Preview: Disciples at Newcastle Northern Stage

 Stellar Quines present

Disciples

Newcastle Northern Stage

Tuesday 7 - Wednesday 8  November 2023

Disciples is a brand-new production from Scotland’s leading intersectional feminist theatre company Stellar Quines. The show is devised in collaboration with five women and non binary performers who identify as D/deaf and disabled, led by director Rachel Drazek (Movement Director - My Left Right Foot) and poet/playwright and performer Ellen Renton (Within Sight). 

Disciples is a joyful, dynamic performance that comes to life through a blend of music, movement, text and image - led by poetry. Themes in the piece include finding joy, finding faith, finding power and what happens to the parts of ourselves that we are asked to hide. 

Questioning who gets to be the storytellers of our experiences, Disciples joins the voices of those working to break down these barriers, in the arts and beyond.  

Ellen Renton said: “It’s a rare and beautiful thing to be able to build a creative space with so many D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people across the cast and team. This is not a show about disability, but it will challenge preconceptions.”

The show will open at the Traverse Theatre Edinburgh in October, before transferring to Northern Stage, Newcastle in November. The cast includes Emma McCaffrey, Irina Vartopeanu, Laura Fisher, Rana Bader and Sally Clay. Each location will see the cast joined onstage by a community choir performing a new composition by Marie-Gabrielle Koumenda, allowing new voices to add to the performance, sharing their own experiences. 

Each performance will have captions and audio description built in, as well as creative use of BSL performed by a member of the cast. Disciples will be an intimate and tender experience for cast and audience members alike, and looks to welcome those with their own experience of visual impairment, deafness and disability into the space to share in stories that are too often overlooked by theatre and dance. 

Stellar Quines is an intersectional feminist theatre company based in Scotland. They believe theatre is a force for change, for collaborating with others and building inclusive coalitions. 

Stellar Quines create shows and provide opportunities and support for career development both on stage and backstage, for creatives at all levels. They commission research and join forces with others to campaign for change. They take our work out into the community with projects that nurture creativity and invite action, all with the aim of achieving greater equality.

Photos: Mihaela Bodlovic

Tickets: 

Northern Stage, Newcastle

Tuesday 7 - Wednesday 8 November at 7:30pm

Run Time: 80 minutes

Age Recommendation: 14+

Box office: https://northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/disciples/ or call 0191 230 5151

Access info

All shows will be captioned and audio described. 

Creative use of BSL performed by a member of the cast.  

Relaxed performances: Saturday 08 October 2.30pm & Wednesday 07 November. The relaxed performances are for anyone who would benefit from watching the show in a more informal and laid-back environment. More information can be found at www.stellarquines.co.uk/Disciples.