The yorkshire coast creatives forging an arts movement of theatre, film and more by the seaside

By John Blow Published 25th Feb 2021, 16:45 BST It may have been some time since those with a knack for organising events such as birthday parties or weddings have been able to really roll

up their sleeves and get stuck in. But those who have it could also possess just the qualities needed for a creative career – and it can happen on the Yorkshire Coast. That’s the logic of

Rach Drew and Sophie Drury-Bradey, who are on a mission alongside many others in the area to develop a strong creative movement by the sea. Over the last year or so there have been concerted

efforts to foster such as scene in Scarborough and the surrounding areas by various organisations. This has coalesced in the form of the Scarborough Creatives, a network of artists and

producers in the town who have a desire to talk, share and collaborate, offering support while creating opportunities for professional development, training, funding or paid work in the

area. “What we’re really keen on is helping people to kind of discover that they could have a creative career and if you could organise a wedding, or you could organise a birthday party,

then you’re a producer,” says Drew, 36. “We’re looking to capture people and skill them up and do exciting things with them.” The network is co-hosted by Ceri Smith and Rach Drew and

produced by ARCADE in association with Stephen Joseph Theatre, in collaboration with COAST (Scarborough’s Local Cultural, Education and Community Partnership). It was the SJT’s artistic

director, Paul Robinson, who came up with the idea. “I have been keen for a while to give the many brilliant artists in the region more profile and support,” says Robinson. “The last year

has left so many people in the creative industries high and dry, and we wanted to help in any small way that we could.” The network aims to bring people across the borough together for

“mutual support, whether that’s as simple as making new friends with similar interests, or, on a more practical level, gaining insights into applying for funding or finding out what

opportunities for work currently exist,” he says. Drury-Bradey, 35, who co-directs community producing company ARCADE alongside Drew, said at the heart of what they are doing “is our belief

that everyone’s creative. "And I suppose what we mean by that is that creativity isn’t just something where you go to art school and then you’re allowed to do. It’s actually something

that we all benefit from in our everyday lives and I think people have felt that during lockdown. "Whether it’s cooking a new recipe that you haven’t done before or inventing a game for

your kid or learning an instrument. It’s all about trying something new, being a bit brave, improvising. All of those skills and all of that wellbeing that you get from just sort of having

a go.” The network has been based online, where posts and virtual meetings take place, but as lockdown is eased this year the group hopes to be hosting many more exciting physical events. An

example of one success story, run by York-based Pilot Theatre in association with ARCADE, was last autumn’s Northern Girls. The project partnered four young women, who were not writers,

with professionals to develop monologues, which were performed around a fire in the car park of Scarborough’s YMCA. Around 120 people saw it live and more than 300 tuned in when it was

streamed online afterwards, says Bridlington-born Drew, who has spent years running large events such as Illuminating York. “For me it’s just really important, this idea of Northern voices,

and hearing people’s stories who are from the area,” she says. “With Northern Girls, we felt really strongly that it came out about Northern prejudice and how, as soon as you open your mouth

with an accent like this, people make assumptions about you, and getting past that is quite hard. And, especially as a woman, that can be really difficult. "So we really want to keep

working and highlighting that people from here are capable and not just the comic relief character in the sitcom or not to be laughed at. They’re people with their own impressive stories and

incredible skills.” Shannon Barker, 25, was one of the young women involved, and it led to a paid writing commission with the Burn Bright theatre organisation. She says: “Writing was never

something I had done before really. It was nice to something new, it was nice to have a place to test the waters to see what we could do, (and) it was nice to have a safe environment.”

Creating such work in Scarborough itself is important to the network. Drury-Bradey spent 15 years in London, latterly as a senior producer with Battersea Arts Centre, and his now settled

with her family in the seaside town. “Somebody said to me, ‘Oh you’ll find work, as long as you’re happy to commute to Manchester and Leeds. "And that really made me think that actually

if we want to make the sort of work that we’re excited about – which is multi-art form, bringing together the community with professionals, I suppose doing quite unusual work really and

also inviting international and national artists here – we’re going to have to make it happen ourselves.” She adds: “We definitely both have said we want to make work where we live and Rach

in particular had grown up here and she knows everyone. She’s got lots of people at her fingertips who trust her. I’ve obviously moved here a couple of years ago, I’ve got two young kids who

are starting school in September. So we’re both really invested in here.” On a walk through the park recently, Drury-Bradey spotted a young man juggling and her instant response was to

approach him and get him involved in a beatboxing event planned for later this year. There is an emphasis on trying to “find people where they are, not the usual suspects”. Although she

studied English at Goldsmiths in London, her formative experiences were in youth theatre - which sparked a love of the arts for life. “I remember tap dancing on these wooden dimes when I was

13 – thought I was going to make it – but it was like the most exciting time of my life, really. It would be like £2.50 a week or whatever, my parents drove me there patiently, but that was

formative for me, the excitement of live performance and theatre. "I didn’t really have anyone in my life, like a lot of young people, who sort of understand that you can have a career

in the creative industries.” She adds: “We’re the opposite of a parachuting-in festival for tourists. “When we do – hopefully – big shiny productions it will be out of a couple of years of

work done with young people over time, so that it’s really owned by them.” There’s much talk about returning to a “new normal” right now. With the Scarborough Creatives at the helm, locals

may just get used to that very quickly. LOCALS NEEDED A Yorkshire Coast cinema group is getting locals involved in its latest project, exploring the theme of time. Scarborough-based Sea/Film

is developing Tide and Time, which will involve an online programme of short films. But the group is also taking submissions of photography, creative writing, art and ideas to feature in a

magazine. Producers want submissions on “everything related to ideas around time: living through the pandemic and how our coastline, town & sense of place helps us to understand the

passing of time”. Submissions or any ideas need to be in by Friday March 5 at [email protected] so that the project can be released on Friday March 26, before the clocks change.