EAST
MEETS
WEST

A hub for the East and West Midlands’ independent theatre sector.

EXPLORE SIGNPOSTS TO DIRECTORIES & RESOURCES

EASTIES & WESTIES UNITE!

East Meets West encourages collaboration between and within the East and West Midlands’ independent theatre communities.

Mobilising everyone* in the sector no matter what their role, we’re helping to create a more democratic, transparent and efficient community. East Meets West revolves around an online Hub and is driven by peer-to-peer support. Our members are collaborators rather than competitors, working together to do their very best for audiences across the region.

We are funded by Arts Council England, supported by venues throughout the Midlands, and curated by Birmingham-based theatre company Little Earthquake (aka Team Quake).

(* Psss! Yes we support artists, but it’s about time others working in the sector got a bit of love too, right?)

Who is East Meets West for?

East Meets West is for everyone working in the professional independent theatre sector within the Midlands.

By theatre we mean the whole gamut of live performance from dance to circus, spoken word to live art, immersive to traditional, plus all of those indefinable bits in between. If you describe what you do as theatre in some way, East Meets West is for you.

By everyone we mean Administrators, Composers and Musicians, Designers, Directors, Dramaturgs, Evaluators, Facilitators, Funders and Fundraisers, General Managers, Marketers, Performers, Producers, Production and Stage Managers, Programmers, Technicians, Theatre-Makers, Writers… and anyone else who helps to get independent theatre in front of audiences. We support Artists, but we also know that others working in the sector need a support network too.

Whilst we recognise the enormous contribution amateur artists, organisations and societies bring to the cultural landscape of the Midlands, East Meets West is intended for those working within the industry in a professional capacity.

Most members of the online Hub will live and work in the East or West Midlands. For our purposes, an Eastie is based and making work in: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire or Rutland — and a Westie is based and making work in: Birmingham, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton or Worcestershire.

If you don’t live in the Midlands you can be an Honorary Member. All we ask is that you have a vested interest in work being created in (and not just touring to) the Midlands.

You need to be aged 16 or over to join the Hub.

To ensure membership of the Hub maintains its integrity, all requests to join need to be approved by our Moderators. Once members have been approved, the information they post isn’t moderated before being published but is subject to regular monitoring.

How do I join the Hub?

You can request to join the Hub here: hub.eastmeetswest.org.uk.

Is the Hub free to join?

The Hub is free to join, and entirely private. Only other members of the Hub can see your profile and posts. You can access the Hub on the web, and there’s also an App for iOS and Android.

JOIN OR VISIT THE EAST MEETS WEST HUB

THE LATEST

Interview: Ben Anderson from In Good Company

By Team Quake|2020-05-04T13:09:51+01:004 May, 2020|Community Articles|

Interview: Jo Gleave from Pilot Nights

By Team Quake|2020-05-04T13:10:00+01:0029 April, 2020|Community Articles|

“East Meets West was a fantastic opportunity for me as an Artistic Director of a venue to get to hear the key issues for companies in our region.”

Sarah Brigham
Artistic Director of Derby Theatre
on the 2017 Symposium

EAST MEETS WEST’S SUPPORTERS

Arts Council England has made a huge contribution to this phase of East Meets West’s development, not just in terms of a substantial funding award but also through working with us to strengthen the reach, impact and future life of the network.

We’ve got two amazing Core Partners this year whose generosity, enthusiasm and commitment are indispensable. Very appropriately, there’s a wonderful Westie — Debbie Kermode at mac birmingham — and an exquisite Eastie — John Kirby at Attenborough Arts Centre in Leicester.

Alongside them, we have a growing number of Supporting Partners — venues, organisations and individuals who are joining forces with us to pull the regional independent theatre community together ever more tightly.

More than anything, East Meets West is kept alive by you — the members of the network who use it, contribute to it and invite their colleagues to be part of it. Thank you!