How Crash Bang Wallop Theatre Company survived – and thrived – through lockdown

CRASH Bang Wallop Youth Theatre and Performing Arts Academy has become well-known for its high calibre productions, and has won many awards. The academy gives children aged from five to 17 opportunities to learn the skills of singing, acting and dancing, a process which, importantly for Dan, also fosters self confidence, helping to prepare young people for adult life.

The youth theatre is a charity, and the academy is a business, both of which have run successfully for 18 years. They have low subscription rates and offer instalment payment schemes, aiming to make the company accessible to all.

In 2019, it beat all comers for its production of Heights, winning awards for best in the region and best youth production from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA), the charity for amateur theatre societies. Individual performers also won regional and area NODA awards.

In lockdown, Dan won a Hambleton Hero Award for his work during the pandemic, as well as being chosen as one of the BBC Tees 50 stars. The accolades the company has received speak for themselves.

"We managed to get our own theatre studios in 2011," says Dan. "This made such a difference. We have created a space for young people where they feel safe, they can express themselves without judgement. It is not elitist, we are one big team and we support one another. Everyone is given chances, and although we work hard; it is fun too."

At school Dan was into sciences, but thought he would take GCSE drama as a creative relief from other subjects. Being dyslexic, he could focus on a practical subject, and after having been in one of the Great Ayton pantomimes, he knew he would enjoy it. He decided to take A-level and came into his own when his drama teachers, one of whom was me, gave the group a challenge about how to stage a combination of two different plays – Bouncers, set outside a nightclub, and Shakers, which was set inside.

Arriving in the drama studio at Stokesley School, backed by other members of the group, he had a small model of a revolving stage, which included a circle of wood, a pencil and some marbles. "I think this solves the problem and we can build it," he said.

Given the go-ahead, they did, using wood to build a revolving stage, overseen by the design and technology department, and using golf balls and brute strength to rotate it. It was safe, and it worked.

Dan taught himself other skills such as rigging and light design, and decided that this was the career he wanted to pursue.

"Mum and dad were very supportive of me and I got a place at Oxford Drama School on the foundation course," he says. "I was still performing in pantomime where I met Emma, my future wife. We had both been in the production of Oliver at Stokesley School, and we decided to our own version of it. We saw what the kids got out of it, and how they grew as people from the experience, so we knew this could not be a one-off for us."

During the same year, Dan was offered a place at Guildford School of Acting, and Emma was doing her PGCE at Durham, eventually moving to Guildford, and with the help of parents and numerous volunteers, he and Emma travelled back to Stokesley whenever they could in order to keep the group going with smaller shows.

From July 2008, when they returned to Stokesley, they have produced two shows every year, except when Covid effectively put a stop to the performing arts.

The pandemic brought a real challenge to the company.

"We were losing money, but we needed to consider keeping going for our students, giving them a focus, perhaps helping with mental health, so the team of me, Emma, who is the choreographer, and Alice Carr-Smith, the musical director, decided to rehearse and stream a production of Fame, which we did in June 2021," says Dan.

They started with Zoom rehearsals which were very tricky, and during practical rehearsals where the students wore masks and visors, they had to keep socially distanced at all times. They had the use of East Harlsey Village Hall, where they had to build a stage and a new lighting rig.

"It was so difficult to direct," says Dan. "It was like a game of chess moving the pieces around and negotiating traffic onstage, and keeping everyone safe. It was fantastic how it worked out and the enthusiasm kept going throughout. Apparently we were the only local amateur group to do this."

Dan admits that the joy of his job is seeing how the children grow in confidence and have improved self esteem. He fosters support and encouragement, and although he delights in the fact that some of his pupils get accepted into the top drama schools, it is what happens to the individuals in his studio that he finds the most rewarding.

He balances Crash Bang Wallop with his full time job at Yarm School working both in the auditorium, and with extra-curricular drama, such as directing two student productions a year, and outdoor Shakespeare events.

"The children feel safe and supported at Crash Bang Wallop," says Dan, "not just by us, but by each other, which is why I think they perform so well."