5 Years of Ardent

As a trustee since Ardent Theatre Company began, it has been incredible to witness the journey of the company, with all its differing highs and lows. The challenge of the artistic landscape Ardent was born into has presented some rocky terrain to navigate but it has also proved the importance of being resilient and well equipped in the face of apparently insurmountable odds. There is no doubt that fundraising for each project occupies an unhealthy amount of time for Mark Sands as Creative Director who constantly seeks to squeeze blood from various funding stones!

Yet, there has also been the joy of finding funding successes via a small but perfectly formed group of charitable donors or trusts that share in Ardent’s ethos and who have been more of a lifeline than perhaps they realise. The company is so grateful to them and through their financial support they have given the company the time and space to create work that tells stories which might otherwise go unheard.

In our regular trustee meetings, we discuss the idea of change and making a difference through the smallest of theatrical ventures right through to our largest grand plans. I have personally found the word change difficult as a means of thinking about our work, wary I suppose of imposing my values onto others. Yet, working with Mark and Andrew has helped me see how the telling of tales, otherwise forgotten or overlooked, might influence a meaningful metamorphosis for those involved, ourselves included. It has illustrated to me why we must also keep our focus on the impact that our projects might have over a longer period of time; as the company moves forward this will surely need to inform our work more and more.

Looking back to Flowers of the Forest and seeing the pathway of work leading to the glorious run of This Island’s Mine has helped me see the company in a new light; one where seminal texts, in danger of getting lost in the current whirligig of events, can find a space of resurrection and breath life again into the theatrical atmosphere. How sad and indeed perilous it would be to have neglected This Island’s Mine which seems as pertinent now as in its initial inception and what a joy it was to see the work also go onto Edinburgh with a different company. I wonder if we might see another version in the next year or so – the reviews of Ardent’s work praised the writing by Philip Osment and do we need reminding as Mrs Rosenblum does in the play, that in turbulent times:

“You must watch.

You must be prepared”. (Osment, 1988)

I have neglected here the joy of watching the Ardent8 perform and the complexity of the new writing which Ardent supports via the work of Andrew Muir but also in projects such as Party Lines but I suspect others will write more of this.

It is a pleasure to be a trustee for the company and Ardent enriches my understanding of the world every time it produces something new. Here’s to the next 5 years!

Becky Hunt, Chair and Trustee, Oct 2019