Lucy Nicholls

The Crucible - Director

The Crescent Theatre, 2010

Birmingham Theatre School’s graduating BTEC students performed Miller’s classic in full at The Crescent Theatre’s well equipped studio theatre.

The Crucible: Preview - Facilitator / Director

The Mixing Bowl Theatre, 2010

Performed at The Mixing Bowl Theatre at The Custard Factory the BTEC National second year’s performed extracts of the Arthur Miller’s famous play The Crucible. A full-length version will be shown in June at The Crescent Theatre for their final major performance before graduating.

Finished with the War: Revisited - Performer

Wolverhampton University, 2009

A short devised instillation that I created as part of Master’s Degree. I  edited down the film Finished with the War I produced in 2008 to create a shorter, more condensed version and then recorded a reading of the letter Siegfried Sassoon wrote which inspired me so much when I made the film. Here is the letter below:

Finished with the War: A Soldier’s Declaration

Lt. Siegfried Sassoon

3rd Batt: Royal Welsh Fusiliers

July, 1917.

I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority because I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe that the war upon which I entered as a war of defence and liberation has now become a war of aggression and conquest. I believe that the purposes for which I and my fellow soldiers entered upon this war should have been so clearly stated as to have made it impossible to change them and that had this been done the objects which actuated us would now be attainable by negotiation.

I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops and I can no longer be a party to prolonging these sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and unjust. I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the political errors and incinerates for which the fighting men are being sacrificed.

On behalf of those who are suffering now, I make this protest against the deception which is being practised upon them; also I believe it may help to destroy the callous complacency with which the majority of those at home regard the continuance of agonies which they do not share and which they have not have enough imagination to realise.

Hidden Truths - Facilitator / Director

Birmingham Theatre School, 2009

Hidden Truths was a collection of the BTEC National first year students’ own work which I helped direct and organise and, although I facilitated the project, it was their own content and ideas. Three separate groups created their own narratives and content all of which were really different and imaginative, it was lovey to work with students creatively rather than simply telling them what to do. They took responsibility for themselves and behaved in a very mature manner.

Loving the Skin I’m In - Workshop Facilitator

Birmingham, 2009

I facilitated drama and movement workshops for young teenage girls as part of a project created and delivered by I.C.U. Transformational Arts that involved three inner-city schools over the period of a year. The project culminated in a performance I directed and a book-launch of their poetry which was published.

The Castle - Director

Birmingham Theatre School, 2009

Franz Kafka’s novel adapted and translated for stage to create a full-length play which I directed for the Open Access course students’ final performance. Costumed and staged all in black, white and grey to reflect Kafka’s dark writing, I found its themes of entrapment and confusion haunting, surreal and disturbing. The collection of bizarre characters and the main character K’s trauma translated really well into a theatre and the use of the television monitors, minimal set and foreboding music created a frustrated and strange world.

Animal Farm - Director

Birmingham Theatre School, 2009

I directed the students of Birmingham Theatre School’s Open Access course in an adaptation of George Orwell’s classic, Animal Farm. A full-length scripted theatre production it contained choreographed movement sections and was staged at Matthew Boulton College.

Aberfan - Facilitor / Director

Birmingham Theatre School, 2008

The Aberfan disaster of 1966 became the stimulus for the Open Access course students at Birmingham Theatre School. I facilitated and directed a short devised piece of drama as their course tutor which was created through research into the tragic event.

Come Together - Performer

A Stan’s Cafe Theatre Company Production, Pilot Night, 2008

A short, conceptual, piece devised by James Yarker in response to a commission by Unlimited Theatre for their Mixtape project. Performed as part of Pilot Night, a platform for new theatre work.

The Seven Ages of Man - Facilitator / Director

Birmingham Theatre School, 2008

This was the end of term production by the students of Birmingham Theatre School’s Professional Diploma course. Devised using Shakespeare’s famous speech ‘The Seven Ages of Man’ from ‘As You Like It’ as it’s inspiration it investigated the text and explored its meaning through movement and physical theatre.

Of All the People in All the World - Performer

A Stan’s Cafe Theatre Company Production, A.E. Harris Factory, 2008

Performing in the critically acclaimed Stan’s Cafe Theatre Company’s long-running instillation. An excellent production that has been touring internationally for several years to rave reviews from the Guardian, Times and Telegraph.

Finished with the War - Producer / Choreographer

A Dance for Film Project, 2008

Using a grant I received from the Arts Council I produced and choreographed a dance on film piece in collaboration with a musician and video artist. The final piece was filmed in HD, had an original music composition and featured performances from three accomplished dancers.

B1 Labyrinths  - Performer

Fierce Festival, Birmingham City Centre, 2008

I performed as part of the Needless Allies company in a devised, site-specific piece called B1 Labyrinths which was shown as part of the Fierce festival. Using the city centre in Birmingham as their canvas Needless Allies told a colourful story that the audience experienced on bicycles, cycling around the B1 postcode.

Creative Apprentices - Workshop Facilitator

Birmingham, 2007

I was involved in the highly rewarding Creative Apprentices’ Training Scheme, delivered by Creative Partnerships, an Arts Council funded government initiative which aims to develop links between artists and schools. I devised and delivered a workshop for vulnerable children in an inner-city school in Birmingham.

The Journey - Facilitator / Director

Birmingham Theatre School, 2007

A movement and physical theatre piece I choreographed for the students of Birmingham Theatre School. This work was a culmination of the mature students’ studies during my time as their lecturer.

Work - Choreographer

De Montford University, 2006

Created in collaboration with a video artist and using an original piece of music, this was a group piece I choreographed using the stimulus of repetition and manual and monotonous work to create a vision of dystopia.

India - Performer / Choreographer

De Montfort University, 2005

This was a solo I performed and choreographed based on my travels and experiences in India. Performed to the meditative sound of “om” and with original video work devised to complement the live movement.