Ardent Theatre Company
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ardenttheatre.bsky.social
Ardent Theatre Company
@ardenttheatre.bsky.social
Ardent Theatre Company is a registered charity with a mission to end class inequality in theatre
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You did it! Thanks to your support, we hit our £40,000 target for Our Country Now, a festival of four new plays. Thanks also to The Backstage Trust for making the initial £20K pledge. We'll be announcing our 2027 plans for the production later this year. Stay tuned for updates!
May 29, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Day 5 of the Big Give.
£17,550 raised — 44% of our £40,000 target.

Meet Florence Espeut-Nickless, one of the writers shaping Our Country Now.
We’re investing in regional talent — and bringing those stories to the national stage.

⏳ Every donation doubled. Ends Fri 29th May.
👉 tinyurl.com/Ardent2026
May 22, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Day 4 of the Big Give.
£15,910 raised — 40% of our £40,000 target.
Today we’re featuring Shahid Iqbal Khan, one of four brilliant writers at the heart of Our Country Now.

⏳ Every donation is doubled. Ends Fri 29th May.
👉 tinyurl.com/Ardent2026
May 21, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Day 3 of the Big Give.
£13,870 raised — 35% of our £40,000 target.
Today we’re spotlighting writer Kelly Jones, one of the voices behind Our Country Now.

⏳ Every donation is doubled for 10 days
👉 tinyurl.com/Ardent2026
May 20, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Thank you for an incredible first day of our Big Give campaign for Our Country Now. £12,800 raised - 32% of our total - in 24 hours!

Meet Diana Nneka Atuona, one of the four writers on Our Country Now.

⏳ 9 days left. Donations matched by The Backstage Trust.
👉 tinyurl.com/Ardent2026
May 19, 2026 at 8:14 AM
We’re raising £40,000 to support Our Country Now - a festival of four new plays by working-class writers from across England — Kelly Jones, Shahid Iqbal Khan, Diana Nneka Atuona, Florence Espeut-Nickless.

⏳ 10 days. Donations matched by The Backstage Trust. Ends 29 May.

👉 tinyurl.com/Ardent2026
Our Country Now - a festival of four new plays – Big Give
In Spring/Summer 2027, we will present Our Country Now, a festival of four new plays commissioned by Ardent Theatre by working‑class writers from different regions: Shahid Iqbal Khan (Northwest), Florence Espeut‑Nickless (Southwest), Kelly Jones (East) and Diana Nneka Atuona (Greater London).…
tinyurl.com
May 18, 2026 at 7:05 AM
Another amazing #ardent8 workshop yesterday at Theatre Deli led by award-winning director, dramaturg and writer Daniel Bailey.

#TheatreWorkshop #ActingWorkshop #acting #actor
March 5, 2026 at 1:01 PM
The ARDENT8 were back up in London yesterday for a workshop led by writer and director Sue Dunderdale to explore scenes from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, looking at how units of action can help navigate a text. Another brilliant day!

#Shakespeare #MeasureForMeasure #ActingWorkshop #actor
February 26, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Is working-class counter-culture breaking barriers—or building new ones? Read our latest blog on whether the fight against class inequality in theatre is creating a new class ceiling. Share your thoughts!

Read: https://www.ardenttheatre.co.uk/blog/class-ceiling

#ClassCeiling #TheatreForAll
Counter‑Culture or Counter‑Productive? The Class Ceiling Debate — Ardent Theatre Company
Rather than challenging the exclusion baked into the mainstream theatre ecosystem, the burden is pushed back onto the artists themselves: raise the funds, find the venue, do the marketing, subsidise the work with your own time or money — or do it unpaid.
www.ardenttheatre.co.uk
February 2, 2026 at 1:19 PM
Interesting article in @theguardian.com that chimes with the work we do here at Ardent. Check out our blog response tomorrow.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the class crisis in the arts: the UK’s culture must not become the preserve of the elite | Editorial
Editorial: Countless reports and celebrities have called for greater working-class representation, so why has nothing changed?
www.theguardian.com
February 1, 2026 at 1:28 PM
A huge thank you to Johnny Harris and our two Drifting actors Amirah Alabere and Olivia Israel for the post-show Q&A last night. What a brilliant, insightful conversation.

Drifting runs until Sat 22 November Southwark Playhouse
Tickets: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting

#workingclass #theatre #actors
November 21, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Just 4 performances left to catch our ⭐⭐⭐⭐ production of Drifting @swkplay.bsky.social

Drifting runs until Sat 22 November
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
🔗 TICKETS tinyurl.com/A8-drifting

Captioned performances Fri & Sat.

Photos: Mark Douet
November 20, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Check out our interview with some of the Drifting cast!

DRIFTING | 18-22 NOVEMBER
Southwark Playhouse Borough
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
TICKETS: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting
Meet the cast of Drifting — Ardent Theatre Company
We caught up with some of our ARDENT8 actors just before they started rehearsals to see how they’re feeling about their upcoming production Drifting at Southwark Playhouse and their journey on the ARDENT8 programme so far.
www.ardenttheatre.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Drifting teaser video two has dropped!

DRIFTING | 18-22 NOV |
@swkplay.bsky.social

Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
TICKETS: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting

Video: Michael-David McKernan

#DriftingthePlay #TheatreInLondon #LondonTheatre #RehearsalSneakPeek #BehindtheScenes

youtu.be/afW_MuJ6HEs
Drifting Rehearsals Video 2
YouTube video by Ardent Theatre Company
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Check out our first behind-the-scenes teaser trailer for Drifting!

DRIFTING | 18-22 NOV | @swkplay.bsky.social
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
TICKETS: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting

Video: Michael-David McKernan

#DriftingthePlay #TheatreInLondon #LondonTheatre #RehearsalSneakPeek #BehindtheScenes
Drifting Rehearsals Video 1
YouTube video by Ardent Theatre Company
youtu.be
November 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM
We drifted into Day 1 of rehearsals at BOLD Elephant rehearsal studios for our upcoming production Drifting. Floor markup done, tick! First read-through done, tick!

🔗 Book tickets: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting

#DriftingthePlay #LondonTheatre #RehearsalSneakPeek #ExclusiveLook #BehindtheScenes
November 3, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Tickets have sold out for the opening night of Drifting and selling fast for the Thursday 20th show followed by the Johnny Harris Q&A. Just over 2 weeks to go. Book now to avoid missing out!

📅 18–22 Nov
🎭 Southwark Playhouse Borough
🎟️ Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
🔗 Book: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting
October 31, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Just 3 weeks until our Drifting post-show Q&A with BAFTA nominated actor Johnny Harris. Tickets are selling fast! Don't miss out!

📅 Thu 20th Nov at Southwark Playhouse
🕢 7:30pm performance followed by Q&A
🔗 tinyurl.com/A8-drifting

#driftingtheplay #workingclass #actors #acting #theatre
October 30, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Olivia McGrath as the Stranger. DRIFTING is a poignant, poetic and darkly humorous exploration of a generation caught between inertia and ambition.

18–22 Nov | Southwark Playhouse
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
More Info: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting
Headshot: Jimmy Lee Portraits

October 20, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Yarrow Spillane as the Girlfriend. DRIFTING is a poignant, poetic and darkly humorous exploration of a generation caught between inertia and ambition.

18–22 Nov | Southwark Playhouse
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
More Info: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting
Headshot: Jimmy Lee Portraits

October 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Lewis Allen as the Manager. DRIFTING is a poignant, poetic and darkly humorous exploration of a generation caught between inertia and ambition.

18–22 Nov | Southwark Playhouse
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
More Info: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting
Headshot: Jimmy Lee Portraits

October 18, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Phoebe Woodbridge as the Mother. DRIFTING is a poignant, poetic and darkly humorous exploration of a generation caught between inertia and ambition.

18–22 Nov | Southwark Playhouse
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
More Info: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting
Headshot: Jimmy Lee Portraits

October 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Amirah Abimbola Alabere as the Work Colleague. DRIFTING is a poignant, poetic and darkly humorous exploration of a generation caught between inertia and ambition.

18–22 Nov | Southwark Playhouse
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
More Info: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting
Headshot: Jimmy Lee Portraits

October 16, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Toby Batt as the Father. DRIFTING is a poignant, poetic and darkly humorous exploration of a generation caught between inertia and ambition.

18–22 Nov | Southwark Playhouse
Pay what you can (£2.50-£15.00)
More Info: tinyurl.com/A8-drifting
Headshot: Jimmy Lee Portraits

October 15, 2025 at 4:03 PM