Shunt (theatre company)

Shunt is a London-based performance collective, founded in 1998. Most of the co-founders of Shunt met at Central School of Speech and Drama in London on the Advanced Theatre Practice MA in 1997/1998, which specialises in collaborative practice.

In summer 1998 Shunt's final term show 'Twist' was taken to Hill Street Theatre for the Edinburgh Festival under the company name Stephanie's Fridge. The members of the company at that time were David Rosenberg, Lizzie Clachan, Louise Mari, Mischa Twitchin, Gisele Edwards, Su Jin Lee, Laura, Catherine Bowman Shaw, Kirsty Yuill, Hannah Ringham, Serena Bobowski, Gemma Brockis and Heather Uprichard.

Shunt's work is centered on immersive, site-specific performance, usually in a grand scale, and has been supported by Britain's Royal National Theatre, NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) and Arts Council England. It has been the subject of much critical and academic discussion over the last decade.

Shunt has been awarded the Peter Brook Empty Space Award, in 2003 and 2005, the Time Out Live Award in 2003, the Total Theatre Award in 2000 as part of the London International Mime Festival, and many critics' awards in the United Kingdom.

"On October 12th 1972 a Fairchild F-227, chartered by an amateur rugby team, left Uruguay for Santiago in Chile. It never arrived...."

On their return from Edinburgh Shunt procured the railway arch 12A Gales Gardens in Bethnal Green and the group reformed. Those who remained in the collective paid the rent between them. The group was now David Rosenberg, Lizzie Clachan, Mischa Twitchin, Louise Mari, Hannah Ringham, Laura, Gemma Brockis, Heather Uprichard, Serena Bobowski and they were joined by Andrew Rutland. They began work on their first show The Ballad of Bobby Francois, which was loosely based on the book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Reid. The show opened in their space in Bethnal Green in the East End in London in May and October 1999. During this time Laura left the group and Layla Rosa joined the performance collective. The cast was joined by the performer Amber Rose Sealey. 'The Ballad of Bobby Francois' was then taken to the Pleasance Dome as part of the Edinburgh Festival in August 2000, where it won a Herald Angel and a Total Theatre Award. The show was revived at The Drome under London Bridge Station in January 2001 as part of the London International Mime Festival.

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