Premiere performance
Main Stage, The Lawrence Batley theatre, 8 Queen Street, Huddersfield, HD9 2SP

“I was just overcome with joy when I sat and watched someone deliver my story, even better than I had done, but yet I could still see myself in her. How lovely to see the cast act real peoples’ characters - their voices, their stories, their experiences and their journeys. I think I have learnt a lot from this production and would like to see ‘Beast Market’on tour, so that other places and people can relate to this wonderful production in their own way.” Angie Smith: interviewee featured in Beast Market

Huddersfield 2008. An ordinary town in Yorkshire or at the centre of world events? In the view of some, the old Beast Market's seen better days, but can the new communities cast a different light on what it means to be British in the 21st century?

In this powerful new piece of verbatim theatre Chol Theatre gathers the diverse voices of Huddersfield to take a fresh, funny and frank look at what's happening under the surface of this Pennine town.

A state of the nation piece blending storytelling, images, movement and live music, Beast Market is the voice of modern British urban community.

The piece is directed by Andrew Loretto, previously director of the National Student Drama Festival and Bradford’s Theatre in the Mill.

He says it was very much the project he wanted to do when he arrived at Chol Theatre, which is based at the LBT.

“I was very keen to do something by, about and with Huddersfield,” he says.
“The Huddersfield voice is not out there and I wanted to show the town’s stories in a piece of theatre,” he says.

Eighteen months of work produced a wealth of material in interviews with all sorts of people who frequent the streets around Beast Market and the open market.Traders, shoppers, homeless people, restaurant customers and police officers were recorded. Even Kirklees Council leader Robert Light and Huddersfield vicar Catherine Ogle got in on the act.Views ranged from anarchist to the far-right, although Andrew says the aim was to be non-judgmental.

“We asked them to talk about how they feel about being here, how it’s changed and what they’d like to see. “It’s celebratory and is very positive in tone. But it also addresses social concerns through honest conversation.” says Andrew.

The result has been distilled into a piece of what Chol calls verbatim theatre, performed by six actors. It’s edited, but the meanings of what the interviewees said are unaltered.

Throughout the research and development process, freelance photographer Amanda Crowther has produced an archival collection of photographic images celebrating the Beast Market area and those who live, work and play in the area. These photographs will be featured during the stage production and exhibited before during and after the production at the theatre itself, and at the media Lounge in Northumberland Street from 1st – 30th May 2008. The Media exhibition will also feature winning entries from the Huddersfield Literature Festival in response to the pictures.


Production team

Director: Andrew Loretto
Producer: Susan Burns
Composer/Musician: Giuliano Modarelli
Designer: Emma Wee
Lighting: Douglas Kuhrt
Movement Director: Dominic Leclerc
Research: Cheryl Roberts-Creaghan & Mandeep Kaur Samra
Photography: Amanda Crowther
Script: Susan Burns and Andrew Loretto
Stage Manager: Hannah Mills
Video designer: Shanaz Gulzar
Voice Coach/musician; Eilon Morris

Admin: Roohi Sarwar
Marketing: Amanda Crowther & Ben Baughan
Project Assistant: Ben Baughan
Editing assistant: Rebecca Legge
ASM intern; Rupert Philbrick
Sound intern: Adam Martin
Signer: Alan Haythornthwaite