Oily Cart Theatre Company

Last updated
Oily Cart
Formation1981;43 years ago (1981)
TypeTheatre group
Purpose Theatre for Early Years
Location
Artistic director(s)
Ellie Griffiths
Website www.oilycart.org.uk

Oily Cart is a London-based national and international touring theatre company founded in 1981. The company specialises in creating original, immersive, multi-sensory productions for babies and very young children under 5, and for children and young people who have profound and multiple learning disabilities, are on the autism spectrum, or are deafblind/multi-sensory impaired. [1] The emergence of Theatre for Early Years (TEY) has been credited to Oily Cart and Theatre Kit. [2] The company is a registered charity. [3]

Contents

Background

Friends Tim Webb MBE, [4] Claire de Loon and Max Reinhardt founded the company in 1981. The first production was Exploding Punch & Judy. [5] Oily Cart has produced and toured over 80 [6] original productions to theatres, arts venues, schools, hospitals and hospices. Performances often take place in unusual settings, such as hydrotherapy pools, trampolines or up in the air. [7] The company's name is a play on the name of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. [8]

Productions

Company management

Head of Design Claire de Loon left Oily Cart at the end of 2016. In January 2018, it was announced that Artistic Director Tim Webb and Musical Director Max Reinhardt would gradually step down over the next two years. [16] In November 2018, the company appointed Ellie Griffiths as its new artistic director, and Zoë Lally as its first-ever Executive Director. [17]

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References

  1. Gardner, Lyn (2016-10-14). "'If they say it's impossible, we're spurred on': the theatrical surprises of Oily Cart". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  2. Brown, M (2012). Oily Cart: All Sorts of Theatre for All Sorts of Kids. Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books. ISBN   978-1858565101.
  3. "Charity Details". beta.charitycommission.gov.uk.
  4. "2011 Birthday Honours", Wikipedia, 2019-05-05, retrieved 2019-08-20
  5. Oily cart : all sorts of theatre for all sorts of kids. Brown, Mark, 1971-. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham. 2012. ISBN   9781858565811. OCLC   859155483.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Curtis, Nick (2017-03-26). "Tim Webb of Oily Cart theatre company: 'It's very smelly and touchy'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  7. Butler, Patrick; Young-Powell, Abby (2012-12-26). "Oily Cart company specialises in theatre for youngsters with complex disabilities". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  8. Lewis, Barbara. "Theatre reaches out to autistic children", HealthyPages, 22 August 2004, accessed 10 August 2020
  9. "Festival to mark 70 years of the NHS". 2017-11-23. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  10. "Theatre news: Oily Cart's Birmingham show for deafblind children". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  11. BWW News Desk. "Oily Cart Presents KUBLA KHAN". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  12. "Shakespeare? It's Child's Play: Oily Cart | Matt Trueman" . Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  13. Gardner, Lyn (2004-02-16). "Baking Time, BAC, London". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  14. "Oily Cart Theatre: The Bounce". CriticalDance. 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  15. Gardner, Lyn (2009-07-07). "Theatre review: Something in the Air | Contact, Manchester". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  16. Hemley, Matthew (2018-01-18). "Oily Cart founders step down after 36 years". The Stage. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  17. Hemley, Matthew (2018-11-22). "Oily Cart announces management restructure following departure of co-founders". The Stage. Retrieved 2019-08-20.