Positive Stories For Negative Times, Volume 3

Six exciting new plays by some of the best artists working in the UK today written with and for young people. Created as part of Wonder Fools' international participatory project Positive Stories for Negative Times which has reached over 8000 young people from 16 different countries including UK, South Africa, India, USA, Canada, Italy and Sweden. Co-commissioned by Wonder Fools and the Traverse Theatre these six plays offer a variety of stories, styles and forms for ages 10 to 25. These original and innovative plays are: The Day the Stampers United by Sara Shaarawi Ages 12+ Ms Campbell's Class Fifth Period by Leyla Josephine Ages 14+ And The Name for That Is?... by Robert Softley Gale Ages 16+ Are You A Robot? by Tim Crouch Ages 10+ Revolting by Bryony Kimmings Ages 13+ Thanks for Nothing by The PappyShow with Lewis Hetherington Ages 11+ Positive Stories For Negative Times was initially created in response to the lack of physical spaces for young people to participate in creative activities due to the pandemic, and instead allowing them to come together and be inspired through making new work. The project has now grown into a programme of work that includes hundreds of participating groups across the world, a youth board who dramaturg all the commissioned plays from inception to final draft, a continuing professional development programme for group leaders and four regional Scottish youth theatre festivals taking place in summer 2023. Supported by Creative Scotland, the Gannochy Trust, Hugh Fraser Foundation, William Syson Foundation, Trades House of Glasgow Commonweal Fund and Gordon Fraser Foundation. www.positivestories.scot

Tim Crouch is a UK theatre artist based in Brighton. He writes plays, performs in them and takes responsibility for their production. He started to make his own work in 2003. Before then he was an actor.

Tim works with a number of associates and collaborators to produce his writing. There isn't a company structure; things and people are brought together when they are needed. The starting process has always been a text written by Crouch. Early work was made in response to a self-generated impulse to tell a story or explore a form. This impulse is still the first motivation but, lately, it's become slightly more formalized through the involvement of various commissioning theatres and organizations. Tim's work tours extensively to UK and international venues and festivals.

Sara Shaarawi is a theatre maker from Cairo who is currently based in Glasgow. She performs, writes, translates and directs. Her professional experience in Scotland began with A Play, a Pie and a Pint's season of Arab plays in 2012 where she worked as a translator, dramaturg and eventually as a performer (One Day in Spring) as well. Her most recent writing credit was a rehearsed reading of Day One at the Tron Theatre as part of Mayfesto 2014.

Bryony Kimmings is a British live artist. Bryony's award winning work has toured across the world, including: Perth Festival, Sydney Opera House, Arts Centre Melbourne, Brisbane Powerhouse (Australia), HOME Manchester, Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Battersea Arts Centre's Grandhall (UK), Antifest (Finland), Culturgest (Portugal), Fusebox Festival (Texas), The Southbank Centre, Melbourne International Comedy Festival (Australia) and Lisinski Operahouse (Croatia). Bryony is an associate artist at Soho Theatre.

Wonder Fools are a theatre company and charity based in Glasgow that creates contemporary new work based on a diverse range of current and historical real-life stories. They have taken theatre productions, performance installations and workshops to over 10,000 people across Scotland, with over 15,000 more engaging with their digital work online. Productions include: McNeill of Tranent: Fastest Man in the World (2014-2015), The Coolidge Effect (2016-2020), and 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War (2018–2020).