A Nation's Theatre
Battersea Arts Centre and the Guardian explore the state of the nation's theatre in a series of live debates held around the UK. Join the conversation online with a strand of articles exploring regional identity in theatre and stage issues that are of local and national importance.
Click here for full listings of shows staged at BAC as part of A Nation's Theatre.
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Sleepovers, cycle wars and space travel: my weekend of theatre at BACTo mark A Nation’s Theatre festival, we offered one reader the chance to stay in one of the Battersea Arts Centre’s new artist-designed bedrooms and see a selection of shows. Harriet Porter reports on her experience
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Football unites cities: can theatre ever do the same?Leicester’s victorious tour bus will be greeted by jubilant football fans as it passes the Curve theatre, which has also earned the pride and passion of locals
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Sleep furiously: step inside artist Tom de Freston's nightmarish bedroom – videoBattersea Arts Centre commissioned Tom de Freston to create a bedroom for its resident artists – he responded by covering himself in paint to evoke a blend of King Lear and wild storms
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Plan your week's theatre – top ticketsHugh Bonneville stars in An Enemy of the People in Chichester and Ivo Van Hove returns to the Barbican – plus the rest of the week’s best theatre
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Revolution of the heads: how we staged the Battle of the BeanfieldIn 1985, 1,300 police clashed with 600 hippy travellers near Stonehenge – and closed a chapter of British counterculture. Theatre director Billy Barrett describes how he staged a zero-budget version of the encounter
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Herding sheep: why London theatre critics really need to get out moreBudget cuts, rising travel costs – it’s tough for critics to get to plays in remote areas but let’s not bolster the idea that regional theatre cannot compete
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Scottish independence? In theatre, it's long-establishedDiverse and democratic, theatre in Scotland is largely unburdened by the class system that defines the arts in England. It is outward-looking, internationalist and keen to cross borders
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Hip-hop theatre waxes lyrical about young lives in Liverpool and LondonIn the 1980s, the Everyman youth theatre created work that reflected Merseyside’s stories and struggles. It was fun, free and precious. Now, I’m using hip-hop theatre to help the next generation express themselves
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Staging a revolution: can theatre be an effective form of activism?Secret shows, street protests, satire … performance has long been connected to political causes. But does it have mass impact beyond a grassroots level?
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The village hall: home to bridge clubs, bingo and groundbreaking theatreStaging work in rural community spaces lets artists forge a deeper connection with audiences and the issues that are important to them
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Not cosy, not safe, no tractors: the plays redefining rural theatreThe Iranian Feast is just one of the ambitious shows challenging the stereotype that rural touring work is just armchair theatre
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A Nation's Theatre looks at disability - Guardian Live eventWhy do so many venues still find it hard to open doors to disabled artists and audiences? At a Guardian Live event in Wolverhampton, Lyn Gardner and a panel discuss the opportunities and obstacles
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Diversity in theatre: why is disability being left out?Gender and racial diversity is growing in UK theatres – but disabled creatives are being left behind. We have to shift away from patronising box-ticking
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Taking the plunge: new ways of talking about theatreForget panel squabbles in a stuffy room – for our debate in the A Nation’s Theatre series, we wanted a format as engaging as theatre itself. So we asked audiences to lie down in bed, dropped them into a pool – and then had dinner together
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Theatres should be the new town squares, not monasteriesRegional theatres will thrive when they are democratic open spaces, where communities gather to share ideas about the lives they lead and aspire to
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Blueprint for performance: audiences invited to build imaginary placesIn my new show A House Repeated, theatregoers dream up worlds that are inspired by actual buildings – you may step inside a room that you swear feels real
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Farnham Maltings: the craft-loving community that's a close-knit successThe shows that I make with Little Bulb theatre company are all informed by our neighbours in this Surrey arts hub – it’s a cornucopia of creativity with an international reach
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Is the Edinburgh festival really a level playing field?The latest debate in the Guardian and BAC’s A Nation’s Theatre strand looked at the fringe’s place in the theatre ecology – here’s what we discussed
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Do theatre companies put too much faith in the Edinburgh effect?Edinburgh fringe shows can be calling cards for emerging artists, but making connections should not be at the expense of year-round development
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How can we keep theatre wages fair?In an atmosphere of repeated cuts, it’s been heartening to see theatre buildings collaborating with small companies and solo artists – essential in a sector where wages are disproportionately low
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Slung Low's utopia for artists and audiencesAt the Hub in Leeds, both the veg and the theatre is homegrown – and Slung Low offer blankets, hot water bottles and a cheap bar. The company creates shows across the UK but is ‘micro-local’ and dedicated to the people of Holbeck
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Schemes to develop theatre artists are flourishing all over the country – but greed and laziness still prevail. Theatres need to put their talent first if they want to ensure a vibrant future generationWhy radical kindness is the key to artistic development
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Want to develop and diversify artists? Start on your doorstepAs the Arts Council’s Darren Henley observed, ‘creative talent is everywhere but opportunity is not’. One solution is to think locally and see the link between artist and audience development
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Welcome to Brighton: a town in search of a new wave of artistsBrilliant venues and festivals are popping up in and around the coastal resort but more funding is needed to encourage emerging theatre-makers to stay
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'Turn to the pigs for inspiration': how I became a countryside choreographerWhen I lived in a cramped London flat I craved space. I found it in East Sussex, where the rural scenery, rabbits and horses have influenced my work
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Home is where the art is: narratives of nationhoodLocal and national theatres are asking big questions about devolution and independence, our past and our future – who we are and who we want to be
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Home truths and house red: why we love making theatre in ManchesterPerformance trio Eggs Collective celebrate a city that is kind to the underdog and always tells you what it thinks
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Guardian and BAC present debate about nationhood at Home in ManchesterThe full lineup has been revealed for the first A Nation’s Theatre event, which explores devolution and will take place on Saturday 23 May
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Late-night discos and lock-ins: a young company takes their show on the roadAudience interruptions and unsolicited feedback are part of the joy of touring to all corners for the theatre company Bucket Club
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Stand review – direct-action dramas are a tonic for pessimistsChris Goode’s unassuming piece posits the benefits of uniting around progressive causes – and probes the motives of everyday activist heroes
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Chris Goode’s Stand: Oxford's everyday activists inspire audiencesThe ordinary and the extraordinary are combined in a show that tells the real-life stories of six people who stood up for what they believe in
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The theatre show that asks the audience how to spend a pot of cashThere are no actors and there is no script, but there is high drama in The Money, which brings out the best and worst in its participants
Cock and Bull: how we turned Tory conference speeches into theatre