Coming through with some updates about what we've been up to, and whats coming up for us in 2026.
First things first, we have a show in the final stages of rehearsal, Dreamer! It's a play about dreams, and about what we might learn from them. It's a show with puppets, and we're really looking forwards to sharing it with you all.
We'll be performing on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of March at Friargate Theatre.
Please come along, and enjoy with us what we've enjoyed making these past months. We also want to extend a huge thankyou to Riding Lights for allowing us to rehearse at Friargate Theatre - it's a great privilege to be able to rehearse in the space we're performing in.
Next up, a few months ago we were successful in applying for a small grant at Two Ridings, which we have big plans for! First up Tom and I are doing training to better support members of our group, I went on a Mental Health First Aid course a few months ago, and Tom is doing that same course soon. We're going to spend some of the funding on incorporating, to watch this space for Mixed Bag CIC - coming soon!
We're also starting up a side project, an income generation project for Mixed Bag - Pimento Puppet Rental! We're going to be using a chunk of the funding to buy materials to build quality puppets with, which we will then rent out to theatre companies up and down the country. All proceeds from Pimento will go straight into our Mixed Bag Open Collective, to be used to sustain the work we do in York.
We'll keep you updated as to when this will be project a-go-go! But we're anticipating launching by Autumn.
Thirdly and finally, we're starting up a second weekly group. Tom's taking the lead on this one - it will be a devising group that will create a show based upon the stories of the members of our company. More details to follow soon, we're intending on launching the new group after Dreamer's done and dusted.
So all in all, 2026 is shaping up to be a huge year for Mixed Bag. We're continually grateful for the work we get to do, and for the time we get to spend facilitating drama for people in recovery from or affected by mental ill health and addiction.
We also want to thank every individual who contributed to Mixed Bag in 2025, and to York Together and Two Ridings for providing us with the opportunity to seek funding from them.
