The Value of Nothing - performed play and published by Aurora Metro

The Value of Nothing – PaR 300 word statement This piece of theatre written by Kim Wiltshire was about the benefits system, what living with worklessness was like, and how the creative industries in the UK are being utilized through projects to try and address issues that they simply are not equipped to deal with. This was a two and a half year project, and funding came from ACE, Lime Arts and Health as well as the Research Investment Fund and support in-kind from Bolton Octagon Theatre. I worked with 31 creatives/artists to make the piece. The question for the play was: What if an artist created a community project that could end worklessness and the welfare system? The idea was to explore what it means to live on benefits but also how society views the creative industries. I also wanted to explore the use of audience participation, to create a sense of a real time event that was unfolding in front of the audience, as well as further explore the role of multimedia and film in live performance that I had used for Project XXX. The theatre piece was researched for two and a half years with young people attending community projects and focus group sessions in Bolton and Manchester. I worked with over 30 young people in all, asking people to tell me about their experiences of living within the welfare system. I used the information gathered to create a narrative based on the research question and themes, and produced a 70-minute multimedia piece of theatre. The play performed 5 times across North West England and the Midlands in 2017, and published by Aurora Metro theatre. It was bought in by the TUC for their Equality Conference on 21st October 2017. Marketing for the play was run by High Rise Communications, and blog posts and articles appeared in various press outlets, including Big Issue North.