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Status
Received: on time
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Income
£90.3K
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Spending
£85.0K
Public benefits
Our purpose is to advance the education of the public in the arts and sciences, in particular the art and science of movement, drama and theatre performances by the presentation of drama, movement, theatre performances and other activities for charitable purposes, throughout Ireland and the UK. We believe that the purposes of our charity satisfy
the public benefit requirement. There are five direct benefits that flow from this purpose. They are: (1) Promotion and growth of individual and collective knowledge and understanding of specific issues through our work. The subjects of our work are issue based and many pieces have been used by organisations such as schools and health care agencies as a means of further educating their pupils/staff on the subject, eg. our play on underage drinking was shown to secondary school pupils and to youth and community workers raising their awareness on the issues relating thereto. (2)Development of individual capabilities and skills through creative education. We run scriptwriting workshops where we develop the creative writing and scriptwriting skills of new and established writers. We work with aspiring actors, developing their acting skills and giving them the confidence to take these skills further. We run drama workshops for groups such as the Foyle Down Syndrome Association and Eglinton Youth Group, developing acting skills and building confidence. (3)Increase the mental and physical wellbeing of the people who see our productions by staging plays which address subjects related to mental and physical health, including work on underage drinking, domestic violence, relationship abuse among young people, elder abuse and human trafficking. In 2015 we will be staging a play on suicide which will tour secondary schools throughout Ireland. (4)Advancement of human rights and promotion of equality and diversity. Our work with the local LGBT community has helped to incorporate this marginalised community in the cultural life of the City, celebrated diversity and has broken down barriers that exist. Our plays on human trafficking, elder and domestic abuse, and the immigrant experience in Northern Ireland has promoted understanding, educated the audience in these issues and raised awareness of human rights violations. . (5)Develop a sense of community. Our work is shown in many community settings including schools, hospitals, libraries and community centres – not just theatres. We work with marginalised groups to reduce social isolation. We encourage participation and raise awareness of issues important to building strong and confident communities. The benefit can be demonstrated by referring to evaluations received from audiences who see our work, the feedback we receive from our audience, partnership organisations we work with and promoters of the work and also by the demand for our services from local community organisations. The benefits can also be demonstrated by looking at the scripts created as a result of our workshops and seeing the actors on stage and in DVD recordings of our work There is no harm flowing from our purposes. Our beneficiaries are the audiences who come to see our performances, the participants in our workshops, the actors and production crew who take part in our performances and the marginalised and mistreated sections of our community for whom we strive to promote greater awareness and understanding. The only private benefit that may arise as a result of our work is that the professional actors and production staff may gain experience of working in different venues and with different audiences, making contacts which may be useful to their further employment. This benefit is incidental and necessary to ensure the benefits are provided to our beneficiaries.
... [more] [less]What your organisation does
Sole Purpose is a professional theatre company based in Derry Londonderry. We have been creating high quality, innovative theatre on social and public issues since 1997 and have toured throughout Ireland and the UK, and have taken productions to the USA. We produce new work for theatre and non-theatre venues, working in partnership with statutory
and voluntary organisations to bring professional theatre to working class and marginalised communities, as well as touring theatres. Our repertoire includes plays which look at issues of elder abuse, domestic violence, the ethnic minority experience in Northern Ireland, underage drinking, issues affecting the LGBT community, mental health and other subjects. We also run drama related workshops and writing workshops for people from all walks of life, to encourage creativity, build confidence and equip people with skills enabling them to pursue careers. Our work takes place in community centres, care homes, hospitals, schools, colleges, women's aid centres, prisons and theatres. The people who benefit from our work are diverse. The many productions that we have developed target different audiences – young people, parents, teachers, carers, women, ethnic minority groups, refugees, older people, nurses, social workers, LGBT people, community workers and the mainstream audience. Our most recent play, ‘Blinkered’ by Patricia Byrne, which explores issues of suicide and mental health, has been touring schools and colleges since 2016. It has helped numerous young people to tackle their own personal mental health issues. In 2019 Sole Purpose won the Special Jury Prize at Origin Theatre’s 1st Irish Festival in New York for bringing theatre on difficult social issues to non theatre spaces. In 2014 the company won the Eva Gore Booth Award at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival for ‘Life and Love; Lesbian Style’ by Hilary McCollum. Sole Purpose is working with Syrian refugees, using theatre to assist with learning English.
... [more] [less]The charity’s classifications
- The advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science
Who the charity helps
- Asylum seekers/refugees
- Ethnic minorities
- General public
- Language community
- Mental health
- Older people
- Parents
- Sexual orientation
- Specific areas of deprivation
- Unemployed/low income
- Victim support
- Voluntary and community sector
- Women
- Youth (14-25 year olds)
How the charity works
- Arts
- Community development
- Cultural
- Education/training
- Gender
- General charitable purposes
- Human rights/equality
