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CONTENT
- Summary
- Key Project Dates
- Core Team
- Key project Stages & Responsibilities
- Audience Development Outline
- Conference Event Overview
1. Summary
From Autumn 2025 Banner Theatre concludes its 50 years of performing radical theatre & music
with frontline workers movements and representing communities of struggle. The overall
project encourages emerging artists, engages working class communities in the arts, and
platforms Banner’s pioneering collaborative methodology & performances.
Activities include:
- 2-day 50th Anniversary Conference titled ‘The Art of Resistance’
- Banner’s new show ‘The Art of Resistance’ + tour
- 4 Creative Exchange Hub events, where cultural activists can share work, network & learn about community organising
- Workshops on Banner’s collaborative methodology with communities in struggle
- New “Art of Resistance” album
- “Class Songs:” Song & photography book released in partnership with the GFTU
2. Key Project Dates
Phase 1: 23 May 2025 – 15 Sep 2025
- Work towards Art of Resistance conference
- New ‘Art of Resistance’ show development
- Recruitment of Trade Union/Audience Development & Admin/Social Media staff
- Release of new song & photography book and album
Phase 2: 20 Sep 2025 – 4 Mar 2026
- 2-day ConferenceTour of new show to 12 cities/towns in England
- 4 Creative Exchange Hub events: Salford, London, Newcastle, Exeter
- Workshops at New Vic Theatre, the Working Class Movement Library & Marx Memorial Library
- 8 performances in total at Conference, Creative Exchange Hubs + 3 shows in Stoke on Trent, Coventry and Mansfield
3. Core Team
● Dave Rogers: Artistic Director, Musician / Performer / Script and Songwriter
● Sashwati Sengupta: Project Producer
● Stuart Brown: Finance Manager
● Dean Whiskens: Sound, Visual and Technical Director
● Mike Bethel: Musician/Performer
● Kaytee DeWolfe: Musician/Performer
4. Key Project Stages & Lead Responsibilities
● Identify potential collaborators (Steering Committee with Banner Theatre)
● Artistic Direction, songwriting (Dave Rogers)
● Advertise & recruit freelance staff & volunteers (Sashwati Sengupta & Stuart Brown)
● Financial Planning: Fund Raising (Stuart Brown)
● Marketing, Conference Programming (PR person, Admin, Sashwati)
● Technical plan, show video interview installation & set design (Dean Whiskens)
● Action Planning (Sashwati Sengupta)
● Contracts for freelancers (Sashwati Sengupta & Stuart Brown)
● Risk assessment (Stuart Brown)
● Volunteer coordination (Stuart Brown)
● Evaluation throughout project (Sashwati Sengupta & Stuart Brown)
5. Audience Development
Aims
Banner Theatre will focus on audience development that broadens our existing reach, while maintaining our fundamental grassroots audiences. This project is an important step forward to achieve audience expansion and attract new audiences while stimulating our existing ones. We have used quite traditional methods of audience engagement in the past, and are exploring the innovations needed to reach the wider audiences we wish to engage. To do this we will engage a graphics and font designer to create materials that will appeal to younger contemporary audiences.
We will deepen our digital outreach and engagement to draw younger audiences, and open accessibility to our work for people who experience barriers to attending live events. To do this we will create more shareable and inclusive content around the main themes of the project for social media and media campaigns. Throughout the project we will are seeking to further engage with younger audiences.
Audiences
Banner works with and for hard to reach audiences – many of whom rarely go to
established cultural venues. From the company’s inception, we have created shows for, and
toured to, black and Asian communities, asylum seekers and refugees, and working class
people in Britain.
The Art Of Resistance project aims to extend & further its reach with:
- Artists & producers working in socially-engaged performing arts, particularly music and theatre
- Trade Union members, activists and organisers
- Student movements
- Community activists
- Political and socially conscious people
- Working class, low income and disenfranchised groups
- Unemployed people
- Refugees and Sanctuary seekers
- The widening pool of emerging younger activists, students & ‘artivists’ involved in campaigns eg environmental issues, zero-hour contracts, tuition fees etc
How we will reach target audiences
- Audience Development/ Trade Union Liaison role (1 individual) will roll out a focused strategy to support our tour bookers in drawing audiences effectively
- Press campaign led by PR person: see Press/PR Approach section
- Social media campaign with promo video & ads via Facebook, Instagram & TikTok
- Digital Outreach & Engagement: we will approach social activist groups/media online for interviews and performance opportunities – these include podcasts
- Banner’s existing promotional routes of trade union contacts, branches & community groups in each locality
- Marketing campaigns via national & local offices of trade union partners
- Partnership with the GFTU offers a major opportunity through their 240,000+ membership to broaden our audiences
- Trades Council and union branches booking our shows will display it on their websites & circulate to their membership via newsletters, emails & social media
- Marketing support from venue partners using mailing lists, social media, newsletters & flyers/posters in-house
- Banner Theatre’s mailing list of 2500+ contacts +
Audience Development/Trade Union Liaison Role
It should be noted that trade union booking partners nearly always work full-time and may not have the resources or marketing skills to promote shows effectively at their end. While we have good general marketing skills, we do not have the resources or the finances to support them with our existing team setup.
The Audience Development/Trade Union Liaison staff enables us to increase our reach into community & trade union audiences. We will develop and pilot an effective approach to train and support our community bookers to cascade to all. While working with us, the individual will also support & advocate for Banner to secure more future potential gigs (beyond the project).
Press/PR
PR person will create press releases & an EPK for a 2 month targeted media campaign via:
- Arts, theatre & music media, local, regional + national radio shows
- On + offline arts magazines.
- Arts sites & podcasts
- Freelance journalists
- Select printed press & blogs
- Specialist media groups including community/activist press eg Morning Star Online
Social Media
The graphic and font designer will create a social media pack containing graphics, images and videos for use across social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and X. Much of the social media campaign will run through Banner Theatre & main partner GFTU’s online platforms, with their combined 4500+ online following.
We will also coordinate with venues and cultural activist groups, that are connected to the project, to share our social media – for example sharing via Instagram Stories.
Social Media Training
Staffing: Combined Admin/Social Media role (1 individual) + 1 volunteer.
Sashwati has a background in social media marketing with music charities such as
Community Arts North West, Counterpoints Arts and Music Action International. She will
train the individuals with social media roles in two full day workshops in August 2025.
Promotional Opportunities
Media Campaign
Key targets:
- Trade Union & activist news outlets eg as the Morning Star; the Tribune
- National broadsheet, regional and local arts press: eg the Guardian, Independent
- Online podcasts/vlogs include: Novara Media, Politics Joe, Doubledown News, the Crispin Flintoff show (formerly Not the Andrew Marr Show), No Justice
- Community & Alternative Radio, which includes arts audiences: eg Resonance FM; NTS Radio; Salford City Radio; ALL FM
Newsletter/Email lists
Banner has an existing database of 2500+ signed up to our newsletters. The trade union organisations that we are working with have extensive membership and targeted reach with their in-house newsletters which will include the project events. Examples of this inclue:
- Banner Theatre: 2500+
- GFTU: 214,000+
- Musicians Union: 35,000+
- Equity: 50,000+
- BECTU: 40,000+
Targeted Events
Rather than traditional theatre venues, Banner Theatre’s performances mostly take place at trade union events, community centres, festival and activist gatherings. This is one of the factors that make our reach quite unique withing the UK theatre and music landscapes.
We consistently promote our activities to audiences at shows where we are booked, and find that there are often repeat attendees to see shows again. Key calendar dates include:
- Apr 28: International Workers’ Memorial Day
- 1 May, International Workers Day: most events will take place between Fri 2 May – Sun 4 May 2025
- Jun 22: Windrush Day
- Sep 18: International Equal Pay Day
Global Majority Audiences
Collaborating with Global Majority communities to oppose racism have been integral chapters of Banner’s history and today, where we have performed at street festivals counteracting racist rallies organised by Britain First, the English Defence League and other far-right organisations.
From its earliest productions in the 1970s till present, Banner Theatre has created productions in collaboration with Asian & African-Caribbean workers, focused on their experiences of marginalisation and racism in Britain, migration, exile and refuge, exploitation and resistance. We have collaborated with these communities – such as performing socially-committed UK and Pakistani songs to a multi-cultural full house, cross-generational and mostly local audience in the Farecroft Arms in Handsworth.
Our programme features presentations and workshops by Global Majority, working class communities in Britain and internationally. These include Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Palestinian and Brazilian heritage cultural practitioners who will inform audiences about arts practices and projects created by their communities to address struggles, and to bring people together. The project programme shows our relationship with South Asian communities and artists, both in the UK and in South Asia. We will be reaching out to these arts and community organisations, as well as South Asian media in the UK. The recent “Defiance: Fighting the Far Right” documentary series on Channel 4 has shown that there is strong interest in exploring these histories of resistance.
6. Event Overview Example
Template which will be used across all events. This example contains initial details for the 2-day Conference in September 2025.
Title of event | The Art of Resistance Conference |
Date | Fri 26 & Sat 27 September 2025 |
Venue & Address | Birmingham & Midland Institute, 9 Margaret St, Birmingham B3 3BS. All rooms fitted with AV & wifi equipment |
Conference Producer | Sashwati Sengupta |
Organisation | Banner Theatre |
Timing of event for audiences | 11am – 6pm: main conference daily Sat night: Banner Theatre performance + guests |
Timing of event for staff | Staff arrive at 9am. Expected finish time TBC |
Capacities: Important for venues’ fire & overcrowding regulations | Lyttelton Theatre: 240; John Peek Room 80; George Dawson Room 10 + Sir Arthur Sullivan Hall 80 |
Chain of command | To be agreed by 1st August 2025. Initial queries for each aspect of event & main contacts if this escalates |
Disabled Access | To be completed in risk assessment with the venue. Includes wheelchair access, visual/hearing disabilities, sensory needs & mental health |
Emergency procedures | TBC with venue, including: communication procedure, Fire evacuation, Stay put alarm, Run-hide-tell |
First aid and reporting | First aid point, person on premises trained in first aid, defibrillator location & reporting log |
Health & safety: most H&S concerns will be dealt with in risk assessment | – Health, safety & welfare of staff, freelancers & audience – Risk Assessment carried out with BMI, touring partners & venues – Safety & operational arrangements in place to control risks – Insurance documents & methods of work for staff, freelancers, stall holders, equipment etc |
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