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Digital programme: The PappyShow's 10th Birthday Pit Party

The PappyShow company sit on a wall at the Barbican Centre with signs, balloons, flowers and other objects celebrating the fact they are 10.

Find out more about the production and the creative team behind it in our digital programme. 

Welcome.

Thank you for joining us for a very special Pit Party, celebrating 10 years of The PappyShow’s playful and authentic style. Since the beginning, Artistic Director and Founder Kane Husbands has worked to create a meaningful connection and provide a supportive space for his community, empowering them to tell their own stories. The company’s impact across the country has been remarkable, working with over 15,000 thousand young people just this year alone, and creating opportunities for them to shine and to fall in love with performing. We worked with them twice last year, presenting a sold out run of their debut show, BOYS, and hosting their first Pit Party. This year’s Party will be even bigger, with a nightly changing cast of dozens of performers. Featuring highlights from their most popular shows through dance, live music, poetry, rap and film, we will see performances by long-standing and new members, as well as some of their favourite artists they’ve collaborated with over the decade. Showcasing talented young people along with founding members, The PappyShow reflect on how far they’ve come, and how radical joy and care can shape the stories they tell in the future.  

Toni Racklin
Barbican Head of Theatre & Dance

 

We are turning 10!

To celebrate, we are having a birthday party in the Barbican’s Pit Theatre – thanks for coming!

The PappyShow’s 10th Birthday Pit Party features pivotal moments from our 10-year history. We wanted our friends, old and new, to be part of this celebration of our stories, community and future as we look forward to our next 10 years. Directed by Artistic Director, Kane Husbands, our core ensemble take us into the party and through curated moments from our standout shows: BOYS, GIRLS, What Do You See?, Shut Up I’m Dreaming and A Short Big Show for Hope, featuring letters, affirmations, films, duets, songs, monologues pieces from our past, present and future.

Each night is unique, with poetry, music and dance performances from artists and creatives who have been with us from the start of our journey and those who are the future of the spaces we want to create in the world.

The best parties have it all; from laughter, to outpourings of love, silliness and screaming from the rooftops, party tricks, best dance moves, nostalgia, spontaneity, reunions and new meetings, living your best life tonight and hope for what tomorrow brings. Whether you have been with us for the whole ride or want to find your people, play with us as we share who The PappyShow has been, who we are and where we are going.

It started with a group of friends playing, jumping, moving and making stories that spread joy and a love for what makes us different. Ten years later, we are so proud to gather our communities to share this special time for us. 

We hope you enjoy this evening of radical joy, celebrating bold and beautiful bodies, voices and moments from 10 years of The PappyShow.

The PappyShow
Creators and performers

 

Presented by the Barbican
Images by Denisha Anderson

The Company

Core performers
Hannah Zoé Ankrah
Aaron Gordon

Bea Holland
Host Rachel-Leah Hosker

Mohammed Mansaray
Host Kwami Odoom

Bianca Stephens
Keyboard player Diarra Walcott-Ivanhoe

 

Guest performers

Wednesday 1 November
Jim Caesar-Goddard
Jules Chan

​​Jessica Enemokwu
Simran Hunjun

Aisha KB

Ursula Mohan
Jetsün Shenkyong-ma

Adeola Yemitan

Thursday 2 November
Jim Caesar-Goddard

Mateus Daniel 

André Fyffe
Simran Hunjun 
Bri Leung 
Molly Walker
Yemurai Zvaraya

Friday 3 November
Saida Ahmed
Jules Chan

Jordan Johnhope
Debora Minà
Kate Newman

Kamran Vahabi 

Nathaniel Wade
Jules Yearwood
Tanika Yearwood
Colette Zacca

Saturday 4 November
Lydia Barton
Marc Benga
Josie Daxter
Carolyn Defrin
Eben Figueiredo 
Jordan Johnhope

Nathaniel Wade
Jordan Johnhope
​​​​​​​Kamran Vahabi 

 

Young Company
Tomiwa Akintunde
Hannah Balogun
Annabelle Blake
Alana Chin
Alexandra Clare
Martia Dimmer
Michael Freeman
Taliah Gordon
Sophie Grainger
Ria Hancock
Mark Holder
Ariane Jeffery
Gawa Leung
Natasha Mula
Alycia Okonta
Orobosa Okundia-Best
Lottie Oldham
Ellen Pallant
Jess Senanayake
Sapphire Shoferpoor
Rio Sterling
Rosie Yadid

Creative Team
Director Kane Husbands
Musical Director Ty Lowe
Designer Helena Bonner
Associate Director Hayley Konadu
Producer Giuliano Levato
PappyShow Team Kane Husbands, Sam Hardie, Seda Yildiz, Kwami Odoom, Rachel-Leah Hosker, Bea Holland, Rachel Horowitz, Giuliano Levato
Assistant Stage Managers Wenfei Jia and Morgan Smithers

 

About the company

The PappyShow was formed in 2013 by Kane Husbands to bring people together to move, dance, create moments of radical joy, share stories and take time to PLAY! A collective of creative friends who came together to tell our stories. That is still our mission but our identity has become clearer. 

The PappyShow accepts you as you are. We work with people who are seen as marginalised in our society: their voices have been silenced, softened or squashed in the UK. We rarely read, see or hear stories from the people we represent – so we choose to tell them ourselves. We bring together these voices, bodies and stories and weave them together through movement, music and storytelling.

We lead from joy
We never stand still
We place our faith in community
We take people as they are
We make play a priority
We celebrate difference and individuals
We disrupt what came before to question how to move forwards
We are a collective, an ensemble and a community

Diverse and collaborative, our productions explore identities that are rooted in the lived experiences of our performers and span the stage to the screen. Our productions BOYS and GIRLS were critically acclaimed for their vibrant, revelatory and expectation-defying explorations of contemporary masculinity and femininity.

Our 2022 production, What Do You See? was performed at Shoreditch Town Hall as part of London’s International Mime Festival and returned this year to The Old Courts in Wigan. At the start of 2023, in partnership with the National Theatre we toured our new show, Shut Up, I’m Dreaming, our love letter to a new generation. The tour was directed by Kane Husbands and was based on the views, ideas and experiences of teenagers across England. Throughout 2022, artists from The PappyShow spent time with 100 students across three schools in Sunderland, Wakefield and Walsall to have conversations about dreams and ambition in an uncertain world.

Outside of our productions we work with young people and emerging talent across the UK to create unique and exciting work that develops their artistry and centre their stories. We believe in safe spaces where all people can thrive as themselves.

thepappyshow.co.uk

 

 

The PappyShow company pile on top of each other, smiling and laughing, surrounded by inflatable frames, boards and colourful clothing.

Biographies

GUEST ARTISTS 
The PappyShow is made up of our collaborators, and we have invited them to share our space with moments from past shows and their current work. Each night a new group of guest artists will join us, making every performance unique, and celebrates the brilliant and talented friends we've made over our ten years.

THE YOUNG COMPANY
The Young Company have come together for this special birthday project. The PappyShow started ten years ago at the National Youth Theatre so for our birthday we put together an amazing company of young artists from NYT, Hackney Empire and the Collective Acting Studio to spend time in an R&D training opportunity and perform in the shows. We are so excited to share the next generation of truly exceptional emerging talent with you.

 

The PappyShow Team
The PappyShow is a collective of eight friends: some are performing tonight and some have worked behind the scenes. We thank you so much for joining us on our birthday!

Kane Husbands
Artistic Director
Kane Husbands is an artist, leader and facilitator, who creates spaces where people can turn up and be themselves, where their differences can be celebrated. He works through the artforms of movement, devising and physical theatre with an approach to making through play, joy and research. He founded The PappyShow in 2013 out of his commitment to create spaces where all bodies celebrated their unique identities to create a wider understanding of who we are. Throughout his career, Kane Husbands has also worked with theatres such as the National Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse, Sheffield Crucible Theatre, the Old Vic, and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, among others. His versatility as a director, performer, and maker has also brought him to international venues like the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture in Saudi Arabia and the National Theatre of Scotland. Passionate about education and training, Kane Husbands is the Course Leader of the BA Performance: Design and Practice at Central Saint Martin’s at the University of the Arts London and a Fellow of Rose Bruford College. With his unwavering commitment to mentoring and platforming diverse voices so that everyone can see themselves in workshops, in education and on and off stage, Kane Husbands creates transformational experiences that leave his participants and audiences feeling inspired to be who they are in this world. Through this work, he continues to shape the landscape of contemporary production and performance.

Sam Hardie
Creative Team
Sam Hardie is a theatre-maker and director from Scotland. She trained as an actor on the Acting: Collaborative and Devised Theatre Course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is an Associate Artist at National Youth Theatre and has devised, directed and facilitated work with theatre companies like the National Theatre Studio, ENO, Jackson’s Lane and various education institutions across the UK. She  was recently awarded the Nicole Kidman bursary from MGC Futures charity. She has worked with The PappyShow for over five years, co-running the company, performing in GIRLS and running workshops and programmes for the company around the UK.

Rachel-Leah Hosker
Host
Rachel-Leah Hosker is an actor, movement director and a founding member of The PappyShow, who trained at Central School of Speech and Drama and is an associate of National Youth Theatre. She has worked with the BBC, New Diorama Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, the Orange Tree, Rose Bruford, LAMDA, Wimbledon Arts School, VAULT Festival, National Theatre Studio, Bush Theatre and the Unicorn Theatre, among other companies and venues. Rachel Leah-Hosker is a core member of the PappyShow team, and performs in GIRLS, hosts our podcast It's A Practice!, was a Movement Director on CARE and facilitates workshops for The PappyShow.

Giuliano Levato
Producer
Giuliano Levato is a theatre and dance producer who studied at the University of Rome and the University of Beijing (Chinese Studies) and City University London (Masters in international journalism). He has worked for various media and theatre companies in the UK and internationally, including BBC Radio 2 and the BBC World Service. He has been a TV producer for Chinese National TV and as an international tour assistant for The Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). Giuliano Levato has worked as a producer for The PappyShow for almost two years. He runs the popular Instagram channel People of Theatre, featuring some of the most exciting performing arts shows through insightful content. @peopleoftheatre

Kwami Odoom
Host
Kwami Odoom is an actor and theatre-maker from North London. He trained as an actor with the National Youth Theatre REP Company and has worked internationally as both an actor and movement director. He is an associate artist of the National Youth Theatre and Company Three. Kwami Odoom is a founding member of The PappyShow and has performed in BOYS and CARE. He runs workshops for the company around the UK.

Bea Holland
Performer
Bea Holland is a theatre-maker, performer and writer. She studied English and Drama at the University of Hull and is an associate of National Youth Theatre. She has worked at theatres across the country including the Barbican, Unicorn Theatre, Orange Tree, National Theatre, Lowry, Battersea Arts Centre and Almeida. Her work spans stand-up comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe and Greek tragedy on the South Bank to puppeteering a mouse circus at Glastonbury and writing comedy for E4. Bea Holland is a core member of The PappyShow team. She has performed in GIRLS, was an associate director on BOYS and facilitates workshops for The PappyShow.

Rachel Horowitz
Executive Director
Rachel Horowitz is a Creative Producer and Facilitator. They joined The PappyShow this year as Executive Director, and develop projects with and for young people, emerging talent and community groups with a particular focus on access to creativity and pathways into the creative industries. They are the Youth Engagement Lead for Studio 36 at EartH Hackney, Producer and Lead Mentor for Run the Track creative development programme and NYT Associate. Previously they were the Head of Learning and Participation at Hackney Empire, where they co-produced Young Producers’ Takeover of National Theatre's River Stage in 2022 and 2023, and for the Hackney Empire Main Stage: the Artist Development Programme: UNmuted in 2023; A Direct Message in 2022; Nightshade in 2021 and Alter Ego in 2022.

Seda Yildiz
Core Team
Seda Yildiz weaves together her enthusiasm for creating inclusive and playful spaces that encourage connection to both the self and each other. She works as a theatre-maker, creative facilitator, actor, casting associate and lecturer, as well as a yoga, meditation and breathwork teacher, designing and delivering BA and MA modules for universities, delivering workshops and courses for organisations, teaching from a colourful yoga mat or performing on stage with The PappyShow. Seda Yildiz has worked with Goldsmiths University, University of East London, St Mary’s University, University West London, Hull University, Haringey Shed, Theatre Train, Monobox, Campaign Bootcamp, WeWork, YachtWeek, Almeida, National Youth Theatre, Kneehigh, Open Clasp, Goethe Institute Germany, National Theatre Studio, the Royal Court, Soho Theatre, the Barbican, Live Theatre, Oval House, the Bush, Lyric, the Lowry, the BBC, Channel 4, Film 4, Icon Films, Pulse Films, Sony Music and the Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony. She is a core member of The PappyShow team and has performed in GIRLS and CARE; she also frequently facilitates workshops for the company.

 

Acknowledgements

For these 10th birthday celebrations, The PappyShow thanks the Barbican team, Anna Niland, Delma Walsh, Alexa Cruickshank, Yamin Choudury, Stella Odunlami, Ella McGran, Roly Botha, Ursula Mohan, Tomás Azocar, Molly Walker, Simon Lennon, Josie Daxter, National Youth Theatre, New Diorama, North Wall, Collective Acting Studio, Wise Children, and all our supporters from the past ten years.

The PappyShow Pit Party at the Barbican

For the Barbican

Barbican Centre Board
Chair
Tom Sleigh
Deputy Chair
Sir William Russell
Deputy Chair
Tobi Ruth Adebekun

Board Members
Randall Anderson, Munsur Ali, Stephen Bediako OBE, Farmida Bi CBE, Tijs Broeke, Zulum Elumogo, Wendy Mead OBE, Mark Page, Alpa Raja, Jens Riegelsberger, Jane Roscoe, Irem Yerdelen, Despina Tsatsas, Michael Asante MBE

Clerk to the Board
Kate Doidge and Ben Dunleavy

Barbican Centre Trust
Chair
Farmida Bi CBE
Vice Chair
Robert Glick OBE

Trustees
Farmida Bi CBE, Tom Bloxham MBE, Stephanie Camu, Tony Chambers, Cas Donald, Robert Glick OBE, David Kapur, Ann Kenrick, Kendall Langford, Sir William Russell, Tom Sleigh, Claire Spencer AM, Sian Westerman

Directors
Chief Executive Officer
Claire Spencer
Director of Development
Natasha Harris
Director of People, Inclusion and Culture
Ali Mirza
Head of Finance & Business Administration
Sarah Wall
Senior Executive Assistant to Claire Spencer
Jo Daly

Theatre Department
Head of Theatre and Dance
Toni Racklin
Senior Production Manager
Simon Bourne
Producers
Liz Eddy, Jill Shelley, Fiona Stewart
Assistant Producers
Saxon Mudge, Mali Siloko, Tom Titherington
Production Managers
Jamie Maisey, Lee Tasker
Technical Managers
Steve Daly, Jane Dickerson, Nik Kennedy, Martin Morgan, Stevie Porter
Stage Managers
Lucinda Hamlin, Charlotte Oliver
Technical Supervisors
James Breedon, John Gilroy, Jamie Massey, Matt Nelson, Adam Parrott, Lawrence Sills, Chris Wilby
PA to Head of Theatre
David Green

 

Production Administrator
Caroline Hall
Production Assistant
Michaela Harcegová
Technicians
Kendell Foster, Burcham Johnson, David Kennard, Bartek Kuta, Christian Lyons, Josh Massey, Fred Riding, Fede Spada 
Stage Door
Julian Fox, aLbi Gravener

Creative Collaboration and Learning
Head of Creative Collaboration
Karena Johnson
Producer
Lauren Brown
Assistant Producer
Rikky Onefeli

Marketing Department
Head of Marketing
Jackie Ellis
Deputy Head of Marketing
Ben Jefferies
Senior Marketing Manager
Kyle Bradshaw
Marketing Assistant
Rebecca Moore

Communications Department
Head of Communications
James Tringham
Senior Communications Manager
Ariane Oiticica
Communications Manager
HBL
Communications Assistant
Sumayyah Sheikh

Audience Experience
Deputy Head of Audience Experience & Operations
Sheree Miller
Ticket Sales Managers
Lucy Allen, Oliver Robinson, Ben Skinner, Jane Thomas
Operations Managers
Seán Carter,  Rob Norris, Elizabeth Davies-Sadd, Samantha Teatheredge, Hayley Zwolinska
Operations Manager (Health & Safety)
Mo Reideman
Audience Event & Planning Manager
Freda Pouflis
Venue Managers
Scott Davies, Tilly Devine, Tabitha Goble, Nicola Lake, Maria Pateli

Assistant Venue Managers
Rhiannon Brennan, Melissa Olcese, Daniel Young
Crew Management
Dave Magwood, Rob Magwood, James Towell
Access and Licensing Manager
Rebecca Oliver
Security Operations Manager
Naqash Sheikh

 

The PappyShow company watch as one member bites into a big birthday cake.

With thanks

The Barbican is London's creative catalyst for arts, curiosity and enterprise. We spark creative possibilities and transformation for artists, audiences and communities – to inspire, connect, and provoke debate. 

We're committed to making a difference locally, nationally and internationally by showcasing some of the most inspiring and visionary work by artists and communities. We're not-for-profit. Each year we need to raise 65% of our income through fundraising, ticket sales, and commercial activities. Our supporters play a vital role in keeping our programme accessible to everyone, which includes our work with local schools; development opportunities for emerging creatives; and access to discounted and subsidised tickets. 

Barbican supporters enjoy behind the scenes access across the centre and see first-hand what their gift enables through enhanced priority booking, as well as access to tickets for sold-out performances and exclusive events. For more information please visit www.barbican.org.uk/join-support/support-us or contact [email protected].

 

With thanks...

Founder and principal funder
The City of London Corporation

Major Supporters
Arts Council England
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch)
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
SHM Foundation
Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement
The Terra Foundation for American Art

Leading Supporters
Trevor Fenwick and Jane Hindley
Marcus Margulies

Programme Supporters
Marie-Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (Spirit Now London)
Sayeh Ghanbari
Goodman Gallery
Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery
Elizabeth and J Jeffry Louis
Pat and Pierre Maugüé 
Hugh Monk
Romilly Walton Masters Award
Jack Shainman Gallery
The Rudge Shipley Charitable Trust

Director’s Circle
Anonymous (1)
James and Louise Arnell
Farmida Bi CBE
Jo and Tom Bloxham MBE
Philippe and Stephanie Camu
Cas Donald
Alex and Elena Gerko
Trevor Fenwick and Jane Hindley
Sian and Matthew Westerman

 

Corporate Supporters
Audible
Bank of America
Bloomberg
Bolt Burdon Kemp
Campari
Google Arts & Culture
Linklaters LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright
Osborne Clarke
Pinsent Masons
Standard Chartered
Sotheby’s
Slaughter and May
Taittinger
UBS
Vestiaire Collective

Trusts & Grantmakers
The Austin and Hope Pilkington Charitable Trust
Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne
Art Fund
Bagri Foundation
CHK Foundation
Cockayne – Grants for the Arts
Fluxus Art Projects
John S Cohen Foundation
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Goethe-Institut London
Helen Frankenthaler Foundation
High Commission of Canada in The United Kingdom
Italian Cultural Institute in London
Korean Cultural Centre UK
Kusuma Trust UK
London Community Foundation
Mactaggart Third Fund
Maria Björnson Memorial Fund
Peter Sowerby Foundation
The Polonsky Foundation
Rix-Thompson-Rothenberg Foundation
SAHA Association
Swiss Cultural Fund
U.S. Embassy London

We also want to thank the Barbican Patrons, members, and the many thousands who made a donation when purchasing tickets. 

The Barbican Centre Trust Ltd, registered charity no. 294282

 

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