Rob Salmon

I join the team at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, as their new Head of Creative Engagement today. It’s great to be back in Yorkshire, and having started my career at the New Vic Theatre that shares so much history with the SJT, it already feels like home. Wish me luck!

This is ‘Battleground’. A short play made for young people in Eastfield in response to an article in the Daily Express in 2023 that described the streets of that community as ‘…a battleground between feral youths and besieged residents…’ Give it a look! youtu.be/3eWiIRdqQh0

‘Feral’ an original short play written by young theatre maker Keane Liley, with dramaturgy & direction from me, has won both the Best Theatre Award at Scarborough Fringe, and the inaugural Chris Mellor Award for new writing. Nice way to spend a Thursday evening!

I’ve moved over to the other side… same name. bsky.app/profile/crateo…

@J19Taylor Yes! I’ve offered before ya bastard!

My 5th Rock & Roll Panto at the City Varieties Music Hall, and (somehow) my 20th professional Pantomime will be JACK & THE BEANSTALK. Book now to see how we squeeze a Giant, a Cow, and a Beanstalk on to that small, but perfectly formed, stage with 10 amazing actor musicians!

I'll be heading back to Scarborough's South Bay this Christmas with another new play from me for under sixes called 'Captain Cliff & the Seagull Squad'

Next up for me a new short play being developed with a brilliant local young theatre maker, Keane Liley. It will have a short run of free performances this July across Eastfield and Scarborough.

We did a thing, it went well, and a new generation of fantastic Young Theatre Makers got to show their worth to the world. Now for some well earned rest!

@SarahBrigham ‘Emil and the Detectives’ would be gorgeous with a cast that big. Carl Millers adaptation has a lovely enriching heart to it. There’s plenty of one act ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ and ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ - could do a double bill? An updated ‘Zigger Zagger?’

@SarahBrigham What age range and what cast size?

Soap Operas are so exposing. They pit one level of acting ability against the other, which often makes the work feel rushed or reductive, but when you put someone the quality of Elizabeth Counsell in the mix everything changes. A masterclass in variance, poise & professionalism

Quoted in the Guardian for a second time. The first was an article I wrote about work with Young Theatre Makers in 2015, this is an interview about Dementia Friendly Theatre. On that trajectory you can look forward to my next appearance in 2033… I’m betting on an obit!

Everyone at the Belgrade is absolutely heartbroken to hear about the sad passing of our former colleague and beloved member of the Belgrade family, Hannah Barker, who sadly passed away on Sunday 18 February. 🤍 buff.ly/42HgqSV

@LiamJarvis There was a time in my professional life where together you were both consistently responsible for the most exciting inventive theatrical experiences. What a brilliant human being. What a terrible loss.

25yrs ago I met the extraordinary Hannah Barker. We setup a theatre company together (Analogue). Time passed & our lives diverged. We planned to meet in Spring but time ran out. The weight of her passing feels heavy today. And I’m reaching for memories to feel momentarily lighter

@jackrooke I cried like a baby!

the final episode of Big Boys series 2 is the thing I am most proud of in my entire career + if you’d like to watch it, I’d be very grateful 🤓

…of that work that the county has greatly benefitted from no longer requires subsidy. Moreover that this amount of money doesn’t reflect the needs or expectations of the taxpayers of Suffolk. It’s an act of vandalism that undermines much more than their funded organisations. 3/3

…health and well-being of the county could not be more important. The direct and indirect financial benefit of their activity massively out-ways the value of the county’s grant aid, but it’s equally unachievable without it. It’s an indefensible argument to suggest that all… 2/3

There was a hand in glove relationship between SCC and its arts organisations for decades led by shared values and trust. It feels like a brutal shift to drop so many companies at a point where they need that support more than ever and their continued contribution to the… 1/3

Suffolk county council announces 100% cut to arts funding theguardian.com/stage/2024/jan…

#MrBatesVsThePostOffice is so exquisitely painful, not least because of the expertly judged performances, and the awful tragic events contained therein, but the boding weight of truth that hangs around every moment of it all. It’s all so fucking indecent you can barely breathe.