20 Years of Youth Theatre - Q&A with Bradley Greening

Published on 16 February 2022.

In 2021 we celebrated 20 years of running our Youth Theatre groups in Barton Hill with a call out to former members and practitioners to get in touch to share their memories and stories.

Over the next few months we'll be sharing some of their stories and memories in a series of Q&A interviews.

First up, we speak to Bradley Greening, who attended our youth theatre group from the age of 8 and is now an assistant facilitator who works with our Action Speak group.

When did you attend Travelling Light’s Youth Theatre and how old were you?

I had just turned 8 years old when I first joined Travelling Light Youth Theatre, many moons ago when it was based at Community at Heart.

I was part of Travelling Light up until I left secondary school at 16.

What’s your favourite memory of your time in Travelling Light’s Youth Theatre?

Gosh, it was such a major period of my life and childhood, it is difficult to pick.

I do remember us doing a promenade performance at Willsbridge Mill one summer and we escorted the audience along the trails, introducing them to various fairy-tale characters along the way and eventually ending up in the main barn where a fairy-tale ball was due to take place.

There was constant engagement with the audience, really drawing them into the overarching story which I loved.

Promenade theatre has definitely become one of my favourite forms of performance in later years.

Can you tell us about any other activities or performances that you remember vividly?

What was amazing about Travelling Light Youth Theatre was the opportunity to explore different forms of theatre – almost every performance I can recollect had an experimental element to it, for want of a better word.

Physical theatre, multimedia, site-specific, promenade, we got to do all of it.

I recall us performing a couple of times at the Arnolfini, which is a fantastic venue.

I also recall a performance that we created and performed at the old Mangotsfield railway station.

I can’t remember specifics but I thought it was pretty awesome how we were repurposing a space that was never intended for theatre, especially with the limited tech accessibility.

Do you feel that attending Travelling Light’s youth theatre helped with your personal development? If so, how?

It was a space where I could feel truly comfortable in being myself and felt more able to put myself out there with ideas or making friends.

It was definitely a boost for my self-confidence at the time, though I don’t think I’m quite as confident as young Bradley was.

What are you doing now? And did your experiences with youth theatre have any influence in your career choices?

So I went on to study Theatre at University, primarily because of my experience at Travelling Light.

It was enlightening and I came away with the realisation that a full-time career in the industry was not for me. However, I started volunteering with Travelling Light Youth Theatre and I am still working with them 3 years later.

ActionSpeak is often the highlight of my week and it feels incredibly special working with the young people in that group. They are beyond brilliant and have such brilliant, creative ideas. Maybe that’s where life will take me next...

Do you have a message for Travelling Light and Travelling Light supporters?

Thank you to Travelling Light for all that you have done for me.

You have and continue to be a very important part of my life.

To all supporters, thank you for your contributions to Travelling Light.

This organisation does incredible work with young people and really makes an impact on their lives – take me for example.

Please keep supporting their work so that many more generations of young people can experience the joy of being a part of a Travelling Light Youth Theatre group.

Help us continue to create exceptional experiences for young people in Bristol. Become a Travelling Light Friend -  find out how.