Closing soon
Don't miss your chance to donate
To raise £10,000 towards the cost of producing Ubu Royale, a hilarious, playful, unique, anarchic and accessible theatre show.
Make Fascism Fun Again
Help us to create hilarious, playful, visually striking theatre in spite of the challenges.
Four and a half years ago, Mark Winstanley was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Before his diagnosis, Mark performed nationally and internationally with companies including; A Ship of Fools Theatre Company, Vamos Theatre and A Plague of Idiots, as well as creating opportunities for performers through the Performer's Playground.
Since then, Mark has not been on stage.
Now we want to change that, working within the restraints of Mark's impaired mobility and fatigue we are exploring research and development of Ubu Royale culminating in a sharing of the work this year and aiming tour nationally in 2027.
Ubu Royale is Neil Bartlett's translation of Alfred Jarry's theatrical landmark Ubu Roi, an anarchic, outrageous and hilarious play that's influence continues to echo well into the twenty first century. We want to bring its extraordinary energy to life with Mark, the Performer's Playground team and a brilliant cast and creative crew, including Susanna Amato, David Nixon, Alice Robinson, Thomas Toppler, & Sophie Tyrrell. Access will feature in rehearsals, performances and even in set design.
But this project is about much more than putting Mark back on stage.
Mark, Alice, Susanna and David are all highly experienced performers, practitioners and teachers who have worked across a range of theatrical and Arts led institutions including; RADA, Performers College, Ecole Philippe Gaulier, Contact, Cheshire Dance, Uncurbed Collective, the Handmade Parade, Driftwood Studio and more. Ubu Royale will give them the opportunity to develop new skills and creative approaches around performance, movement, theatre making, puppetry, mobility and access — skills and knowledge that they can then take directly back to the numerous students and artists they will continue to work with in the future.
We want accessibility to be part of the creative process from the very beginning, not something added afterwards. By exploring how ambitious theatre can be made around Mark's access needs, we hope to develop approaches that can benefit not only this production, but the performers and theatre-makers who come after it.
Your support will help us make the work, support the artists and build the access provision that makes this possible.
Help us unleash the anarchic spirit of Ubu Royale — and help turn one extraordinary production into an opportunity for creativity, learning and lasting change.
Support thePerformers'Playground to
Make Ubu Great Again
#MakeFascismFunAgain
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 23rd October 2026 at 11:59pm