‘If we shadows have offended, Think but this and all is mended, That you have but slumb’red here While these visions did appear…’
William Shakespeare (1564-1616), A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Who are we and what do we do?
Founded by Artistic Director Emma King-Farlow, Shadow Road is a small, independent theatre company which specialises in bringing exciting works of theatre, for all ages and occasions, to unusual spaces in creative new ways.
Our Projects
Fireside Folktales
We have continued our tradition of bringing exciting works of theatre to unusual spaces with one of our recent projects, Fireside Folktales (more information at www.firesidefolktales.com), retelling myths, legends and classic stories from around the world, each presented as an original short play performed by a company of four professional actors to audiences young, old, and in-between. Our repertoire of plays, which continues to grow and to garner audience acclaim, includes curriculum favourites Macbeth and A Christmas Carol.
Secret Storytellers
We will also soon be launching our latest cross-platform venture, Secret Storytellers, (www.secretstorytellers.co.uk – coming soon) which will see us producing some exciting online content based in a new, immersive story-world, in order to enhance the impressive work of our two-person teams, who will deliver a range of thrilling live performances in front of a wide variety of audiences.
UNBROKEN
Our work always involves a charitable aspect of some kind – raising awareness, raising funds, or taking live entertainment out to people who, due to illness or infirmity, might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy it. This voluntary work is an important part of our overall company ethos.
As part of this, we run the UNBROKEN Festival & Short Film Prize (main website: www.unbrokenfest.com) – a mixed arts mental health awareness festival, which not only explores the issues surrounding mental health via many different art forms, but also enables us to provide other festival events and therapeutic workshops to the public at prices low enough to ensure that no one is barred by cost from attending and benefiting.
Private Bookings
What can we offer you, your company, or your school?
For private bookings, we offer a wide range of entertainment options, tailored to the client’s specific needs – from a full-scale theatre production, or a murder mystery event, to a bespoke production created at the client’s request.
Our two-person Secret Storyteller shows and four-person Fireside Folktales plays are also recommended for private and corporate bookings, school visits and library events. These can be staged either in our beautiful 8m bell tent, with all seating provided (for up to 45 people at a time), or at a venue of the client’s choice, whether indoors or in the open air. We provide all our own props and costumes, and do not require electricity for many of our productions, allowing us considerable flexibility.
Finally, whether for corporate team-building purposes, school visits, or those with a simple interest, we also offer several creative and educational workshops. Some of these are designed to accompany a particular production, so that you might watch the play and then take part in the workshop afterwards, while others – such as the general Drama Workshop, An Introduction to Playwriting, and An Introduction to Stage Combat, etc – can be delivered as standalone events. As ever, the choice is yours!
To find out more about booking us for your venue, event or school, please visit the Contact Us page and get in touch.
Please feel free to download a copy of our pdf brochure HERE.
Our recent work
Recent years for Shadow Road have featured a number of firsts, with 2016 seeing St George’s Quest – our first interactive event for dragon slayers of all ages.
2016 also featured Robin Hood, the first open air theatre production ever to take place at the London Wetland Centre.
UNBROKEN, our first Mental Health Awareness mini-festival, made its debut at Theatre503 on World Mental Health Day.
As a result of 2016’s success, UNBROKEN returned in 2017, bigger and better than before, this time with its own website, several new events, and – perhaps most importantly – the launch of the first UNBROKEN Short Film Prize, with a screening of the shortlisted entries and awarding of three prizes (Winner, Runner Up and, voted for on the day, Audience’s Choice) taking place at The Frontline Club on the first day of the festival.
Recent years for Shadow Road have featured a number of firsts, with 2016 seeing St George’s Quest – our first interactive event for dragon slayers of all ages.
2016 also featured Robin Hood, the first open air theatre production ever to take place at the London Wetland Centre.
In October 2016 was the debut of UNBROKEN, our first Mental Health Awareness mini-festival, at Theatre503 on World Mental Health Day.
As a result of 2016’s success, UNBROKEN returned in 2017, bigger and better than before, this time with its own website, several new events, and – perhaps most importantly – the launch of the first UNBROKEN Short Film Prize, with a screening of the shortlisted entries and awarding of three prizes (Winner, Runner Up and, voted for on the day, Audience’s Choice) taking place at The Frontline Club on the first day of the festival.
Our 2018 programme saw us staging A Celebration of Shadows – a one-off special fundraiser held in May – the third annual UNBROKEN Festival & Short Film Prize, and a wonderful production of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, which was extremely well received by audiences of all ages.
2019 saw the hugely successful launch of our new project, the fantastic Fireside Folktales, at the renowned Barnes Children’s Literature Festival, after which we moved on to a number of other venues, including the magnificent Ham House
After an extremely successful 2019 summer season, we were delighted to premiere our winter production – Emma King-Farlow’s inventive adaptation of Charles Dickens’s festive classic A Christmas Carol – with previews at The Coach & Horses in Barnes, followed by a special, candlelit performance at the remarkable Southside House. We were then privileged to visit a number of cancer support centres and care homes, including The Mulberry Centre, Teenage Cancer Trust and Brinsworth House, to stage some voluntary performances for patients and their families in December 2019 and January 2020 – something we plan to do again next Christmas!
2020 was a difficult year for everyone, with the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe and closing down both countries and industries indefinitely. Nevertheless, we were delighted to be able to premiere Macbeth: Sleep No More – Emma King-Farlow’s stunning new adaptation of the Shakespeare classic – alongside revivals of both Persephone & the Pomegranate Seeds and Aesop’s Fables, at no fewer than three venues! Reviews were outstanding and it was wonderful to snatch back a bit of theatrical normality in the middle of a year that was anything but normal for the whole entertainment industry.
The continuing pandemic resulted in 2021 getting off to something of a slow start, but we already have both some summer bookings and some Christmas ones, with plans to perform a total of five different plays from the Fireside Folktales collection, including a new version of Robin Hood: The Rescue, written especially for the National Trust’s Morden Hall Park.
2022 also heralds the launch of exciting new project, Secret Storytellers! We invite you to join us on this cross-platform, transmedia adventure, set in a world frighteningly different, and yet not so very far from our own..
After an extremely successful 2019 summer season, we were delighted to premiere our winter production – Emma King-Farlow’s inventive adaptation of Charles Dickens’s festive classic A Christmas Carol – with previews at The Coach & Horses in Barnes, followed by a special, candlelit performance at the remarkable Southside House. We were then privileged to visit a number of cancer support centres and care homes, including The Mulberry Centre, Teenage Cancer Trust and Brinsworth House, to stage some voluntary performances for patients and their families in December 2019 and January 2020 – something we plan to do again next Christmas!
And to book tickets for any of our productions, please click the button below:
We are always on the lookout for talented new people to join the team. If you are interested in getting involved with Shadow Road in some way – or with a particular one of our productions – or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. In the meantime, many thanks for visiting our website. We hope you will enjoy learning more about our company and we look forward to seeing or hearing from you soon! 🙂
2021’s programme has been somewhat interrupted by the Coronavirus outbreak but we hope that we will still be able to fulfil many of our commitments later in the year. Please keep an eye on the website, especially the News & Diary page, and on our social media for the latest updates.