With a shared aim of keeping theatre risky, whilst sticking to our key mission of supporting northern artists, we will be co-producing two plays over the next two years.

The collaboration kicks off with Close Enough to Touch, which featured in our Leeds Theatre Festival readings last summer. Written by new northern-born-and-brought-up playwright Henry Roberts, who came through Red Ladder’s open script submissions, Close Enough To Touch is a powerful one-person show about sex, heartbreak…and toilets.

Our artistic director, Cheryl Martin, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be joining forces with fellow northern upstarts Silent Uproar – two bold, pioneering theatre companies coming together to tell important stories.

“At a time when theatres across the UK are facing pressure from all sides, it’s crucial that theatre companies continue to take risks and champion voices you don’t usually hear in theatre – Northern, working-class, women, Global Majority, LGBTQ+, disabled – which is why this is such an exciting collaboration.

“We believe that good theatre should reflect the world from which it springs and by harnessing our resources it enables us to present new stories, connect with new audiences, and remind people of the potency and joy of live performance.”

Alex Mitchell, Silent Uproar’s artistic director, said, “Theatre, at its core, is strange; and we want to keep it that way. An artform filled with ideas too risky for film and too vivid for the page. It’s a meeting point between make believe and ritual. When the lights go down on a room full of strangers, something shifts. Together, audiences suspend their disbelief and allow themselves to be transported somewhere else, without ever leaving their seats.

However, with rising costs, fewer opportunities and shrinking budgets, continuing can sometimes feel like fighting a losing battle.

That is why our partnership with Red Ladder means more than an increase in scale and resources, it represents possibility. The chance to open up new opportunities for artists, and to keep making immersive, memorable work driven by bold, vibrant and challenging ideas.

Overall, it allows us to keep touring theatre that is unapologetically weird, without drifting towards safer, more toothless work. Together, we can be bold and outspoken, using our resources to create more nights out for the communities we serve, particularly at a time when we all deserve a really good night out.”

Close Enough To Touch will tour nationally in the autumn.