Celebrating 10 years
When we started 10 years ago we were two people whose paths one day crossed. We both grew up in working class families on the south coast and came to London to follow our dreams. Both had battled that innate working class feeling that you don’t belong, that you’re an outsider. We were working for another theatre company but we wanted to make our own work and we wanted to make a difference.
We stumbled on the name Ardent after working through a 100 possible words; names that were already taken for websites or social media handles. But Ardent couldn’t be more fitting. Passion, determination. I think that sums up us and everyone we have worked with.
We were jump started into action. A friend sent me a play that had been gathering dust in a Swansea Library. I fell in love with it. I was acting in a company with two friends but it wasn’t a good fit. And so it got passed to Anthony Biggs at Jermyn Street Theatre. Leap forward many months and I hear Anthony is going to do it. I thought over my dead body is he doing it without me. And very quickly Ardent was formed and our first production - Flowers of the Forest - was produced in collaboration. We had no money, but thanks to Anthony and Jermyn Street Theatre, Ardent launched in 2014 with a beautiful 5 star production and an extended run.
Off the back of that, Andrew and I started seriously thinking about building a company. We got our first Arts Council grant of £15K in 2015 and produced our very first own show - Party Lines. 5 short plays about 5 political party manifestos on the night after the general election. A one-off pop up night in a library. And it was electric.
Then Tracy Ryan, who I’ve known for decades, sent us her play STRIKE!. We knew it had something special. What it did have was 16 actors and a budget of £200k. But we did it, 8 years on. With 13 actors. And it was worth the wait.
And there have been many other proud moments. The ARDENT8 programme, In Conversation with Martin Daniels, Jenny and Michael McEvoy from The Globe Players, Peter Tatchell and Lisa Power. And of course, This Island’s Mine by Philip Osment. I saw the original production by Gay Sweatshop when I was 19 and stumbling out of the closet in a coastal town during Thatcher’s Britain. The play was life-changing and life-affirming and I always wanted to do it. That one only took 30 years! One of my most treasured moments is knowing Philip Osment saw his play revived on Press Night just days before he sadly passed away. Philip, thank you for your words. Mention must also go to all the brilliant people we spoke to and worked with to create our educational resource Activism in the 80s alongside STRIKE!. For a small company, we like big plays and big projects.
And here we are, 10 years on, still going and still fighting. The pandemic year almost finished us and we thought it was game over. But our supporters rallied to help us back on our feet. For that we specifically thank Cockayne Grants for the Arts, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Arts Council England, Ian McKellen and, in particular and with great fondness, Richard O’Brien. But over the years there have been 100s of people and many trusts and foundations who have supported us.
We wouldn’t have got here if it hadn’t been for you - our trustees, audiences, our participants, the creatives we employ, our followers, our funders and our donors. To you all, we raise a glass to another 10 years.
Ardent Theatre Company is a registered charity with a mission to end class inequality in theatre. We produce theatre, provide training and remove barriers to ensure at least 50% of actors employed in theatre are from working-class backgrounds and that anyone who wants to access theatre as an audience member has that opportunity.
CLICK HERE to read how you can help Ardent achieve it’s mission.