New Ideas
We are always seeking new partnerships. If you are an artist with an idea for an innovative show for children, or a company making exceptional work for young audiences, we’d love to hear from you.
We value diversity in our artistic programme and encourage contact from artists of all backgrounds.
Please email our Senior Producer, Kate Bradshaw to start a conversation.
PolkaLAB
PolkaLAB is our in-house professional development for companies or artists wanting to create innovative and ground-breaking children’s theatre.
This 18-month residency supports up to three companies or artists wanting to research and develop new productions for children.
Current PolkaLAB artists:
Previous PolkaLAB artists include:
CO-PRODUCERS
We frequently work with other companies, venues and producers to create new work. This enables us to continually challenge ourselves, the way we work and the sort of work we are making but also allows us to share our knowledge of making work for our specific age range.
Please email Helen Matravers to start a conversation.
In the past, we have produced work with:
We are currently working on new shows with:
The final show in our Adventure Theatre prior to closing for redevelopment was a co-production with Apples and Snakes , In The Winter Wood
During closure for our redevelopment, we co-produced I’ll Take you to Mrs Cole with internationally renowned theatre company Complicité
RESEARCH
Many of our productions aim to portray and enhance how Polka reflects current child development research. Over the years we have worked with a number of academics. During our Festival of Childhood (Brainwaves 2016, Techtopia 2018) we stepped outside of our usual output to reach a wider audience and explored issues and themes that reflected on contemporary childhood, underpinned by expertise from outside of our usual circles.
Previous Academics and their work have included:
ACCESS
We are committed to removing barriers to anyone with access needs. Most areas of our building are accessible, including our rehearsal room, meeting rooms and stage.
We have an accessible dressing room and an accessible toilet backstage. Both our stages are accessible via level access and a lift.
We are continuing to work on improving our access across the building wherever possible and will always do our best to accommodate anyone who works with us. If you can’t find what you need, please ask.