Introducing HighTide Associate Company, DugOut Theatre

HighTide are thrilled that DugOut Theatre are a HighTide Associate Company. HighTide have been big fans of DugOut for a number of years, championing and programming their work at previous HighTide Festivals. We are delighted to be co-producing Songlines by Tallulah Brown with DugOut this year. We chatted with Artistic Director, George Chilcott to get the low down…

“The next moment is always our favourite moment and that’s why we keep going. We’re always most excited by and most passionate about the thing we’re working towards.”

DugOut Theatre are a group of comedians, writers, musicians and actors, who create comedy plays with live music. Formed at Leeds University, there is a core group of us who are involved in most shows, but we are also on the constant look out for new DugOuters.

DugOut create new work that is often funny, sometimes sad, usually hopeful and almost always musical. It warms your heart, moves your feet, treats your eyes, lightens your load, tickles your fancy and swells your heart.

The next moment is always our favourite moment and that’s why we keep going. We’re always most excited by and most passionate about the thing we’re working towards. At the point of writing this, Replay, our latest show, is going to New York for the Brits Off Broadway Season – that’s pretty exciting.

Songlines is a coming of age love story in all its awkward teen glory. Accompanied by music from the award-winning band TRILLS, Tallulah Brown’s lyrical, funny play is set in Suffolk and will have you crying and laughing in equal measure.

You tend to incorporate music and song in to your shows. If you could pick a song from any DugOut show you’ve worked on as a favourite, what would it be? 

Good question as there have been a few. I’m very excited by the music currently being written for Songlines, ‘Beautiful Swan’ from Swansong was a cracking tune and I loved one of the one we didn’t write in Inheritance Blues, ‘Weight’ by The Band.

It’s been a total joy. We have huge admiration for HighTide and what they have achieved and to be able to be in the same office as them and learn from them (either directly or by osmosis) each day is a genuine privilege. They’re also really, really nice people.

I worked on Bottleneck, so it would be biased to pick that one out, though it had a huge emotional impact for me. Lampedusa felt a very important play at the time and arguably still is. I loved getting to know Brandon Jacob-Jenkins work for the first time with Neighbors. Oh gosh, too hard to call, sorry.

Even if your show is excellent, it doesn’t mean people will see it. Work very hard in the first week to flyer, paper, drag people to your show. It gets easier if you do that.