Project Summary
by writer, director and producer John Dunne. The play tells the story about the relationship of playwright Joe Orton and his partner Kenneth Halliwell. We are hoping to raise our kickstarter budget of £10,000 which will enable the play to tourthe World next year.
What We Need & What You Get
We are looking for your support! We have a budget plan and we need to raise £10,000. In exchange for your donation we have paired up with a fabulous print-to-order company to provide you with some pretty cool merchandise, as well as exclusive tickets for the press night and an exclusive dining experience.
The Impact
A word from the Writer, producer and director John Dunne...
"There are a lack of fringe theatres that nurture new work from the page to the stage. Everything is slow and if a new play does get picked up, the run is limited to a few nights only. This means less people see a show and the plays message is not transmitted to a larger audience.
Joe & Ken hopes to buck this trend by running plays for a longer period enabling the play, actors and creative team to develop work beyond the initial. Joe & Ken harks back to a time when plays were allowed to breath.
By contributing to this campaign, the contributor will aid the development of new work. With plays of significance being given a longer exposure period, enabling conversations to extend.
John Dunne has been writing, directing and producing new work for over 40 years with much of his work premiering on the London stage, touring across the UK and Ireland.
As a company he has championed new work by emerging writers enabling many to launch into theatre writing careers as well as launching actors careers too.
The reason why new work gets limited exposure is the cost of staging a play which is very expensive. Creatives such as writers and directors often suffer poor losses not to mention poor returns for the actors.
The only people who make any money out of theatre are venues so the whole theatre business is aimed at maximising profits for venues.
Many companies rely on grants to further their shows, and filling in funding applications requires box-ticking skills that would baffle financial experts World-wide. The hoops that companies need to jump through are daunting and the time it takes to complete a funding application is mind-numbing.
We, on the other hand like to move fast with much of our work being produced within a three month period, thus enabling us to produce work quickly.
40 Years of experience working in theatre has given me a grounding to meet any challenge that presents itself. Even during the pandemic, I was able to write, direct and produce three plays which enjoyed limited runs during a difficult period.
Working on a larger canvas will enable us to meet these challenges. Enjoying longer runs will enable plays to breath and offer greater exposure, giving plays a chance to transfer into bigger, more lucrative venues such as the West End and Broadway".
Other Ways You Can Help
We do realise that some may not be able to help financially, we realise this. So we should tell you that we are looking for any independent businesses that might be able to help in other way with our London show.
So if you are a business and are willing to donate for the UK Tour or lend for the duration of the run we would be HUGELY grateful. We are particularly looking for:
50's period furniture for our set.
A scenic designer.
Printing services.
Radio stations that are willing to plug the show,
A social media marketing guru!