POLLY TISDALL
Past Projects
Directing Projects
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Family (Adelaide Fringe 2018 / National Tour 2016-17 / IdeasTap Award Edinburgh Fringe 2015)
One man multimedia show exploring questions of modern masculinity via writer/performer Ben Norris' relationship with his father, an ill-judged hitchhiking adventure and lots of football.
Charlotte Sometimes (Burton Taylor Studio)
The first stage adaptation of Penelope Farmer's young adult novel.
Oxford Playhouse / Magdalen College School Residency
Projects and productions created as Resident Director
including A Doll's House, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde and Sophocles' Ajax.
Lit Fuse (mac Birmingham / Apples & Snakes)
Directing new extended works by four Birmingham poets
Birmingham Rep Foundry
Projects created and assisted on as a Rep Foundry director
Jorinda and Joringle (The Spark Children's Arts Festival)
A new site-specific adaptation of the Grimm's Fairy Tale for children 5-10.
Baba Yaga Bony Legs & Baba Yaga: A Choral Play
(Edinburgh Fringe)
A re-telling of this Eastern European folk tale, in complete darkness.
Performance Projects
Laos Storytelling Exchange (Arts Council England / British Council)
In April 2017 Polly travelled to Luang Prabang, Laos to work with Lao storyteller Siphai Thammavong, of Garavek Storytelling Theatre. They presented their resulting show, Spirit House, in UK story clubs in Autumn 2017.
The Great Sea Story Ceilidh (The Ashmolean Museum and Creation Theatre)
Regency Dance events collaborate with Rambling Heart to create a ceilidh with a twist in its tale.
You're All Invited & The Little Read (Bakehouse Factory)
Stories for all ages in shopping centres across the Midlands.
The Man in the Moone & the Journey Thither (Regional Tour)
An hour long storytelling show in collaboration with musician and physicist, Andrew Cave.
My Route Taxi Tour (SAMPAD - South Asian Arts)
Voiceover for innovative taxi tour along Birmingham's Stratford Road.
The Girl in the Window (Point Blank)
What would happen if your clothes came to life?Rambling Heart tell tales of consumer culture in a Birmingham shop window.
Strawberries in January (Crescent Theatre)
Lea in Evelyne de Chenéliere's bitter sweet rom-com.
Climbing the Walls (RoguePlay Theatre)
Physical theatre... on a climbing wall.
Storytelling Festival & Club Appearences
From Whitby to Waterval and beyond...(The Border)
Community & Education Projects
School Without Walls 2017 (Bath Cultural Education Partnership)
Five week residency with pupils at St Mary's Weston Primary School, in Bath.
ReStory (Restore Mental Health Recovery Centre, Oxford)
Six-week storytelling course with service users.
Storytelling for Job Interviews (Crisis Skylight)
One off storytelling skills workshop for strong communication in interview situations.
Introduction to Storytelling & Storytelling Development Courses (Oxford Playhouse)
Two four week courses introducing participants to storytelling and training them in performance, culminating in performances at Oxford's Christmas Light switch on.
Resident Storyteller: Harborne Primary School
Working with the school over a period of three years, telling tales and delivering drama sessions with Years 1&2.
Storytelling in Schools: Workshops for WFS
Workshops in primary schools across the West Midlands on diverse themes - from Nelson Mandela to Nursery Rhymes.
Stories for Starters (Walsall Asian Libraries Users Group)
A six week storytelling training course (for many members of the group English was a second language).
Taking Stories Home (Telford Mind Wellbeing Centre)
An intensive participatory drama project with service users which culminated in a promenade performance around the centre.
Talking History: Storytelling in Academia (University of Cambridge)
Using storytelling and performance skills to train early career researchers in effective public speaking and applying their learning in community settings and oral history interviews.
The Stories That Shakespeare Knew (MDCC & Rambling Heart)
A community production in collaboration with MDCC Theatre for the RSC Open Stages. A cast and crew of twenty four explored the folk tales referenced in Shakespeare's plays and performed at The Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.