FIT awarded Arts Council England funding for Bring Back Chainmail

We are delighted to announce that Arts Council England has awarded Found In Translation a National Lottery Project Grant to develop Bring Back Chainmail, the debut play of our Creative Associate Tom Campe, in a collaboration with Autism Anglia.

Through our partnership with Autism Anglia, an independent charity enhancing the lives of autistic people across East Anglia, we will work to prepare a future touring version of Chainmail that can engage neurodiverse audiences with relaxed performances and workshops suitable for SEND young people.

Our collaboration will include autism awareness training for company members, advice on communicating with audiences in accessible ways, and piloting our relaxed performance & young persons workshops with students at Doucecroft School.

Plus, as Chainmail tells the story of a boy called James living as a modern-day medieval knight, FIT will be consulting heritage experts to help create the immersive world of James’ imagination. Dr Deirdre Serjeantson from Sidney Sussex College (University of Cambridge) will advise on elements of medieval myth in the script, while members of the reenacting group Regia Anglorum will give our actors a crash course in living as historical people.

Our grant from the Arts Council will additionally fund a professional development mentorship from Packing Shed Theatre’s Neil D’Arcy Jones, with a view to co-producing Chainmail’s future tour with FIT.

Full casting & creative team, as well as opportunities to join the project (including paid roles both on & off-stage), are to be announced soon.

FIT co-founder & artistic director Ollie Harrington said of the news “we are so grateful to be awarded our first grant from Arts Council England. We realise how competitive applications for ACE funding is, so this vote of confidence in our young company is a huge privilege. This support will be genuinely transformational for Found In Translation at such a difficult time for the arts.”

Chainmail creator Tom Campe shared that “writing Bring Back Chainmail has been a wonderful journey - it’s strange to think of it once being a ten minute solo show. To be working directly with the neurodiverse community and have support from medieval specialists is extremely exciting. I look forward to learning, writing and having fun!”