just four six months away from closure. With the rising cost of living this is dropping. We cannot keep up and are entirely at risk.  By supporting Terra Nova, you are:

• Keep Ireland’s only dedicated diverse theatre company from closing its doors
• Give fair opportunities to skilled people with everything stacked against them
• Stop brain drain by keeping talent here, and 
• Helping to ensure equity of opportunity for immigrants and global majority artists, stories and points of view.

You will be making new commissions, new productions, and a range of programmes and opportunities for artists,  emerging artists and community groups possible.

Help give this vibrant one-of-a-kind company a chance. Your society will be a richer, more peaceful and more beautiful place!

We asked some of members of our community for three words that they believed signified Terra Nova Productions. Watch the video and see what they had to say!

Our Crowdfunding Campaign

Why Now?

Terra Nova productions has created this crowdfunding campaign to crown the celebrations of our 15th Birthday Year.  We are celebrating surviving this long in the face of repeated adversity. We are launching 15 more years of inspiring our community, nurturing emerging talent and showcasing exciting, bold and innovative professional theatre!

But this won’t happen without you.

Every year the Terra Nova team sets our ambitious artistic and social goals for the future whilst striving month-in-month-out to find funds for basic salaries, the lighting, heating and the rent. 

• Accommodation on tour costs £100 per person per night.  Imagine two technicians and two actors touring for three weeks across Northern Ireland.
• Hiring a van for two weeks of touring costs over £2000 - before you add in petrol.

We already know we can only afford to pay our Artistic Director for two days out of five worked after the 31st of March 2023.  Right now, we have less than a third of our core costs raised for the year beginning April 2023.

Your help ensures the rent will be paid next month, allowing creativity the space to thrive!

You can provide the solid foundation to launch the next 15 years, by supporting our team to plan ambitious programmes and opportunities.

You will be the theatrical angel that makes it all happen.

Our Target

We need to raise £15,000.  This represents just enough, that paired with what we have already raised, it secures one full year of our core costs: light, heat, IT, audit, internet - the boring stuff that allows us to do what we do.

Help us make our target of £15,000 to cap our 15th year in style!

The Time Is Now

Time is tight.  We’re running on empty.  We’ve got just two months to get these funds in place.

If you believe in what Terra Nova stands for, if you’ve benefited from our programmes, enjoyed our high quality productions, marvelled that this work is happening here in Northern Ireland, then please give.  Large or small.  We need to hit that target.  

A Single Donation or On-Going Support

There are options to make a one-off donation.  There is also a chance to set up a regular donation that provides us with ongoing security.  Buying Terra Nova a cup of coffee or the equivalent of a breakfast in your local café, every month, could make all the difference.

If you have the means to make a larger donation please do.  A few larger donors give a campaign the kind of boost that inspires us all.

Help Spread the Word

It’s the second part of making this a success.  Don’t be ashamed of your generosity.  Share our campaign with your friends and family.  You say: ‘this is a good cause - I gave’ and they listen. Your words are powerful. Please help us by sharing our campaign with your own networks as this will help to spread the word.

Rewards

We know you’re not in it for the reward.  We know that’s not what motivates you, but we’d like to say thank you!