Bringing strangers together, putting live shows back into public space and unearthing an urban myth is the aim of Tin Shed Theatre’s Happenus series
Tin Shed Theatre Company in Newport is producing a trilogy of events called Happenus, which launched in mid-November and will continue into the new year. The series includes Twinning (a search for twin addresses), a built installation in the city and a secret project running from Friars Walk Shopping Centre. The company says the series exists to challenge how we experience and connect with our homes and city centres.
Twinning started in mid-November and encourages the public to go online, find out if someone shares the exact same address as you and then write to them (sharing the results on Instagram and Twitter).
“The unlikely relationships that are potentially going to be formed out of it and the stories that people tell one another will be really lovely, I think,” says Georgina Harris, the co-director.
An inspiring error
Twinning came to life when Georgina put her address in google maps and it popped up with a location in Staffordshire. She thought sharing an address with a stranger was curious and became intrigued to push with the concept further. Georgina says the response has been great, with letters even going as far as America.
“It’s almost like an experiment really,” she said, “I don’t know what’s going to come back and neither do the people who have written letters.”
This event series sees the company go full circle and return to their early origins, taking space in public buildings to bring culture right to the heart of Newport. Part two will be released in early December and involves a structure they are building in Newport city centre.
The only clues surrounding part three are that it will involve their space in the Friars Walk Shopping Centre and an urban myth of the city.
The origins of Tin Shed Theatre
- Tin Shed Theatre really took off in 2010, after taking part in the Empty Shops Project
- This time saw it turn a shop into the inside of a submarine
- It also took over an old bank
- The co-Director Georgina Harris says this process birthed the Tin Shed way of thinking… what happens when you remove the traditional theatre space? When you embed culture into the centre of a community experience?