The COVID lockdown was a time of real challenge for the world of theatre, even as places opened up, many people were unwilling to sit inside amongst potential carriers of the virus.  Novo Theatre found a creative way around the problem. Our Associate Director/CEO, Joe Hufton, had just joined the company from outside the county.  As a seasoned walker, he was keen to walk the Northumberland countryside inviting people to join him along the way. He produced a project called Walk In Your Shoes/Doorstep Theatre.

Walk In Your Shoes consisted of a series of days of walking, diagonally across the county from Hexham to Berwick, largely following the long-distance path, St Oswald’s Way. For nine of these days, 60 people joined us on the walks.  At roughly each location that a walk ended, we then delivered a piece of outdoor theatre Doorstep Theatre that told of a modern miracle linked to the re-emergence of St Oswald in modern day Heavenfield.  We performed in people’s back gardens, in a church hall, in a pub garden, in the garden of a business, as part of a wider outdoor show and on people’s doorsteps. 388 people saw the show.

During this time, it was a real challenge to find something that would engage people in a safe and creative way.