Biography

Cotton Grass Theatre Company was founded in 1995 by Susan Daniel to establish a professional

theatre company, in the Peak District of Derbyshire, which could be accessible to the whole community.

At that time, this filled a vacuum and  the project received enthusiastic support from local

people and businesses  who saw the cultural benefits it could bring to a rural area.

The Peak District is a rich source of venues for site-specific theatre and its strong

communities provided enthusiastic and appreciative support.

Cotton Grass's first production was Blue Remembered Hills by Dennis Potter;

a day in the life of country children (played by adults) during the second world war.

The play was  staged outdoors in the grounds

of Birchfield Hall in the Hope Valley, with a spectacular backdrop of Mam Tor and the foothills of the Pennines.

It was professionally directed and the cast was a blend of established professionals

and local people who were trained actors.

Blue Remembered Hills was chosen because it is challenging, entertaining and

accessible to its audience. It was very well received by people of all ages -

locals, tourists and people from the surrounding cities.

The company's second production was Bazaar and Rummage by Sue Townsend.

Once again local people and theatre professionals worked together.

The play, about a group of agoraphobic women trying to run a jumble sale in a

village hall, was performed in a converted barn in a hamlet near Bakewell.

It attracted and audience of both Derbyshire people and tourists.

In 1997 Cotton Grass Theatre first performed Coupled Up a cabaret of sketches

and music, in local pubs.

The show has evolved over the years and is currently touring with Talking Heads monologues by Alan Bennett.

Cotton Grass Theatre's first project for local young people was The Hollow Country in 1998.

The piece was devised by the company, scripted by a local writer and set in the underworld of

caverns and mines which lie below the local landscape. The young actors took

part in workshops on dance, drumming lighting and set design in addition to

performing to over a thousand school children from surrounding villages.

The project attracted support long term from two local businesses

West Packaging      and  Royal Bank of Scotland  

and was funded by the National Lottery  via the Arts Council

Cotton Grass Theatre became a limited company in 1999.

In the spring of 1999, thirty young people, aged from 6 to 15, worked with professional theatre practitioners

in workshops on acting, music, dance, set design and lighting to create The Glorious Tale of the Golden Whale

This project was partly funded by East Midlands Arts      and Leader II

and was later developed as part of a story telling project for schools for the National Literacy Scheme.

In 1998 the company devised Into the Rose Garden

A mother and daughter meet, having been estranged for many years

and re enact the story of how they came to lose each other.

The play is set in an art gallery and features the work of painters, sculptors and other artists.

In November 1999, Cotton Grass Theatre received a Millennium Festival Award for Black Bread and Tired Feet

A family show, based on the story of Baboushka and other traditional Russian folk tales, performed in January 2000.

Cotton Grass Theatre received their largest award to date, from the Regional Arts Lottery Fund

for an outdoor production based on tales from the Decameron, a 14th century work by Giovanni Boccaccio.

Gardens of Delight was performed in September 2000.

The company's next production was La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler which toured in North Derbyshire in 2001

and ended its run at the Crucible Theatre Studio in Sheffield in April 2002.

In 2002, Cotton Grass toured two Alan Bennett 'Talking Heads' monologues:  Bed Amongst the Lentils and A Chip in the Sugar

which in 2009 , are still touring nationally in community venues, with funding from  Live and Local   

With funding from Awards for All    they also ran Time Tales  

A three day workshop for about fifty culminating in a live performance.

Several of those involved were from the Bakewell based Babbling Vagabonds   

2003 saw the return of Into the Rose Garden

and The Unreturning Army based on stories of Derbyshire people in the First World War.

2004 saw a number of young people's workshops

and productions of  The Complete Angler and Haunted

Cotton Grass began to secure bookings in other parts of the country

 with particular help from  Live and Local   

In 2006, Cotton Grass's productions have been:  a show for schools and families  The Crow in the Know

and Sherlock Holmes and Final Problem which toured Derbyshire and venues across the UK attracting

some of the company's largest audiences ever.

In 2007 the company toured Talking Heads shows and staged the corporate event for the Peak Park

A Conversation Between John & Tom, by Roly Smith.

The summer of 2008 saw Look Sharp!

A festival of children's workshops, parades and performances

to celebrate the centenary of Cecil Sharp's visit to Winster in Derbyshire.

A project was produced with Winster Morris and mainly funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

From June 2009 the company has toured nationally with The Unknown Land