In Development: OUR Public House
A state-of-the-nation theatre production
SYNOPSIS
A local election plunges into turmoil when an entire community spoils their ballots. With people feeling powerless, a pub becomes the gathering place—whether by habit, chance, or the reliable British weather. Here, locals & politicians clash, connections spark and friendships are pushed to the brink. Inspired by voices nationwide, listened to over a multi-year period, & rooted in each tour stop, Our Public House, opening in 2026, will be a funny, heart-warming play with music that throws open the national conversation and asks: what kind of future can we imagine together?
Playwright and best-selling novelist Barney Norris, a writer who’s “never been afraid to address the Big Stuff” (The Guardian) and Dash Arts Artistic Director Josephine Burton, of “immersive ingenuity... that stretches the vocabulary of the stage” (Observer) are creating a piece of theatre, inspired by speech-making workshops we’ve led across the country.
Partners
University of Birmingham
University of East Anglia
European Speech Writer Network
FunDERS
Arts and Humanities Research Council
Arts Council England
Three Monkies
The Generate Programme, National Theatre
Individual Giving
Thistle Trust
Images by Ikin Yum from our script development workshop at National Theatre Studio in January 2024
BACKGROUND
Workshops
The research and inspiration behind Our Public House began in Spring 2023 with our Speak Out! Workshops across the country.
With our partners, Birmingham University and the University of East Anglia, since then, we’ve helped over 400 people write and deliver speeches about what we can change today that will make the future better. We've worked with diverse communities across England - including schools, women’s prisons, women’s and men’s social groups, political activists and deaf communities, in Cornwall, Sheffield, Manchester, Banbury, Corby, Peterborough, Coventry, Norwich, Brighton and London.
In the workshops, we supported participants in crafting and delivering powerful impactful speeches. The speeches were brilliantly diverse, ranging from a campaign for mushrooms campaigns, to increasing universal credit and rent controls, easy access to music lessons, improved special needs education and employer recognition of menopause. Their speeches provoked, persuaded and empowered. We’re still running workshops and alongside them, we’re creating a play inspired by all the people and speches we’ve met and heard.
Events
At a series of live events in Manchester and London, we brought together our workshop participants alongside activists, academics, politicians to present and explore speech-making's ability to provoke, persuade and empower.
“You leave feeling a connection to the community and empowered by the knowledge that speech can truly be one of the greatest tools society can unlock.” - A Young(ish) Perspective
Events included cultural historian Edith Hall, playwright Alecky Blythe, former speechwriter to David Cameron, Jessica Cunniffe, comedian Rinkoo Barpaga, youth worker and community activist Zara Manoehoetoe.
Podcast
Discover the complex process of translating our research into a tangible production by tuning into our podcast series ‘Our Public House’. Immerse yourself not only in insightful discussions but also in captivating snippets from the compelling speeches delivered by our participants.
Available on all streaming platforms.
BLOG
Catch-up on our progress by delving into our blog, where you can trace our remarkable journey from securing initial funding in 2022 to our current achievements.
