Operation Hummingbird - a new play by Matt Harper-Hardcastle
Have you ever wished you could fast forward and ask the future you: has everything turnedout ok?
Teenager Jimmy deals with his mum’s terminal diagnosis by diving into the virtual world ofcomputer games. Through this virtual reality, he meets James. James is the man Jimmy will become 35 years later.
Watch James and Jimmy’s relationship unfold in this poignant, funny and uplifting new one-act play by award-winning York-based company Next Door But One.
Celebrating 10 yearsmaking waves with bold, hopeful and thought provoking theatre, Next Door But One bringstheir smash-hit two-hander back following its sell-out tour in 2021.
Based on director Matt Harper-Hardcastle’s memoir of living with loss, this powerful yetamusing play explores grief, loss and the power of noticing just how far you’ve come.
Suitable for ages 11+.
This performance is for you if you’re a Jimmy, a James, or anywherein between.
Please note this production contains themes of terminal illness and death.
https://www.nextdoorbutone.co.uk/
"KNOCK KNOCK...ITS US FROM NEXT DOOR BUT ONE..."
Our name says a lot about who we are.
As an applied theatre company we want to bring people together, foster connections and overall make our audiences and participants realise that we’re all a lot closer than we think.
We're an award-winning LGBTQ+ and disability-led theatre company based in York, promoting creative skills and encouraging community cohesion, particularly with those who face barriers to accessing theatre. Our established programme focuses on workshops and performances for and with cohorts of the community with disabilities, mental health problems, those experiencing bereavement, those who are carers and individuals from the LGBTQ+ community. Our activity ranges from workshops to touring performances, training programmes and professional development opportunities.
Our Story
We started in 2013. Telling stories of friendship in Filey and Muslim Mothers in Bradford. Before working all around Yorkshire, using Playback Theatre, Forum Theatre and Role Play. Tell stories of care home managers and people with dementia. Of older people’s loneliness and younger people’s isolation. Of foreign beginnings and local endings. Of stories that had never been told and those that were still hard to hear. Of authority and powerlessness. Of success and adversity. Of life and death...and everything in between.
Our collective of artists are some of the industry's leaders and come from diverse backgrounds. Background that include acting, writing, directing, dance, storytelling, and theatre with young people, those with learning difficulties, physical disabilities, mental health problems, vulnerable adults and older people.
After 4 years of working with other people’s stories in closed settings we decided to tell our own too. In 2016 we produced a touring production for the public stage, Any Mother Would and then Laura Wade's Colder Than Here in 2019. And so began our company's journey of workshops and performances combined.
In 2021 we carried out our most ambitious artistic programme. We engaged 2000 individuals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2023 we joined Arts Council England's Investment Programme as an NPO.
This is just the start of our story.
Presented by Next Door But One