On 13-16 June 2016, people interested in learning more about community theatre across the UK – students, practitioners, academics, participants – gathered for a festival at actacentre, to share learning and to celebrate the diversity of original community theatre.

Thank you to everyone who brought shows, contributed to workshops and seminars, and shared with us.

Read closing remarks from François Matarasso here, and watch the film below.

Final Report (downloadable pdf) on the festival and seminars leading up to it – and including impact testimonies recorded by University of Exeter.

Festival Feedback (downloadable pdf) from festival attendees.

As a volunteer I was very struck by the great relationships and atmosphere within the entire festival team.  There was no obvious divide between ‘regular’ or ‘local’ volunteers and others, like me, who had come from further afield…  The regular volunteers and staff were in no sense proprietorial (which might have been expected and indeed understandable) – everyone was very welcoming, boundaries and roles very fluid, with a real sense of everyone being committed to the spirit of the festival and organisation and ready to muck in and make it happen.  This is a credit to the acta leadership and testament to the genuine ethos of inclusivity and participation that pervades the entire enterprise. I’m so glad I could see this working and be part of it.