RicNic wins 2022 Weston Charity Award

RicNic has been selected from hundreds of applicants as a recipient of a Weston Charity Award for 2022. The awards, run by the Garfield Weston Foundation in partnership with Pilotlight recognise charities across the UK who are making a genuine difference with their work and who are working innovatively to adapt for the future.

This year, 19 charities have received the Award which is accompanied by a 10-month business mentoring programme between charity leaders and corporate executives. Earlier this month, RicNic’s Executive Director Jennifer Holyhead and trustee Sam Oladeinde attended the first of 3 Charity Connect sessions as part of the programme, where they were able to meet with representatives from the other winning charities.

Having worked with Pilotlight on a short programme in 2021, which generated huge changes for RicNic, we are so excited to be a part of this longer programme and cannot wait to see where it takes us in the future.

Cabaret time for RicNic Hampshire

On Saturday 2nd April, RicNic Hampshire held a cabaret event to fundraise for their production of ‘SpongeBob The Musical’ this August. ‘Bonkers Broadway’ featured a programme of music from the West End and Broadway. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to bring it all together, to perform and to fill the audience. Special thanks to the team at Stage Door Southampton for hosting the event.

A great night was had by all and we are so pleased to see RicNic Hampshire back up onstage for the first time since 2019!

RicNic Commissions – Live Showcase

When the RicNic Commissions programme started as an idea online during the lockdowns in 2021, the idea of staging an evening of brand new musicals seemed a long way off.

Fast forward to March 2022 and we did it! The Commissions programme was well and truly born, in the shape of a 4 -day workshop and performance showcase.

The main focus of the weekend was a new fringe-theatre musical ‘Werewolves’ based on the popular social card game of the same name. Our cast and production team worked with visiting mentors Dr Jessica Walker and Joseph Atkins to shape the existing script and score into a dark, murder-mystery immersive experience.

The first ‘Werewolves’ performance was given to an invited audience at the Mad Hatter in Oxford and even featured audience participation from some unsuspecting guests. The evening also allowed members of the company to showcase other pieces of new writing, with music from two new musicals by MD Henry Jensen and a selection of works from student company Work in Progress Theatre from their new piece ‘Where The Bees Fly’.

This was a thrilling start to the RicNic Commissions programme and we look forward to bringing further opportunities very soon.

Workshop fun at RicNic Staffordshire

RicNic has been working in Burton on Trent in Staffordshire since 2019, but due to the pandemic our team are yet to make it to perform live onstage! This year’s production team for ‘Into The Woods’ were particularly keen to get started and to encourage as many local young people as possible to get involved.

With support from the Postcode Local Trust, the production team ran a workshop day for potential auditionees and for younger participants already involved in our Engage programme through local schools.

The group worked on musical theatre choreography, singing and script work before presenting a short performance to parents.

Well done to all involved, particularly to our amazing production team members for their professionalism and energy throughout.

RicNic back for 18th Birthday Year

RicNic is back with a full programme for 2022 and will be celebrating our 18th birthday this year!

The past few years have seen a lot of change across the theatre industry and the same is true for RicNic. Although we may not have been able to bring you all the opportunities and productions we had hoped for, we have been working behind the scenes to develop new programmes, open in more locations and have a full programme ready to launch for this year.

RicNic started back in 2004 in Winchester, Hampshire and has slowly grown over the years, reaching more locations and bringing us in to contact with thousands of talented young people. We are so proud to do what we do and so grateful to all those former RicNiccers who continue to support us.

We are really excited for what the next year (and beyond) has in store and cannot wait to share it with you all.

As with all charities emerging from the pandemic, we rely heavily on your support to keep us going. If you are in a position to be able to donate, would like to support us as a volunteer or contribute to our alumni memory bank please visit the SUPPORT US page to find out more.