Do It Anywhere

We’re not exactly a derelict nation but in Britain, like the rats, you’re never far away from an unused space. So why wait around for a theatre or gallery to give you a show?

“The key lesson for everybody using empty space is that it’s hard work,” says Dan Thompson, Editor of artistsandmakers.com, who run the Empty Shops Network, a community of people who think creatively about how to use void spaces to benefit local inhabitants. “You’ve got to be there all day, every day and there’s a lot of groundwork to make the project work. It’s not an easy way to put something on.”

“Licensing issues can be a real pain,” says Corinne Furness, co-founder of Write By Numbers who last month staged Ovid Reworked in a disused shop in Brixton. “Very few empty shops will have a performance license so you're in the position of either going through the paper-filled and expensive business of applying for a permanent license or using a temporary license which lasts for a maximum of four days. There can be a lot of administration that you don't have to consider if you take a show to a traditional theatre.”

“Support varies from council to council,” says Dan. “Occasionally they throw their support 100% behind the work and sometimes they’re less keen because it means more work for them.”

So why do it then? “We want to give people a great night out,” says Emma Rice, Artistic Director of Kneehigh Theatre who are known for staging work in non-traditional spaces. “In a theatre building you pay a huge amount of money for a ticket, and then order your gin and tonic for the interval and sit in a seat thinking you’re doing something worthy that will make you a slightly better person. We don’t feel like that’s our world. We want the show to start from the moment you arrive so we like creating our own environment. There are no gin and tonics. It’s about defining the whole experience rather than sitting in a structured, middle class building.”

“Not having a permanent space has been a challenge at times,” admits Hannah Hooks, co-founder of Space In Between, a pop-up gallery operating in London. “We’ve had to tidy up or paint every new space we've got our hands on, but it’s been worth it. We like to be artist-led and the process of working with the artist to make the space work brings us all together. We become a team and there is less division of roles, plus it feels current to create pop-up shows as so many spaces are vacant at the moment, and rent is still too high for a small organisation like ours.”

“For me, empty shops are quite literally a blank canvas,” says Corinne. “The only limit is your imagination. It makes you engage with the building, the area and the community. With shops it's quite accepted that you can step through the door and have a peek, they’re inclusive spaces. There isn't a barrier that says ‘this is a theatre, and this is how I must behave’.”

Dan Thompson has had similar experiences. “With every project that I’ve ever run in an empty shop there’s always a lovely moment when a little old lady comes in, wanders around looking at contemporary art, installations, film and video, and then walks up to the counter and says, ‘it’s not a greengrocer any more then?’ You’re playing to a completely different audience that have no expectations, they just take it at face value.”

If you’re interested in working in a disused space you can download a practical workbook from Artists and Makers here.

Image by from National Youth Theatre's Shuffle