SUPPORTERS of a scheme which brings performers to rural areas turned out celebrate the organisation’s 21st birthday – and help raise some much needed to cash to keep it going.
Hundreds of theatre groups, musicians, dance troupes and other live performers have trod the boards in village halls, churches and other rural venues courtesy of the Highlights Rural Touring Scheme.
To mark its anniversary, a series of events was organised across the area covered by Highlights – County Durham, Cumbria and Northumberland – earlier this month.
This included a performance at Boldron Village Hall which saw Highlights co-director Rosie Cross take to the stage as one half of Notes from Teesdale with Mike Bettison for an afternoon of traditional songs and music.
Ms Cross has been involved with Highlights since its early days, first as arts officer with Teesdale District Council and latterly as co-director.
She said that when looking for acts suitable for inclusion on Highlights tours, officials looked for a number of common characteristics.
“One is communication – to see if the performers can communicate directly with their audience because you have not got the artificial distance that exists in a big theatre,” she said.
“You are very close to the audience.
“We also look for flexibility. We expect a company to be able to fit into a big space, such as Mickleton, or somewhere much smaller, such as Barningham.”
The main funding for Highlights comes from the Arts Council and Ms Cross said they expected to see a reasonable mix of dance, music, theatre and spoken word.
However, she said none of Highlights work would be possible without the efforts of a team of volunteer promoters at the nearly 70 venues served by the scheme.
“They are key to the whole network,” she said.
Money raised during the anniversary weekend will go towards an Arts Council England catalyst match funding scheme.
Ms Cross said that while funding from other bodies, such as local authorities “has been a bit tricky” during the past decade, the Arts Council and other funders continue to see the value of live performance in rural areas.
“They realise there are an awful lot of non-arts spaces that can put on good professional standard arts experiences,” she added.
With the spring programme almost complete, Ms Cross and fellow co-director Barbara Slack will now begin work putting together the autumn schedule.
This will include attending the likes of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and other showcase events.
