The Mikron Theatre Company is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

touring

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

company, founded in 1972, which is notable for its tours by canal boat during the summer months, and by road in the spring and autumn. The company believes itself to be the only theatre company in the world which tours by narrowboat.

History

The company had its origins in an

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe or the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest performance arts festival, which in 2024 spanned 25 days, sold more than 2.6 million tickets and featur ...

show in 1963. The name "Mikron", as well as being a Greek word meaning "small", is derived from the names of the trio who went to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1963: MIKe Lucas, Sarah CameRON and RON Legge. In 1972, the company performed its first waterways-themed production, and in 1975 it acquired its narrowboat, ''Tyseley''. Mikron's archives are held at Heritage Quay, the archive collection of the University of Huddersfield. When initially deposited in 2015 the archive comprised: "29 standard boxes, 13 plastic crates, 9 odd sized boxes, 9 backdrops, 8 carrier bags, 7 LP boxes, 5 boards, 2 portfolios, 1 sign".

Activities

The company is based in the town of Marsden, in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, although it spends the summer touring throughout the UK canal network. It claims to be "the UK's most prolific theatre company", performing in over 130 venues each year, and by the end of 2024 estimates that it will have boated for 35,686 hours and travelled by road. The company is a registered charity and describes its activities as "Theatre anywhere for everyone by canal, river and road". In 2017, the company offered 151 performances of its two commissioned plays, to a total audience of 14,668 made up of audience sizes from 14 to 250 but averaging 97, at 81% average occupancy and with 43 shows sold out, in 83 local authority areas. On 17 March 2020, the company announced that its 2020 tour, due to start on 18 April 2020, was cancelled because of the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. They had started to rehearse ''Atalanta Forever'' but not ''A Dog's Tale''. Both productions were first performed in June 2021, out of doors, with a touring programme of outside venues booked for the rest of the season.

Productions

In 2015, Mikron toured two shows: ''Raising Agents'', written by

Maeve Larkin Maeve Larkin is an English actor and playwright. Plays She has written five plays for the Mikron Theatre Company. In 2012 they performed her ''Can You Keep A Secret? the Rise And Fall Of the Yorkshire Luddites'', in 2013 ''Don't Shoot the Mess ...

and with music by

O'Hooley & Tidow O'Hooley & Tidow is an English folk music duo from Yorkshire. Singer-songwriter Heidi Tidow (pronounced ''Tee-doe'' or ''Tee-dov'') performs and records with her wife, singer-songwriter and pianist Belinda O'Hooley, who was formerly a member of ...

, which celebrated the centenary of the

Women's Institute The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organization for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being the ...

, and ''One of Each'' written by

Deborah McAndrew Deborah McAndrew (born 1967) is a British playwright and actor, known for playing Angie Freeman in ''Coronation Street'' in the 1990s. She is also co-founder and Creative Director of the Stoke-on-Trent-based Claybody Theatre Company, and a visiti ...

, about

fish and chips Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of batter (cooking), battered and fried fish, served with French fries, chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, ...

and much else. Mikron's 2016 tour featured ''Canary Girls'' by

Laurence Peacock Laurence Peacock is an English playwright and dramaturg based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. His ''Canary Girls'', about the canary girls (munitions workers) of World War I, was one of Mikron Theatre Company's two touring productions in 2016, and ...

, about 1914 munitions factory workers (who were known as Canary Girls because their skin turned yellow from working with toxic substances), and ''PURE'' by Richard Vergette, about the

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

industry now and in the past. In 2017, Mikron performed ''In At The Deep End'' about the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

(RNLI) by Laurence Peacock (writer of ''Canary Girls'') and '' Best Foot Forward'' about the Youth Hostels Association, by Maeve Larkin (writer of ''Raising Agents''). Several performances took place in RNLI stations and YHA hostels respectively. In 2018, Mikron performed ''Get Well Soon'' about the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in its 70th year, by Ged Cooper, and ''Revolting Women'' about suffrage to commemorate the centenary of the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

by Vashti Maclachlan (writer of ''Revolting Women''). Maclachlan has previously acted in the company and directed their 2009 production ''Tales of the Thames'', which was written by her husband Richard Povall. In 2019, the company presented ''Redcoats'', a play about

Butlin's Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1 ...

holiday camps, by

Nick Ahad Nick may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nick (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Désirée Nick, German actress and writer Places * Nick, Hungary, a village * Nick, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, a v ...

and ''All Hands on Deck'' about the

Wrens Wrens are a family (biology), family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genus, genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely di ...

by Vashti MacLachlan. Their 9 August performance of ''Redcoats'' at the Toad Gin Distillery supported by

British Naturism British Naturism (until 2009, Central Council for British Naturism) is a members organisation with both individual and organisation members. It promotes naturism in the United Kingdom, and it is recognised by the International Naturist Fed ...

and Naturism Oxford is believed to be "the first professional theatre performance for a

naturist Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...

audience, ever, in the UK. Their 31 August performance of ''All Hands on Deck'' took place in Liverpool's Western Approaches Museum, the setting for a scene in the play. For 2020, the company commissioned ''A Dog's Tale'' by Poppy Holman about pedigree dogs and

Crufts Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, held since 1891, and organised by The Kennel Club. It is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is primarily a championship conformation show for dogs, and ...

, and ''Atalanta Forever'' by

Amanda Whittington Amanda Whittington (born 1968 in Nottingham) is an English dramatist who has written over 30 plays for theatre and radio. Her work is widely performed by companies across the UK, with recent productions at Hull Truck, Oldham Coliseum, New Vic Th ...

about

women's football Women's football most often refers to: * Women's association football Women's football may also refer to: * Women's gridiron football * Women's Australian rules football * Ladies' Gaelic football * Women's rugby league * Women's rugby union ...

and the short-lived Huddersfield Atalanta Ladies' Football Club, but the tour was cancelled. Both shows were performed in 2021, at outdoor venues only, with appropriate precautions to protect audience and cast from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In 2022, the company revived the 2015 show, ''Raising Agents'', and commissioned a new play, ''Red Sky at Night'', written by Lindsay Rodden, about

weather forecasting Weather forecasting or weather prediction is the application of science and technology forecasting, to predict the conditions of the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather info ...

. The company's 2023 productions were ''Twitchers'' by Poppy Holman (writer of ''A Dog's Tale''), about the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

(RSPB), and ''A Force to be Reckoned With'' by Amanda Whittington (writer of ''Atalanta Forever''), about

women police officers A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

. The two playwrights wrote Mikron's 2020 productions. The shows for 2024 were ''Common Ground'' by Poppy Holman (writer of ''A Dog's Tale'' and ''Twitchers''), about rights of access to land, including the

Mass trespass of Kinder Scout The mass trespass of Kinder Scout was a trespass protest at Kinder Scout in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, on 24 April 1932. The protest sought to highlight that walkers were denied access to areas of open countryside which had been fenc ...

, and ''Jennie Lee'' by Lindsay Rodden (writer of ''Red Sky at Night''), about the politician Jennnie Lee. Mikron's 2025 productions are ''Operation Beach Hut'' by Harvey Badger, featuring a "Best

beach hut A beach hut (also known as a beach cabin, beach box or bathing box) is a small, usually wooden and often brightly coloured, box above the high tide mark on popular bathing beaches. They are generally used as a shelter from the sun or wind, c ...

competition" in the fictional resort of Fiddling-On-Sea and ''Hush Hush!'' by Lucie Raine, about

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

intelligence work at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

. For 2026, Mikron have commissioned a play about cheese by 2025 playwright Lucie Raine, and a play by

based on a project with East Riding

Mobile Library A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

service.

Narrowboat ''Tyseley''

The company's narrowboat ''Tyseley'' was built in 1936 for the

Grand Union Canal Carrying Company The Grand Union Canal Carrying Company was a freight carrying transport service in England from 1934 to 1948. Background ''For more detail on this section see Grand Union Canal#History, the History of the Grand Union Canal.'' In 1929 the Rege ...

. She was built at

Northwich Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane, east of Chester, south of Warrington and south of Ma ...

by W.J.Yarwood & Sons Ltd. She is long and wide. She is registered with

National Historic Ships UK National Historic Ships UK is a government-funded independent organisation that advises UK governments and others on matters relating to historic ships.

Tyseley Tyseley is a district in the southern half of the city of Birmingham, England, near the Coventry Road and the districts of Acocks Green, Small Heath and Yardley. It is located near the Grand Union Canal. Etymology Tyseley means "Tyssa's clear ...

is a district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

near the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

References

External links