Pilot Theatre

Pilot Theatre is an Arts Council England funded Theatre Company based in York, England. It was founded in 1981 by students from Bretton Hall College in Wakefield. The company was based in Wakefield and Castleford before moving to York in 2001.

The company is now based at York Theatre Royal. It tours work in the UK and internationally. The previous Artistic Director, Marcus Romer, who has written, directed, and shaped the identity of the company since 1995 recently moved on to establish Arts Beacon.[1] As of July 2016, the company artistic direction will be led by Esther Richardson.[2]

In 1998 Pilot Theatre embarked on their first mid-scale UK tour with their production of Lord of the Flies,[3] which went on to win the company numerous awards and great critical acclaim. Since then the company has developed links with theatres around the country, in particular York Theatre Royal where they are now residents. They were part of the EU Culture 2000 funded programme called Magic-Net along with twelve other countries across Europe and in 2009 they became the UK partner for the European project, Platform 11+,[4] which engaged 13 theatres in 12 European countries to create new pieces of theatre for 11 to 15 year olds. This has opened the door for international touring and collaborations. In 2011 the company toured to Milan, Dresden and Argentina and in 2012 hosted companies from around the EU at a week-long event in York as well as visiting the Czech Republic.

They produced the International Indian Film Academy Awards opening sequence for stage and TV in 2007 at Sheffield Arena. This was in partnership with their new collaborators Kit Monkman and Tom Wexler from KMA who are also based in York.

Pilot Theatre have also become strong advocates for using digital technologies within the arts. This has grown through their annual hosting of the Shift Happens[5] conference, which explored new digital technologies and possible uses for them within the arts sector. In 2011 Pilot Theatre hosted the first ever TEDx York event in conjunction with Science City York. Working with online video experts Kinura, Pilot Theatre delivered the multi-channel livestream of the world-famous York Mystery Plays in August 2012 as part of their involvement in the BBC and Arts Council England funded project The Space.

Their dedication and commitment to exploring new ways of engaging young people in the arts and new ways to use technology in the arts has allowed the company the ability to adapt to the changing world and constantly offer a product that is relevant and exciting for their audiences.

Pilot Theatre and York Theatre Royal presented Alan Sillitoe's, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner adapted for the stage by Roy Williams which premiered in York before a national tour in Autumn 2012. In 2014, we worked with Roy Williams again on an adaptation of Antigone in co-production with Derby Theatre and Stratford East.

In the same year we began a large scale cooperation project funded by the European Commission under their European Culture Funding Stream Creative Europe. This project, entitled PLATFORM shift+,[6] consists of 11 partners from 9 countries - ten theatres and a university - all working towards meeting the new challenges of producing theatre for young people in the digital age. As one of the UK's most renowned companies in delivering performance work for young people and exploring innovative approaches to making and sharing work, Pilot Theatre is the leading organisation.

Continuing Pilot's history of International work, in 2014 they began work on the Boomerang - Documents of Poverty and Hope project.[7] This is one of 12 successful projects being run by the European Commission under their Cooperation project with Third Countries - European Culture Funding Stream. Pilot Theatre is working with five other theatres; the Australian Theatre for Young People, Sydney; Dynamo Theatre, Montreal; Presentation House Theatre, Vancouver; Elsinor Theatre, Milan; and O Bando Theatre, Portugal, on the issue of migration and its impact on young people across continents.

The company has won three Manchester Evening News awards for Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, adapted by Nigel Williams, and Beautiful Thing, by Jonathan Harvey. Other work includes Sing yer heart out for the lads, by Roy Williams, Road by Jim Cartwright, Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess, The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh, Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig, Mirad a Boy from Bosnia by Ad de Bont, Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton, Look Back In Anger by John Osborne, The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs, The Twits by Roald Dahl and Looking for JJ and Antigone.[8]

They won the Manchester Evening News Award for best production for their tour of Lord of the Flies in 2001. The production was revived and a tour took place in 2008.[9]

Pilot Theatre have embraced new technologies both on and off stage. They built their production of Looking for JJ on MySpace and have the first UK Theatre hub in Second Life.