New Theatre Royal Associate Artists
Our Associate Artists are our partners in fulfilling our artistic vision in and around the Portsmouth area.
The Fabulous Josh
Josh is a performance-based artist working within a variety of disciplines, focused on bringing community activism with colourful accessibility. Drawing inspiration from working class culture The Fabulous Josh explores LGBTQ+ identity through pop culture, using their own autobiography as the practice helping manoeuvre important and poignant questions about what It means to be an ‘artist’ and ‘activist’
From nightclubs and galleries to community centres and theatres Josh eagerly lisps about all things queer, class and local – showing up and showing off.
As an award winning community activist Josh’s work within this sector directly feeds into the art created, trying to find meaningful ways to bridge gaps with communities but also to find a place where ‘community art’ has value and integrity, they do this through their company Downtown exploring the Portsmouth landscape to create bridges and physical spaces in the heart of Portsmouth, starting conversations on identity, placement and belonging, whether that’s through garden parties, workshops or classic cabaret performances. www.joshisfab.com
Filskit Theatre
Filskit is a Shetland word meaning “highly spirited, mischievous and excitable”.
Formed in 2009, Filskit Theatre’s mission is to ignite the imaginations of children & their families whilst developing artists, accessibility and engaging hard to reach audiences. They are committed to building future family audiences and working towards a more inclusive, diverse and sustainable sector by developing the art form and skills of their collaborators.
At the heart of their work is their interest in technology and how it can be used to help immerse young audiences in the world of a story. Filskit Theatre work with lighting, projection and puppetry to create a visual language that is both engaging and accessible. They place their young audiences at the centre of their devising process and strive to explore themes and issues that are relevant to them. As a touring company they have taken our unique blend of theatre to children and their families in arts venues, schools and festivals both nationally and internationally.
Some of Filskit’s past shows include Breaking The Ice, The Artist, Stella, award winning Huddle and our baby show, Kaleidoscope.
Two Colours Ukrainian Choir
The Two Colours Ukrainian Choir was founded by Olena Ivanchuk, a professional singer, music teacher and musical producer.
Olena has been living in Hampshire since June 2022 after she was forced to leave her home due to the conflict in Ukraine. Before arriving in the UK, Olena was Head of the Department of Youth Cultural Education for the Dmitrivska community, Buchansky district, near Kyiv and was former Principal of Music School ‘Art Viva’.
Keen to continue following her passion for music and performance, Olena formed a small local choir for Ukrainian women in September 2022, in the village where Olena was being hosted. When the New Theatre Royal, heard about the choir, they worked with Olena to set up a second choir in Portsmouth using the theatre’s Minghella Studio as rehearsal space. The choir has since expanded to include a third ensemble meeting in Havant.
The choirs meet several times a week to share their love of singing and create a much-needed sense of support and community amongst each other. Olena also teaches many English songs to help members learn and improve their English language skills.
The Two Colours choir have already performed several concerts with audiences of up to 200 as well as performing with the Chichester University conservatoire. The concerts included a performance at Highclere Castle which has been accessed by over half a million viewers on YouTube and Facebook. They also recently performed an event hosted by Hugh Bonneville where they raised over £10,000.