Mikron Theatre Company facts for kids
The Mikron Theatre Company is a special group of actors in England. They started in 1972. What makes them unique is that they travel by canal boat in summer! They also use roads in spring and autumn. They think they are the only theatre company in the world that tours by narrowboat.
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How Mikron Theatre Began
The idea for Mikron started at a festival called Edinburgh Fringe in 1963. The name "Mikron" comes from the first names of the three people who started it: MIKe Lucas, Sarah CameRON, and RON Legge. "Mikron" is also a Greek word meaning "small."
In 1972, the company put on its first play about canals and rivers. A few years later, in 1975, they got their very own narrowboat, named Tyseley.
What Mikron Theatre Does
The company's main home is in Marsden, a town in West Yorkshire. But in the summer, they travel all over the UK canal network.
Mikron says they are "the UK’s most active theatre company." In 2018, they performed in 130 different places!
We have performed at allotments, care homes, community centres, dry docks, festivals, lifeboat stations, pubs, rallies, restaurants, village halls and Youth Hostels. We’ve even performed inside a tunnel, in the bows of a docked boat, in people’s very own front rooms and even the odd theatre!
—From Mikron's website in 2018
The company is a registered charity. This means they are a non-profit group that helps people. They describe their work as "Theatre anywhere for everyone by canal, river and road."
In 2017, they put on 151 shows of their two plays. Almost 15,000 people watched these shows. Sometimes only 14 people came, but other times 250 people did. On average, about 97 people came to each show. Many shows were completely sold out!
Sadly, on March 17, 2020, Mikron announced that their 2020 tour was canceled. This was because of the coronavirus pandemic. They had started practicing one play, Atalanta Forever. They planned to perform both Atalanta Forever and A Dog's Tale in 2021 instead.
Mikron's Amazing Plays
Mikron Theatre Company creates new plays every year. These plays are often about interesting parts of British history or everyday life.
Plays from 2015
In 2015, they toured with two shows. Raising Agents was about the 100th birthday of the Women's Institutes. This play was written by Maeve Larkin with music by O'Hooley & Tidow. Their other play, One of Each by Deborah McAndrew, was all about fish and chips!
Plays from 2016
For their 2016 tour, Mikron performed Canary Girls by Laurence Peacock. This play was about women who worked in factories during World War I. Their skin turned yellow from the chemicals, so they were called Canary girls. The second play was PURE by Richard Vergette. It explored the history of the chocolate industry.
Plays from 2017
In 2017, Mikron performed In At The Deep End about the RNLI. This play was also by Laurence Peacock. The RNLI is a charity that saves lives at sea. Their other play was Best Foot Forward by Maeve Larkin. It was about the Youth Hostels Association, which provides affordable places to stay. Some shows were even performed at real RNLI stations and youth hostels!
Plays from 2018
In 2018, Mikron celebrated the 70th birthday of the NHS with their play Get Well Soon by Ged Cooper. They also performed Revolting Women by Vashti Maclachlan. This play was about women getting the right to vote, marking 100 years since the Representation of the People Act 1918. Vashti Maclachlan has acted with Mikron before and directed their 2009 play Tales of the Thames.
Plays from 2019
The company's 2019 shows included Redcoats, a play about Butlins holiday camps by Nick Ahad. They also performed All Hands on Deck about the Wrens, who were women serving in the navy. This play was by Vashti MacLachlan. One special performance of All Hands on Deck happened in Liverpool's Western Approaches Museum. This museum was actually a setting in the play!
Plays from 2020 (Cancelled)
For 2020, Mikron had planned two new plays. A Dog's Tale by Poppy Holman was about pedigree dogs and the famous dog show, Crufts. The other play, Atalanta Forever by Amanda Whittington, was about women's football and a team called Huddersfield Atalanta Ladies' Football Club. Sadly, the tour for these plays was canceled.
The Narrowboat Tyseley
Mikron's special narrowboat, Tyseley, was built in 1936. It was made for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company. The boat was built in Northwich by a company called W.J.Yarwood & Sons Ltd.
The Tyseley is about 71 feet 10 inches long and 6 feet 11 inches wide. It is registered with National Historic Ships, which means it's an important part of history.
Tyseley is also the name of a place in Birmingham near the Grand Union Canal.
