Brassneck Theatre Company
A BIT OF BACKGROUND
For 17 years now, Brassneck Theatre Company have been producing quality, professional theatre contributing to the re-imaging of West Belfast, endeavouring to break the pre-conceptions that exist about this part of our city in a positive, creative manner. Our youth company also offers quality, accessible performing arts training to over 100 disadvantaged children and young people every week.
Our primary aim is to advance public understanding as well as access to the arts by producing educational and professional, community-based performances which tour locally, nationally and internationally.
Primarily producing new theatre works, we also provide accessible opportunities for children and young people in the performing arts while providing equal employment opportunities for all.
SPONSORSHIP DETAILS
In 2023, we commissioned Belfast playwright Fionnuala Kennedy to write ‘Project Children’ which premiered as a part of Féile an Phobail 35 in the new St Comgall’s building in Belfast.
‘Project Children’ is about the impact of the programme of the same name, which spanned 40 years from 1975-2015, taking children from working class Catholic and Protestant areas to stay with host families in North America for 6 weeks each summer as respite from The Troubles. The programme continues to this day through its internship scheme and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025.
The play sold-out to over 1400 people during its initial run in 2023, with the Irish News reviewing it as “Life-changing”. Audience members gave us feedback such as: “A beautiful story of hope”, “You could never tire of seeing it again and again” and “Should be seen everywhere”, with many people taking the time to send us lengthy accounts of the impact of both the play and the original Project Children programme, particularly around the themes of peace, reconciliation, inclusion and building a better future for everyone.
In April this year, the show will return, this time to the main stage of the Lyric Theatre, Belfast and in Spring 2025, we plan to take ‘Project Children’ on tour, by demand, across North America to host families and the general US population to show them the impact the programme had on transforming the lives of so many children here.
We are seeking sponsorship from corporate partners to make this happen. Sponsorship would help us to ensure the impact of this incredible story reaches as many people as possible by contributing to our hefty production and tour costs, which for a small, independent organisation like ours, can be the difference of making a powerful project like this happen. Partners would benefit from advertising of their brand/company in programmes and marketing materials both online and offline which could reach up to 10,000 people in Belfast and the US, as well as tickets for them and their employees to see the play.
COSTS & TIMINGS
We are flexible with the value of sponsorship costs. We welcome any support, monetary or otherwise, that you would like to offer and are happy to invite businesses to get in touch to discuss options further. We are seeking sponsorship for both our Lyric Theatre run of the show in April 2024 in the form of programme advertisements and/or sponsorship towards production costs which would need to be confirmed by 30th March 2024. For sponsorship of our North American tour, this can be arranged anytime up until February 2025, with of course, sponsorship welcomed as early as possible.
www.brassnecktheatrecompany.com