NEVERLAND 

"I feel that there is a need for more dialogue concerning young people and their digital identity, online behaviour and interests. As an artist sharing multiple perspectives of young people living online, it is my role to do the work of the dialogue. Tuckshop Dance Theatre want to explore the potential of social media and youth engagement, raise awareness of the positive and negative elements related to social media, and to promote that young people use it safely and for good. Through all of my work I want to encourage young people to be advocates for youth voice and the power of cultural engagement." Lauren Tucker ​​
Neverland Performers 

Jake Evans

Originally from the Wirral, Jake started dancing aged 17 at Creative Youth Development (then Wirral Youth Theatre) before gaining a BTEC in Performing Arts (Dance) at City of Liverpool College. He then went on to complete both his Bachelors and Masters degrees at Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds. After touring internationally with the post-graduate company VERVE (2016), Jake went on to work with choreographers Aletta Collins, Tommy Smalls (Shaper/Caper), Josh Hawkins (Hawk Dance Theatre), and Joseph Reay-Reid. He is currently working with Vincent Dance Theatre and Gary Clarke Company, and also performs at various LGBT venues/events as a club host & drag artist. 

Natasha Gooden 
Natasha trained at Liverpool Community College age 16 where she was awarded a National Diploma in Dance with distinctions in ballet, tap, contemporary, jazz, street dance and physical theatre. She went on to train at the Shockout Academy in Manchester where she specialised in ballet, hip hop, acting and singing.

Natasha appeared with ZooNation in 'Some Like it Hip Hop' and 'Into the Hoods Remixed' (West End and Touring), she will be performing with Zoo Nation in their production 'Message In A Bottle' zoonation.co.uk/productions/message-in-a-bottle/
Natasha also performed with Boadicea on Sky One's Got to Dance First female crew to ever make the finals in 2012 Also in 2012 she was a performer in the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics.

Natasha's commercial credits include the Misha B music video Home Run, She was a dancer in Season 2 of 'The Lodge' Disney Channel video 'It's My Time' with RnD Creatives Agency, and performances on The X Factor with JLS and One Direction and Ministry of Sound Advert Commercial 'The House That Garage Built'.

She has also worked as a dancer in Hip Hop Production 'Blak Wythe Gray' BoyBlue Entreatment UK/International Tour London, Germany and New York 'White Light Festival'

Teaching: Natasha also enjoys choreographing and teaching her own workshops at venues across the UK. 

Nicolette Whitely 

Nicolette Whitley completed her degree at Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). Her experience as a performer spans across Film, TV and Theatre throughout the UK and internationally. Nicolette is currently working with Fallen Angels Dance Theatre (FADT), under the guidance of former Royal Ballet soloist Paul Bayes Kitcher. Nicolette has had an inspiring journey with FADT; performing at the Royal Opera House, London Science Gallery, collaborations with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Geese Theatre, TEDxand mentorships from Russell Maliphant and Marco Goecke with the company. 
Nicolette is particularly interested and inspired bycollaboration, this year she has been working on anew commission with FACT, MDI and artistsAmalia Pica and Rafael Ortega. Nicolette spent a year in Barcelona working with Martz Contemporary Dance Company (MCDC) and choreographer Eva Sánchez Martz. MCDC has enabled Nicolette to further her creative development and grow as an artist while performing in countries such as Spain, Italy and Switzerland. In the recent years she has also been working with Tuckshop Dance Theatre on productions FLAMINGOS and Neverland, funded by ACE, performing in the UK.

Nicolette has a passion for choreography and was a co-founder of the contemporary lyrical dance duo Alleviate. Alleviate were the runners up on Sky 1’s Got To Dance series 2 and went on to star in the hit dance show Flash Mob at Sadler's Wells Peacock Theatre in the West End.
Career highlights: The Royal Opera House, The London Science Gallery, collaboration with Birmingham Royal Ballet, BBC3 Amazing Humans, Buckingham Palace for HM, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Latitude Festival, 59th FilmFare Awards (India), 3D Filmusic Barcelona.
Commercials for Argos, Virgin and Oral B featuring Shakira. The Inbetweeners movie, 8 out of 10 Cats, Adidas, Stella McCartney, Topshop, VOGUE Brasil, Guess, Gap & Sweaty Betty.
Teaching: International Credits, Freelance Dance Artist and Facilitator.

Ebony Davis

Ebony is 10 years old and has been dancing the majority of her life! She attends Complete Works Performance School in Bebington and trains in most genres. She is an associate dancer for The Hammond and Melt Dance in Liverpool. 
​
​WHY NEVERLAND? 
To share young people's perspectives, rather than adult's stresses or concerns but to celebrate social media as a positive and fun space. Dance Practice and Digital Citizenship are both mediums that allow young people to experience and explore their identity, and navigate the unknown. Social media feels like a performance space, and a place where people are sharing their online identity and telling their stories daily. It totally makes sense for a dance maker to explore the possibilities of a collision between the live, physical and social network and augmented realities collide. After the first phase of Neverland, there is a strong case to continue with this enquiry. ​
"Social Media is a performance space that can alter our understanding of all performance spaces: it forces new ways of thinking about authenticity, creative proprietorship, authorial intention, and the relationship between artist and audience among many other urgent issues. Those changes inevitably will alter the way in which theatre is made and received." Patrick Lonergan, Theatre and Social Media. 
www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/patrick-lonergan/theatre-and-social-media/GOR010054729

After a successful research and development process, Lauren is interested in developing the work to create a visually spectacular, immersive installation piece that lives on social media, with narrative fed through social media channels before, during and after the show. Lauren wants to use phase two, to reach more young people through her research and to give audiences more control of the outcomes of the performance, using digital media. Audiences are invited to capture the work and share their own perspectives of the work online and Lauren will eventually create a digital archive that celebrates community engagement and digital culture' #makingneverland' 
Lauren Tucker has been working with young people to find out what life is like for young people in our digital world, to explore digital identity, to allow young people to reflect on how they present themselves, develop relationships. The work aims to celebrate individuality in young people, to empower them to make positive choices, to amplify youth voice and use digital technology in a meaningful and effective way.

In the Make Your Mark Youth Consultation carried out by Youth Parliament, the Northwest outlined Mental Health as a top priority issue for young people. Cheshire West and Chester, Cheshire East, Liverpool and Wirral believed that Mental Health Services should be improved with young people’s help and should be available in schools. http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/makeyourmark/

Tuckshop Dance Theatre consulted with hundreds of young people from the Northwest to find that 100% of the young people involved in the research, believe that social media can have a negative impact on mental health and well-being of young people.  Neverland looks at young people’s digital identity what role social media is playing on developing healthy and active global citizens both on and offline. 

Within the show there is references to sexting, online grooming, cyber bullying, relationships. The story of Peter Pan, The Happiness Effect by Donna Freitas, interactive narratives in online gaming, a range of articles and years of experience working with young people have also played a role in shaping the show. 

It must be said that a lot of positive stories were shared about young people and their relationship with Social Media, and Neverland opts for celebrating the positives over the negatives but questions were raised about how the adult population support young people as they explore, curate and present their digital identity. 

In a recent BBC documentary ‘Dancing For Happiness’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0btt5n1/darcey-bussell-dancing-to-happiness Dance- the outcome rich art form was viewed as an effective way to support young people in their development, to empower young people to thrive. As I reflect on my own dancing journey, I can see how cultural learning fosters resilience in young people.   My practice is driven by a desire for social change, and a passion to use movement and dance as a way of developing young people. I want to create a dance and digital interactive experience that cultivates curiosity, dialogue, that sticks in people’s minds as a show that made me rethink how I was living my life, to celebrate who they are, and to empower them to be active citizens that can live authentically.

​“Offering a relief from structured reality, fantasy in fact enables the reader to engage in the ordinary worlds with clearer insight and sharper perspectives, even with renewed faith.” Timmerman, 1983.




"We're all performers" Bo Burnham on Social Media, Make Happy

For more information about the company please visit www.tuckshopdancetheatre.org or www.cheshiredance.org

Supported by Arts Council England and Cheshire Dance, and Wired Aerial Theatre 

Neverland Cast

​Creative Director: Lauren Tucker 
Co- created with collaborators
Cast- Natasha Gooden, Jake Evans, Nicolette Whitely, Ebony Davis
Music: Gary Lloyd 
Writing/ Text: Lou Maddocks for the Voice Over Text
Writing Text delivered live: Louise Maddocks
Lights: Venya Krutikov thekazimier.co.uk/iwf/
Costume: Frances Heap www.francesheap.com
Digital Collaborator: Ant Hagan https://aug-it.co.uk
Voice Over: Sarah Ward 
Poem written by Young person. Kye Wikeley
Length of piece: Flexible Touring Model 
Thanks to Lisi Perry, Yael Flexer, Joumana Mourad, Lauren Walker 

​PRESS: 
www.winsfordguardian.co.uk/news/17369443.neverland-show-explores-the-digital-identity-of-young-people/?fbclid=IwAR1uqhBUboMzSQSe7q02OJ6dlNAph8Q55esFm_4FiEVA7AB5_E83zPRAzmM Check out this review of Neverland

​REVIEW: 
blog.lenslist.co/2019/03/27/neverland-dance-ar-live-event/?fbclid=IwAR3A1wUZ0COly05uG77gi0FV4LQjE4vDyTI2cSLvp6BeHpd0wWc88Q5QIqk


RESEARCH: 

www.unicef-irc.org/publications/1060-growing-up-in-a-connected-world.html
www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/opinion/no-more-adventures-in-wonderland.html
www.unicef.org/publications/files/SOWC_2017_ENG_WEB.pdf
​

#makingneverland