An Alternative National Theatre
Core Themes
1. The Ensemble as Process, Not People
• Ensemble was defined not simply as a fixed group but as an evolving practice and ethos. It’s “what’s between people,” not the people themselves.
• The importance of a shared ethos, values, and principles over fixed membership was repeatedly emphasized.
• Longevity, care, and invitation were central to sustaining ensembles across life phases and lived experience.
2. Space vs. Practice
• Many shared that while a building would be useful, the real foundation is a committed group of practitioners who co-create. “Raise the barn, then the building will come.”
• Institutional focus on bricks and mortar often distracts from the depth of practice.
3. Funding & the Flow of Money
• A critique emerged of how commercial success in theatre rarely redistributes back into community, training, or future development—unlike models in film/TV where funds often “return” via mechanisms like locked boxes.
• Calls for alternative financial ecosystems: return-to-source funding, collaborative reinvestment, and funding models rooted in mutual care and continuity.
4. Generosity, Invitation, and Gifting
• The principle of gifting (inspired by Harrison Owen’s Open Space) was held up as a possible foundation for the ensemble model: evolve something then give it away.
• A practice of invitation—not total openness, but conscious curation without exclusionary gatekeeping.
• Ensemble members seen as temporary stewards of a model they will one day pass on.
5. Care as Value, Not Cost
• Burnout, financial precarity, and personal sustainability were major concerns, especially as artists age.
• Many participants noted the need to move beyond the myth that care and excellence are opposites.
• The creation of structures to embed care, rotation of responsibility, and value for life-stage diversity were seen as central.
6. Cultural Collapse & Deep Adaptation
• Several contributors referenced Deep Adaptation theory: the idea that societal collapse is not a possibility but an inevitability.
• The role of art and theatre in post-collapse scenarios was affirmed—not as luxury but necessity, as ritual, remembrance, and meaning-making.
• The ensemble becomes both lifeboat and seedbank.
7. Alternative National Theatre: A Paradox to Hold
• The idea is not to mirror the NT but to offer a reply to it: something decentralized, inclusive, values-led, and generative.
• There’s a desire to hold both excellence and park-run participation: a system where “Sunday kickabout” and “England team” can both be valued.
• Concerns that naming or centralizing an “alternative” could reproduce the exclusions it’s reacting against.
• Suggestions included rotating ensemble members, open submission models (like the 4th Plinth), and acknowledging but not flattening hierarchy.
8. Lineage, Eldership & Transmission
• A growing awareness that much of this thinking is not new—participants spoke about earlier experiments (e.g., Welfare State, Woofing-style projects).
• The challenge now is to honor those lineages while building sustainable, transmittable models with embedded care.
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Action Points
1. Model Development R&D
• Create a structured R&D period with a committed ensemble (e.g., 20–30 people) to evolve a shareable model of working that embodies these principles.
2. Establish Principles for the Ensemble-as-Process
• Define and publish a flexible but clear set of principles or ethos that can travel independently of personnel or location.
3. Financial Ecosystem Experimentation
• Pilot a theatre project using return-to-source funding: a “locked box” that redistributes a percentage of surplus to future projects, training, or care networks.
4. Gifting Framework
• Develop a framework (or manifesto) for how ensemble models, training, and structures can be gifted forward and stewarded by others.
5. Create ‘Invitation Architecture’
• Design processes that make invitation explicit, generous, and regenerative—e.g., invitees become inviters over time.
6. Eldership Practice
• Initiate a network or circle of elders in the field to share practice, support younger artists, and help develop this new cultural infrastructure.
7. Archive & Profile Network
• Create a visible, searchable directory or digital commons for artists, groups, and projects working within alternative ensemble practices.
8. Reframe Value & Excellence
• Launch public-facing work that centers care, community, and adaptability as central to artistic excellence—not ancillary to it.
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Surprising / Emergent Ideas
• “The Ensemble Is Not the People”: A radical reframing—ensemble is the relationship or shared field, not its constituent members. This allows for porous, flexible, and multi-generational identity.
• “Earned the Right to Get Lost”: The idea that, especially later in life or career, one should embrace creative disorientation as an act of wisdom, not failure.
• Art as Post-Collapse Infrastructure: Positioning ensemble work and theater as vital technologies in a world of ecological, social, and systemic collapse.
• The Fourth Plinth Analogy: A rotating, open-access national platform for theatrical ideas and experiments, with high visibility and structural support.
• Training as National Service: A speculative (and humorous) suggestion: if formal training disappears, could alternative ensembles become public training grounds akin to civic service?
• Reclaiming ‘National’: Rather than abandon the word, reclaim it to represent collective ownership—“nationalizing art” in a socialist, not statist, sense.
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Closing Note
The conversation made clear that an “Alternative National Theatre” is not a building or even a singular company—it’s an evolving, relational, care-centered practice grounded in generosity, experimentation, and shared cultural responsibility. The next steps are to formalize the principles, experiment with structures, and create tangible invitations for others to join, adapt, and extend the work.
