Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre teams up with Boisterous to recruit BAME talent
Boisterous was created by Miriam Mussa and Maurice Bessman and they're funded by Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre. Boisterous seeks out talent from BAME communities. Maurice spoke with Powell and Barns media and explained what inspired him and Miriam to start Boisterous.
He said: "Back in the 90's we had another Black theatre company in Liverpool with me and Miriam, with three other actors. It became apparent really that funding was going to be the issue. I was a full-time writer doing telly, and I wasn't prepared to ask actors to do stuff for nothing".
Maurice continued: "So this time round, we wanted to start again and Miriam works full time at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool. She talked to them about us starting another Black theatre company and the Royal court said okay and would give us as much support as they can, and they do. They're the ones that bounce us to the stage".
Credit: Ean Flanders Photography
Iain Christie, the head of marketing at Liverpool's Royal Court Theatre shared his thoughts about how well Boisterous and the Royal Court Theatre have worked together. He said: "Its been a fantastic partnership, we have known Miriam for a long time, she's worked here around 10 years".
"We know Maurice as a writer and socially as well. When the two came together to create boisterous the partnership was smooth and easy. They know how we work so it was an effortless transition".
Joe Speare, one of the actors in Bouncers told us how Boisterous is not only beneficial for BAME talent, but also for audience members who may have felt unwelcomed to attend theatres. He said: "I’d like to think the royal court is unique in what they do. They've set up their own corner to bring in an audience who don't usually attend, to educate people that the theatre is not for a particular group, instead it's open for everyone".
"It will be interesting to keep an eye on other theatres to see if they are willing to do this, and to see if they go through with it. We'll probably have to wait a year to see what happens".