China Plate

17/06/2026

✨ Team Spotlight ✨

Meet Nassy Konan – joined the China Plate team in 2022.

“I’m an Associate Producer, which basically means I help turn ideas into reality, working across R&D, budgets, contracts, partnerships and all the moving parts that get a show from early conversations to being out in the world on stage or on tour.

I really enjoy working closely with artists and supporting them in real, practical ways. I also enjoy the mix of creative thinking and problem-solving — no two days are ever the same, and there’s always something to figure out.”

📷 Hayley Salter

11/06/2026

TAKE A LISTEN 🎧

The Place have launched Rural Moves – a new six-part podcast series celebrating the impact and legacy of the Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI), and exploring what they've learned from ten years of bringing dance to rural communities across the UK.

Episode 5 features our very own Co-Artistic Director Ed Collier (and co-founder of RTDI in 2015) in conversation with Christina Elliot (Head of Programming and Producing at The Place), Emma-Jane Benning (Artistic Director, Strike A Light, an RTDI Associate Venue) and Beccy Lloyd (RTDI Co-ordinator for the South-West region from 2022-2026).

They delve into how approaches to audience development, that have been practised for many years in rural touring, are gaining currency in other contexts. Asking what the ingredients to successful audience development are and how are they being employed across the sector.

You can find the series on Apple Music, Spotify & Amazon Music!

More information via the link below ⬇
https://theplace.org.uk/work-with-us/projects/rural-touring-dance-initiative/rural-moves-rtdi/

10 years of RTDI ✨

For the past decade, the Rural Touring Dance Initiative has helped bring powerful dance performances, residencies and participatory projects into rural and community venues across the country.

From moments of shared joy to conversations sparked by performance, RTDI has created space for artists and rural communities to connect through dance.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be looking back at some of the performances, people and moments that have shaped the project - celebrating 10 years of RTDI and the communities who have been part of its journey.

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RTDI Partners
Rural Touring Forum - NRTF
Place
Rural Touring Scheme
Sabri Company
Art
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Council England

09/06/2026

Join us at the Belgrade for See It First 2026 - a vibrant programme of new work, workshops and conversations connecting artists and audiences.

Once again, the Belgrade will become an artistic hub for the region as we celebrate bold new ideas, uncover fresh stories, and share them with people who love discovering theatre at its earliest stages.

From dark comedy to cabaret, here's what's in our performance programme:

🎭 Created in Cov
A showcase of three exciting new works-in-progress by Coventry-based artists Charlotte Faulconbridge, Bladder & String and Rikkai Scott.

🍞 Toast by Jude Green
A brutally funny show about broken systems, broken artists, and breadstuffs.

🏃‍♂️ Chase by James Trevelyan
A new one-person play exploring suburban isolation, social media, and the lengths we go to for validation.

🦆 Duck by Kate Thomson Rahmanian
A feral, funny, full-throttle one-woman show blending cabaret, burlesque, clowning and spoken word.

🤩 We Had Fun by Emmeline Hartley & Jack Mullings
A darkly comic exploration of the greyest areas of consent and sexual politics.

💬 Workshops
An exciting programme of workshops will be announced soon - watch this space!

👉️ Book now at https://buff.ly/1kM1guV

08/06/2026

✨ Team Spotlight ✨

Meet Paul Warwick – one of China Plate’s co-founders.

“I am one of the Co-Artistic Directors, which means that I lead the company artistically alongside Ed, and together with Chloe we form the companies executive team. In practice, we work with our team, artists and communities to find great ideas for creative projects and then make them a reality.

It’s quite hard to beat the feeling you get watching an audience enjoy a piece of work that you have helped to shape and bring to life. It’s also very satisfying to support others and watch them develop and grow - whether that’s artists, participants or members of our China Plate team.”

📷 Hayley Salter

08/06/2026

Now open for applications 📢

Developing Your Creative Practice supports individual creative and cultural practitioners to focus on career development.

📆 You have until 2 July to make your application.

Take our ‘Am I ready to apply?’ quiz to find out if now is the right time for you to apply and take a look at our guidance before starting your application.

Find out more and apply now 👇
https://bit.ly/4e1EuWx

Image credit: London Arts and Health / Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance

02/06/2026

✨ Team Spotlight ✨

Meet Fiona Bradley – joined the China Plate team in 2023.

“I am the Senior Producer at China Plate which means I produce a range of shows at different scales for China Plate, from one-person studio shows to full scale musicals. I also manage the producing team to ensure we have capacity to keep doing everything we want to do, and we keep connected across projects.

I really enjoy the range of work I get to do and that it allows me to keep learning. For example, our show Swansong involves working with a Symphony Orchestra which is a whole new world for me! I also really enjoy working with artists to nurture the early idea of a project and watch it come to fruition.”

📷 Hayley Salter

29/05/2026

Our friends at BLINK Dance Theatre are looking for new Trustees to join their board and support their mission to centre Neurodivergent and Learning-Disabled voices in arts & culture.

Deadline for applications is Monday 8th June ⏰

Check out the link below for more information:

BLINK have big plans to radically change arts leadership, and we need trustees with finance and legal experience to join us and make that possible.

29/05/2026

✨ Team Spotlight ✨

Meet Josie Lena Davies – joined the China Plate team in 2024.

“I am a PhD researcher (through a Midlands4Cities Collaborative Doctoral Award), investigating China Plate’s practice.

I am invested in finding models of theatre making that enable positive social change - so I love having the opportunity to examine how China Plate does this in various ways across many projects. I enjoy how practical the research is, as I get to see lots of China Plate’s work in action as well as having time to read, write and reflect.”

📷 Hayley Salter

29/05/2026

FRIDAY NEWS✨

It’s amazing that the Rural Touring Dance Initiative begun over 10 years ago - here’s a fantastic series of reflections on the programme so far, on the National Rural Touring Forum - NRTF website, including from our Co-Artistic Director Ed ⬇

A ten-year programme which brought leading dance artists to rural communities has been heralded a major success.

26/05/2026

Our friends at Selina Thompson Ltd are turning 10! 🎉🪇 and they're having a party! To make this party really pop, they launched 10 x £1000 commissions for 10 x artists to help them celebrate, full details of commissioning opportunities are on their website: https://selinathompsonltd.co.uk/work/10th-birthday-party-artist-commission-opportunities

Check it out and spread the word! 📅 Deadline: 1st June 2026.

Babs, we've got one hell of a birthday this year: Selina Thompson Ltd will turn 10 years old - and to celebrate, we've decided to throw a big ole' party!

There will be tickets available to book nearer the time once we've confirmed all the details, but for now, please stick what's set to be the hottest Brummie party of 2026 in your diaries for Friday 11th September 2026.

To make this party really pop, we are launching 10 x £1000 commissions for 10 x artists to help us celebrate! So if you're an artist - or you know one (or even two, or three, etc etc) - check out the artist commissions opportunities below...

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1. Artist Brief: Birthday Party Entertainment
(Open to artists nationally in the UK)

We are hosting a party, and what does every great party need...? Some iconic performances! That's where you come in.

Task: To make a ‘party piece’ that responds to one of the following five works from the Selina Thompson archive:

- Chewing the Fat
- Dark and Lovely
- Race Cards
- Salt
- Pat It and Prick It and Mark It with ‘B’

When we say a party piece, we either mean:

- a short performance piece, no longer than 20 (?) minutes, that can be performed in a cabaret-esque set up. Can have a cabaret vibe, but doesn’t have to.

- an installation that people can leave the main party to ‘do’ or ‘experience’

- a durational performance or experience that lasts the length of the party

- Something else you come up with that impresses us so much that we make an allowance for you.

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2. Artist Brief: Birthday Party Hosting
(Open to artists in the West Midlands only)

You know what else a party needs? Food! Booze! Bouncy Castles! Party Bags! And for that? We need you.

Task: To design and deliver one element of the birthday party as a bespoke art intervention. The themes are:

🍰 Cake
🍔 Catering
🪩 Decoration
🍸 Drinks
🛍️ Party Bags

When we say bespoke art intervention we mean:

- The themes are to be interpreted as live art /performance art / visual art commissions

- They respond to the theme of a 10 year old’s birthday party

- It needs to be functional. So by all means get creative but the drinks can’t be made out of kerosene or something, people still need to have a good time (and stay alive).

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Please visit our website (https://selinathompsonltd.co.uk/work/10th-birthday-party-artist-commission-opportunities) to explore both of these briefs in full and for application details - but as a heads up, expressions of interest need to be in by Mon 1st June, 10am.

We are already excited to see what you come up with!

Team STL x