Freedom Studios to stream show recorded for mobile phones

Bradford theatre company Freedom Studios is to stream a live recording of one of its shows – created specifically for watching online on mobile devices.

Freedom Studios production of Tajinder Singh Hayer’s post-apocalyptic play North Country, about people surviving in a world hit by plague, was staged at the Wild Woods in Bradford in 2016. It was adapted the following year, using only mobile phones, for a live cast on Facebook in collaboration with Carbon: Imagineering. It will now be available to watch online for free via YouTube from Thursday 23 April until Thursday 7 May.

North Country tells the story of three Bradford teenagers - Harvinder, Nusrat and Jason - after a plague has devastated the planet. Together and separately they struggle to survive, each bringing together their people and their communities as they try to remake their world. But their biggest challenge doesn't come from starvation, or zombie-like cannibals. It comes from within.

It was directed by Freedom Studios’ co-artistic director Alex Chisholm and featured Natalie Davies, Philip D McQuillan and Kamal Kaan.

An audio version of the play with the same cast will also premiere on Bradford-based radio station BCB Radio at 3pm on Thursday 23 April and be released to local community radio stations for free to broadcast during the two weeks. It was recorded by Dermot Daly.

To coincide with the release online, Freedom Studios will broadcast a podcast that will give listeners an insight into how the production was put together and examine the development of the technology now available including new streaming apps.

Since North Country, Freedom Studios have continued to explore this technology including most recently their production of BD Stories which was broadcast from a hotel in Bradford on 18 March just before the UK lockdown.

This used a specially designed app for live digital performance, funded by XR Stories which pushes forward the potential of immersive and interactive technologies for digital storytelling.

Alex Chisholm said: “When we and Carbon: Imagineering started on the project of making digital live performance via mobile phones easy and low cost, we had no idea how urgent that might feel right now.

“This might not be the answer to theatres closing during the crisis, but if it can be part of the answer, we want to make it work and share all we have learnt as soon as we can.”

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