We were in Brighton this week for the Caravan Assembly connecting with artists, programmers and international festivals from across the world.
We’ve worked alongside Caravan for a number of years, supporting their artists and engaging with their selection process. It continues to be one of the few vital platforms actively connecting UK work with international opportunities.
At a time when those opportunities are becoming more limited, spaces like this felt more important than ever opening doors, building relationships, and ensuring artists could travel, connect and be seen beyond borders.
Across the week, we found ourselves in a number of important conversations about the current state of touring, how artists and organisations can continue to take creative risks in making new work, and where emerging technologies and ideas including crypto and new digital economies might sit within the future of the sector.
Alongside the discussions, it was brilliant to experience some wonderful work and spend time exploring parts of the festival itself a reminder of the energy, ambition and creativity that continues to drive the sector forward.
We left Brighton feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and optimistic about the value of international exchange, collaboration and creating space for artists and ideas to travel.
Tickets are selling fast for @ensemble84 ’s The First Quarto – The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet — and it’s not hard to see why.
In a moment where questions of truth, power, grief and uncertainty feel ever more present, Hamlet lands with a particular poignancy. But this is not the version most audiences know.
Drawn from the rarely performed First Quarto text, this staging offers a different rhythm, a different voice raw, direct, and strikingly immediate. There is no shortage of Hamlet in the world, but there are very few like this.
Created in Horden, by a company that continues to redefine what theatre can be and who it is for, this is work that feels both rooted and resonant — local in its making, international in its ambition.
If you’ve been meaning to book, now’s the time. Don’t miss it.
#ensemble84 #hordentheatre #thirdversioncreative #theatreproduction
We’re looking forward to the upcoming presentation of Fields of Tender in Ashford — part of @playgroundkent this May.
Created by acclaimed choreographer @dalija.acin.thelander , Fields of Tender is an immersive dance experience designed especially for babies and young children — inviting audiences into a gentle, sensory world of movement, sound, and interaction.
Staged in an open, responsive environment, the work invites audiences to move freely, explore, and engage on their own terms — creating space for connection, curiosity, and shared experience.
This marks the first UK tour for the artist - and a body of work that pushes at the edges of form and practice for early years audiences. It’s a space that few artists are exploring with this level of depth and care, rethinking how performance can be experienced by the very youngest.
As one of the few producers in the UK championing and presenting work like this, we believe international collaboration and exchange is more important than ever — bringing new perspectives, practices, and ideas into the sector. At a time when budgets are under pressure and international work is often the first thing to fall away, we’re committed to pushing against that.
Produced by Third Version Creative, and supported by @aceagrams - we’re proud to be presenting the UK journey of this beautiful and thoughtful work.
/programme/fields-of-tender-2-5-years/
Two years ago, @ensemble84 was an idea within a City of Culture bid. Today, it is ‘𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘒‘ The Guardian
In Horden, a former church has become a new creative hub. A company has grown from ordinary people doing extraordinary things — reshaping narratives of place and possibility.
As conversations begin again around the next City of Culture longlist, this stands as a reminder of what those moments can seed — not just bids, but lasting change.
To mark their second anniversary a new production:
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐨 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐞𝐭
A bold, urgent staging using the rarely performed First Quarto text. Live music, movement and powerful storytelling bring fresh energy to a timeless story of grief, betrayal and revenge.
This is International work. This is local impact. And still, this is only the beginning.
Grief, betrayal and revenge. The search for truth carries a deadly cost....
Tickets are on-sale now for our next production!
Join us for a striking new staging of ‘The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Shakespeare’s First Quarto' - a shorter, rarely performed version of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Told with striking differences in structure, dialogue and character names, the story unfolds with compelling theatrical energy, combining powerful storytelling with live music, song and movement.
A kingdom is unsettled. The King of Denmark is dead, his brother now wears the crown, and Prince Hamlet is left grieving - and suspicious. When the ghost of his father appears with a terrible revelation, Hamlet is drawn into a dangerous quest for truth and revenge. As secrets unravel and loyalties are tested, the royal court becomes a place of spies, deception and growing madness. Hamlet must decide how to act in a world that no longer feels certain.
Directed by Mark Dornford-May and performed by our all-County Durham cast in our immersive venue, The Playhouse in Horden, Shakespeare’s gripping tale is staged once more, providing a fresh perspective on the familiar story.
📍 The Playhouse, South Terrace, Horden, County Durham, SR8 4NQ
📅 Dates: May 26th – June 6th, 2026
⏰ Time: 7:30 PM (Evenings), 2:30 PM (Matinees) (7pm, 28th May)
⚠️ Advisory: May contain flashing lights, loud music and strong language.
🎟️ Tickets £10-20 (Age restriction advised 12+) → Book now (link in bio) or call 0191 300 4340
Don’t miss this extraordinary production. Join us at The Playhouse in Horden from 26th May – 6th June
#Hamlet #Shakespeare #Ensemble84 #CountyDurham #WhatsOnDurham #NightOutDurham #LiveTheatre #SupportLocalTheatre #BookNow #GetYourTickets #DontMissOut #LimitedTickets #Horden #NorthEastEngland #DurhamTheatre
This month we’ve been in Newcastle-under-Lyme as part of their Business Festival — talking about culture, placemaking, and what it really means to support arts and cultural activity differently. These conversations feel increasingly urgent. They bring into the open what’s often already there - local leadership, creative ambition, and a real care for place. The challenge isn’t always starting something new, but backing what exists and creating the conditions for it to grow and be sustained.
We’re thrilled to see Ipswich shortlisted for UK City of Culture 2029. We’ve been glad to support that journey -shaping thinking, connecting ideas, helping articulate what makes the place distinct, and what change might be possible. Bids like this generate momentum. New partnerships form, different voices come into the room, and ideas are tested.
We’ve seen that first-hand in County Durham. In 2022, we supported their City of Culture bid, from which @ensemble84 emerged - built through international collaboration, but rooted in local people, skills and stories. A company we helped found - and grow into an award winning, acclaimed model of practise. It’s a practical example of how global exchange and local ownership can sit side by side, strengthening each other over time -and how these processes can leave more than just ambition.
Wishing all the longlisted places, and those developing Town of Culture bids, the very best as they forge their plans.
📸 PH Production Services
What role should art play in shaping the public spaces we share?
Last year saw the publication of When We Go Out into the Street, What Place Do We Want to Find? Art in Public Space and Placemaking, a bilingual book developed by Outdoor Arts Portugal bringing together international perspectives on art in public space.
The publication explores how outdoor arts intersect with civic life, reframing placemaking as an ethical, political and relational process rather than simply a cosmetic urban tool.
For the book, Third Version Creative’s @sudbasu and @rachelclare_16 (@crying_out ) co-authored a chapter examining some of the key shifts shaping outdoor arts today — from international collaboration and sustainability to evolving touring models and new relationships between artists, audiences and place.
The publication sits alongside the recent launch of the Outdoor Arts Strategy for Joy and Belonging, developed by Third Version Creative and commissioned by @outdoorartsuk , @withoutwalls.uk and @101outdoorarts .
Over many years, Third Version Creative has worked extensively across outdoor arts as programmers, commissioners, producers and strategic partners. Both the strategy and the publication bring together insights and learning from that work contributing to wider conversations about how the sector can continue to evolve and thrive.
Outdoor arts remains a core part of our practice, and we’re proud to contribute to the thinking shaping its future.
Изненадваща, фантастична, окъпана в светлини - такава беше вечерта в сърцето на Варна. 🛸
Камион-фантом акостира на входа на Морската градина, за да достави на публиката не един, а два поредни спектакъла между живота тук и някъде там в галактическия безкрай. С танц, естетика и неонови светлини. Сцена на колела, четирима танцьори, истории за НЛО и споделени емоции - това е преживяването Future Cargo. Благодарим на всички, които станаха свидетели на тази близка среща с НЛО и със съвременния танц. ✨
Благодарим за прекрасния екип на Балета на Гръцката Национална Опера, Дейвид Розенберг, Фрауке Реквард и The Place - Лондон.
@greek_national_opera_ballet@requardt.rosenberg@theplacelondon
Благодарим на Община Варна и Култура Варна / Varna Culture за доверието, съдействието и подкрепата. 💙
@culturevarna
Във Варна спектакълът гостува по проект „Ново поколение местни политики за култура в Община Варна, Процедура „Схема за безвъзмездна помощ „Ново поколение местни политики за култура за големи общини“, Национален план за възстановяване и устойчивост.
📣 Tomorrow, the Future Cargo team is taking over our IG stories @thirdversioncreative - offering an insight into their current tour in Bulgaria! 🇧🇬
Join @eleftherialiby and @ektorbollanoo behind the scenes, ask them questions, and find out more about this work by @requardt.rosenberg and its team tomorrow!
Set inside a 40ft haulage truck, Future Cargo invites audiences wearing headphones into a mysterious encounter between a human performer and an other-worldly force. Combining choreography, sound and light, the work blends large-scale spectacle with a surprisingly intimate experience under the night sky.
Future Cargo is supported by @snforg , and co-produced by @greeknationalopera and @theplacelondon
#futurecargo #requardtandrosenberg #internationaltour #thirdversioncreative #creativeproducer
Малки и големи посетиха втория ден на футуристичния спектакъл #FutureCargo, който се състоя на Гребната База на 14 март от 18:30 и 20:00 часа 👽
Ако не сте успяли да го видите, все още можете да го направите на днес (15 март) от 18:30 часа на Стадион „Рома“ в квартал „Изгрев“ 👾
Можете да научите повече за спектакъла и концепцията му тук: /izvanzemni-tantsuvat-pod…/
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#plovdiv #plovdiv2026 #bulgaria #how2plovdiv dance contemporary
One Dance Festival ONE / ЕДНО
Пловдив! 👽 Благодарим! ✨ Днес ви очакваме за финалното представяне на Future Cargo в града:
15 март
Стадион “Рома”
Игрище на ул. “Вратцата”, кв. “Изгрев”
Начало: 18:30 ч.
•••
Спектакъл на балета на Гръцката национална опера (GNO) и The Place – Лондон.
@greek_national_opera_ballet@theplacelondon
В Пловдив спектакълът гостува по Проект BG-RRP-11.021-0003 „Отново Заедно“, по процедура BG-RRP-11.021 „Ново поколение местни политики за култура за големи общини“, финансиран от Европейския съюз – NextGenerationEU (СледващоПоколениеЕС), чрез Механизма за възстановяване и устойчивост по Национален план за възстановяване и устойчивост на Република България, администриран от Национален фонд „Култура“.
Снимки: @chill_vasil & @makawakafo
