As we reached the end of March, we also reached the end of our funding from the Shared Prosperity Fund. This incredible support has given us some golden opportunities to create and perform with talented artists all over Cornwall – here’s a whistle-stop tour!
Back in November 2023, we were delighted to announce that we had been awarded support by the UK Government though the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This funding stream was a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda, which provided a total of £2.6 billion of funding for local investment up to March 2025. The Fund aimed to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities and places, supporting local business, people and skills.
Coming, as this funding did, in the shadows of Covid, we were excited to be supported to get really creative again. Our feet had missed treading the boards, and our faces had missed seeing yours! So we put the call out to the wide and wonderful world of Team Scary – and here’s what we did!
We took shows, projects and events, to venues and locations across Cornwall from Bude and Saltash in the north, to Falmouth and Penzance in the south, and not forgetting Truro, Liskeard, Bodmin and many more in between. There was also a hop, skip and a jump to St Agnes and St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly (once even a helicopter) for interviewing purposes, including a lot of time admiring lovely donkeys.
From performing Duffy Beats The Devil to packed audiences at the majestic Minack Theatre to using Augmented Reality to show off our Karavan of Stories, and taking Pat Pinch to pub quizzes in libraries and community centres, we took our own brand of Scary Little Magic out on the road, and wow, did we have a good time.
Facts and figures
- In total we engaged with 4545 people – just a teensy bit above the 2600 we estimated! Were you one of those people?
- We provided opportunities for 240 artists and creatives, pouring £356,000 into the Cornish arts scene
- We took 140 shows, projects and events, to 42 venues in 26 locations
Written down in three sentences like that it doesn’t sound like much so let’s flesh it out a bit…
The Shows, Project and Events
- Chatty Cakey Teas – Cornwall and Isles of Scilly story collection
- An Chi Drolla and the Karavan – what we turned the stories we collected into
- Queenagers, twice – because it sold out the first time round!
- Duffy Beats The Devil – nine shows over six days in this iconic outdoor, sea view, theatre
- Mayven Festivals, in November 2023 and May 2024
- It’s Your Round and Game On – rural touring
- The Riot Showgrrrls Club brought vulva cupcakes, humour, songs and storytelling to entertain and encourage Cornish conversation about how actual sex is much better than porn!
We also ran participatory events. For the general public, there were creative workshops, and for those behind the scenes, or on the stages – those creating the work, a dozen or so events included network days at Hall for Cornwall, and arts drop in sessions. Discussions covered the value of the cultural sector working together for us and for freelancers and practitioners in the region. We looked forward, envisioning possibilities and discussing our ambitions post SPF. We explored how we use our collective power in the region to shape the dialogue about the future of the arts here, all while ensuring a collaborative and inclusive approach, allowing us and our teams to creatively flourish.
Our venues, indoors and out…
- Barnstaple Library, Bodmin town, Bude Library, Bugle Village Hall, and Cirk Hes.
- Fish Factory, Grampound Village Hall, Helston Old Cemetery Chapel, the Hypatia Trust, John Betjeman Centre and Kresen Kernow.
- Lemon Quay and Liskeard, Liskerrett Community Centre and the Little Theatre in Padstow.
- The Mad Hatter’s Tea Rooms, the marvellous Minack and the Mount Pleasant Ecological Park.
- Newquay Orchard and the Old Town Inn on St Mary’s.
- The glorious Penlee Park Theatre, and the Penzance Bowling Club.
- Real Ideas in Plymouth, Ponsanooth Hall and the Princess Pavillions. Redruth Library, Ruan Minor Village Hall and Saltash Library and Information Service.
- St Agnes Library, St Gluvius Community Hall, St Ives Library and STERTS. The Cornish Bank and The Edge of the World Bookshop, the Ladder in Redruth, the Old Ambulance Hall in Bodmin, The Orchard Centre in Launceston and The Poly in Falmouth.
- And last but by no means least, Tiverton Library, the Hall for Cornwall, Truro Library and the wickedly delicious Witches in the Wilderness shop.
Pins on the map – we went to…
- Barnstaple, Bodmin, Bude and Bugle.
- Falmouth, Falmouth Moor, Grampound, Helston, Launceston, Liskeard and Newquay.
- Padstow, Penryn, Penzance, Plymouth, Ponsanooth and Porthtowan.
- Redruth, Ruan Minor, Saltash St Agnes, and St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly.
- And Tintagel, Tiverton, Truro and Wadebridge.
And it really feels like there should be a song in all of that!
We drove a lot of miles, drank a lot of tea and a cocktail or three, and our huge thanks go to the Shared Prosperity Fund for making it possible. We have had an absolute blast with incredible creatives and the 4500+ wonderful people of Cornwall who came to join the fun. THANK YOU!
