When The World Is Loud

MORTAL FOOLS LAUNCH INNOVATIVE NEW AUDIO THEATRE EXPERIENCE, WHEN THE WORLD IS LOUD, FEATURING VOICES OF NORTH EAST YOUNG PEOPLE & COMMUNITIES.

When The World Is Loud, an audio theatre experience to help drown out the noise of the modern world, is available to download NOW; HUNDREDS of people have listened in, in the first few days.  This innovative listening experience created by multi-award winning, theatre, drama and creative learning charity MORTAL FOOLS, takes listeners on a journey of discovery, escape and hope for the future. 

When The World Is Loud features a creative narrative and takes listeners on a reflective journey featuring the real-life voices of young people and communities from across the North East. Starting somewhere familiar, simple instructions will take the listener around spots in their chosen location. Listeners will pause to listen to original scenes and stories, as they move from place to place, accompanied by original music and a soundscape.

Mortal Fools are known for creating bold contemporary theatre co-created with young people and professional artists, however creating this entirely audio piece of theatre was new territory for the theatre company. When The World Is Loud was co-created with 30 young people and 10 professional artists across the North, working on everything from the idea conception and devising to recording and launching the final piece. They engaged the expertise of professional sound designers Mark Melville and Matthew Tuckey to develop a high-quality audio experience that is a feast for the senses for the listener AND was an interesting learning experience for the young people and artists working on it.

“I’ve really enjoyed being able to work with new people in new ways and learn more about an area of theatre I’m not familiar with (audio). The new medium has meant we’ve had to try out new things and experiment a lot more than usual in this project, which I’ve found very exciting (though sometimes scary!).”– Maisie Saunders – Mortal Fools’ Ensemble Young Company and When The World Is Loud Narrator

Anybody, any age, anywhere can listen to When The World Is Loud – all you need is a smartphone and headphones. The audio theatre experience works in rural, urban and stay-at-home settings. It is free to listen to, but Mortal Fools, a registered charity, are inviting donations to further support their work with children and young people. 

You can access and listen to When The World Is Loud directly from the Mortal Fools website AND it is also available to stream on Spotify, Apple and Podbean – just search for “When The World Is Loud”. On Mortal Fools website a “how-to-guide” is also available which is useful for those curious about what to expect from this audio theatre experience. Since lockdown began, Mortal Fools have set about busily reimagining their projects and developing new ways of working with children and young people. This led several new projects, including two video-based ones – Coronavirus Time Capsule with Company Three (for teenagers) and What the World Needs Now(for younger children). The themes from these projects, directly influenced Mortal 

Fools ambition to create a theatre experience that could support positive well-being in a socially distanced world alongside enabling the sense of achievement and excitement that comes with creating and performing a live play; something Mortal Fools’ Youth Theatre really longed for but currently impossible during the pandemic!

The inspiration for When The World Is Loud came from the challenging and changing landscape of 2020. Mortal Fools wanted to create a high quality audio theatre experience that gives space for individuals to reflect on their thoughts, feelings and experiences of the world right now whilst celebrating community and reminding folks the things we have to be thankful for. Lasting approx. 70 minutes listeners are encouraged to take time out of their busy lives, full of noise and escape on a journey with Mortal Fools. 

“We wanted to create something that would support people’s wellbeing, help people feel connected and it was important to make something worthwhile, that helped people during this time. We really hope everyone who listens feels a bit better about the world afterwards. When the World is Loud will provide moments that make you feel happy, make you think and help you reflect on your feelings, combined with some great stories, inspiring community voices and brilliant original music and soundscape.” – Helen Ferguson – When The World Is Loud project lead & Mortal Fools’ Creative Producer

Mortal Fools are really excited for listeners to get fully immersed in this journey with them. Listeners will have the best experience of When The World Is Loud if they put aside at least an hour for the experience, remove any distractions and allow space to get fully lost in it.

When The World Is Loud is available now (from 24th August)! For more information and to access visit: www.mortalfools.org.uk/when-the-world-is-loud.html

Mortal Fools would love listeners to share their listening experience and photos listening along in your chosen location! You can share your thoughts, comments, feedback and pictures via their social channels @MortalFoolsUK and use the hashtag #WTWIL

For more information  about Mortal Fools  visit  www.mortalfools.org.uk for the very latest news and follow @mortalfoolsUK across all social media platforms including their YoutubeChannel.