The £10,000 Dover Prize bursary would support an artistic transition in my practice, allowing me dedicated time and resources to develop the creation of two outputs: a new narrative for indoor theatre and an accompanying installation, based on a specific idea: The Box.
Combining elements of Greek mythology and my own deeply personal experience with sexual abuse, childhood trauma, domestic violence, coercive control and female rage, I would like to create ‘The Box’: a new theatre piece and an accompanying set of interactive illustrations.
Specifically, the funding would support the following:
1. Narrative Development for Indoor Contexts: My ambition is to create a collection of work with deeper, richer narrative, which explores the darker side of my personal experiences, whilst maintaining the strongest elements from my street theatre work – mischief, captivating intimacy and interactivity.
2. Research and Development into New Forms of Interaction with Emerging Technologies: Building on my experience with interactive tech, I’m eager to explore imaginative ways to shape an audience’s experiences through how a piece of work is performed or controlled. The bursary would cover continued experimentation with technology including projection mapping, sensors and open-source systems, and includes mentorship with specialists to expand my current knowledge, in order to create a narrative the explore the notion of ‘control’.
3. Prototyping and Exploration of Audience Interaction: My work thrives on interactivity. The bursary would allow for the prototyping of different interactive elements within theatre and gallery spaces and would allow me to observe audience responses in a controlled setting before creating a fully fledged production and accompanying installation.
Ultimately, this award will provide the space, freedom, and professional development opportunities to stretch my practice out of its comfort zone through the creation of a brand new, ambitious project based on my own deeply personal history, my existing artistic skills and my desire to expand my practice. I aim to achieve a change in my artistic output, culminating in a new body of work. The support would solidify my artistic evolution, leading to an innovative cross-disciplinary project that engages and moves audiences across the UK and hopefully beyond.
The Box offers an opportunity to raise Darlington’s creative arts profile by presenting cross-disciplinary work that reflects female-centred experience in modern society. The work will combine live illustration and interactive performance to create an immersive experience that resonates and builds on my background in an artform that has strong roots in the North East. I have both performed at Stockton International Riverside Festival for many years and worked with local charity, Changing Relations. I would love to continue a relationship with the North East through The Dover Prize.
The project will bring the experimental stages of this ambitious piece of contemporary art to Darlington audiences. Its themes of control and female rage are clearly significant in 2025. The Box aims to foster a dialogue around challenging yet vital subjects, positioning Darlington as a hub for socially relevant artistic expression.
My commitment to the audience is that I will retain my sense of humour and mischief. Despite my darker experiences (and perhaps because of them), I became an agent of ‘play’. Creating captivating, intimate moments with audiences that present a well rounded human experience ensures that, while addressing serious themes, the work remains engaging and accessible for local participants.
I am an artist, performer and illustrator based in the North of England. Much of my work can be described by the term ‘live illustration’ and my portfolio includes live drawing or graphic recording (also known as ‘scribing’), 2D and 3D installations and live art and performance. My work often combines interactive performance, game design and open source technology in surprising ways. For a number of years, I have worked as a multi-disciplinary artist in the outdoor arts sector. I have worked as a devisor, maker, performer and puppeteer for a number of outdoor theatre companies and street arts organisations, starting my journey with the inventive site specific company, IOU Theatre (I was the guinea pig for their Space Time Tools Advice residency programme). Since 2007, I have led my own theatre company, Frolicked. Frolicked makes puppet-orientated experiences for unusual locations with beautifully self-crafted creatures and characters. With a mischievous sense of humour and captivating audiences of all across the continent, Frolicked’s performances and games are engaging, intimate and magical. I am currently an artist in Lowry’s ‘Developed With’ residency programme, looking to bring 20 years of experience in crafting unique and visually striking narrative to a ‘traditional’ indoor theatre space for the first time. During the residency, my aim is to create my own version of Pandora’s Box, combining elements of Greek mythology and my own deeply personal experience with sexual abuse, childhood trauma, domestic violence and female rage. Drawing from my ecclectic history in the (often underestimated) outdoor arts sector and fuelled by an ongoing ambition to tell unique stories, I am now expanding and stretching my practice out of my comfort zone. My current work is increasingly moving towards developing installation art and creating meatier narratives, allowing for deeper explorations of story and audience engagement within new environments, all while retaining the mischievous humour and captivating intimacy that define my portfolio of work. I would love to continue that journey with support from The Dover Prize.
I have a Foundation in Art & Design ND diploma (completed to distinction in 2001 at Manchester Metropolitan University) and a BA (Hons) in Theatre Design (completed with a 2:1 in 2004 at Nottingham Trent University).
I have received multiple project grants from Arts Council England over the last 15 years for a range of projects spanning performance, live art, digitally enhanced art and installation work.
Most recently, I received ACE funding (with further support and funding from IOU Creation Centre and Horse + Bamboo) to create #House –
I am the current Chair of Big Tin Shed, a not-for-profit organisation that manages a cohort of 25 studio spaces at Victoria Works in Hebden Bridge, offering affordable and co-operative space to creative individuals and small businesses. I have been on the board since 2024 and became the Chair in December that same year.
I was previously on the steering group for the National Association of Street Artists until late 2024. I stepped down from NASA UK to become the Chair at Big Tin Shed.
As a theatre maker and live artist, I have been commissioned to make work for a range of cultural organisations including The National Trust, The Forestry Commission, Lakes Alive (the Olympiad Legacy programme in the North West), Spot On Lancashire and Applause (both Rural Touring schemes based in the UK) and many many more spanning an almost 20 year artistic and creative career.
At the beginning of 2024, I was commissioned by Barnsley Libraries (a brand new Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation) to create my first interactive installation (non performance based) and Barnsley Libraries’ first commissioned artwork, ‘Bookends’ – a series of 15 illustrated scenes (enhanced by electronics and interactive technology) which were installed directly onto the shelves, amongst the books, over three floors at Library @ the Lightbox in central Barnsley. Each box contained its own tiny world: an interactive scene that came to life when you wave at the box or walk by close enough… Each scene was designed, illustrated and built by me (with three boxes containing additional artwork from Barnsley residents) and each was based on the local area, people and landmarks of Barnsley, in celebration of Barnsley’s history, heritage and culture.
As a reflection of the success of the original exhibition, the installation was moved and the exhibition extended to another one of Barnsley Libraries’ sites for an additional 3 months later in 2024.
Our work, ‘Who Killed the Rats?’, a witty puppet murder mystery featured as part of Theatre Deli’s ‘Horror Souk’ was reviewed in the Guardian. The piece went on to be recommissioned for Leeds Light Night by Leeds City Council and for the TakeAway festival at The Junction Theatre in Goole.
I have twice been resident artist at IOU Creation Centre in Halifax, West Yorkshire, first in 2005 and more recently in 2024.
I am part of the current ‘Developed With’ cohort at Lowry, offering performance related support and professional development until April 2026.
Email: beka.haytch@gmail.com
Address: Big Tin Shed (Unit 7), Victoria Works, Victoria Road, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX7 8LN, GB
Local Authority: Calderdale
