Mortal Fools Audio Theatre Experience LAUNCHES!

​When The World Is Loud - our audio theatre experience to help drown out the noise of the modern world - is available to download NOW. This innovative listening experience will take listeners on a journey of discovery, escape and hope for the future.

When The World Is Loud features takes listeners on a reflective journey featuring the real-life voices of young people and communities from across the North East. Starting somewhere familiar - outside or at home - simple instructions take the listener around spots in their chosen location. Listeners will pause to hear original scenes and stories and, as they move from place to place, they'll be accompanied by original music and soundscape.

We are known for creating bold, contemporary theatre, co-created with young people and professional artists, but creating this entirely audio piece of theatre was new (and exciting) territory for us. When The World Is Loud was co-created with 30 young people and 10 professional artists across the North, working on everything from the idea conception and devising to recording and launching the final piece. We engaged the expertise of professional composer and sound designer Mark Melville, and assistant sound designer Matthew Tuckey, to develop a high-quality audio experience that is a feast for the senses AND was an interesting learning experience for the young people and artists working on it. 

---

“I’ve really enjoyed being able to work with new people in new ways and learn more about an area of theatre I’m not familiar with (audio). The new medium has meant we’ve had to try out new things and experiment a lot more than usual in this project, which I’ve found very exciting (though sometimes scary!).” – Maisie Saunders, Mortal Fools’ Ensemble Young Company and When The World Is Loud Narrator

Anybody, any age, anywhere can listen to When The World Is Loud - all you need is a smartphone and headphones. Our audio theatre experience works in rural, urban and stay-at-home settings. It is free to listen to, however as we are a registered charity, we welcome donations to further support our work with children and young people.

You can access and listen to WhenThe World Is Loud directly from our website  and it is also available to stream on Spotify and Podbean from 24th August, and Apple Podcasts a few days later – just search for “When The World Is Loud”. On Mortal Fools website how-to-guides are also available for those curious about what to expect from this audio theatre experience, or who need a bit more help with the tech side of things. 

Since lockdown began, we have set about busily reimagining our projects and developing new ways of working with children and young people. This has led to several new projects, including two video-based ones – Coronavirus Time Capsule with Company Three (for teenagers) and What the World Needs Now (for younger children). The themes from these projects directly influenced our ambition to create a theatre experience that could support positive well-being in a socially distanced world, alongside enabling the sense of achievement and excitement that comes with creating and performing a live play; something Mortal Fools’ Youth Theatre really longed for but is currently impossible during the pandemic!

The inspiration for When The World Is Loud came from the challenging and changing landscape of 2020. We wanted to create a high quality audio theatre experience that gives space for individuals to reflect on their thoughts, feelings and experiences of the world right now whilst celebrating community and reminding folks the things we have to be thankful for. Lasting approx. 75 minutes, listeners are encouraged to take time out of their busy and noisy lives to temporarily escape on a journey with us. 

​“We wanted to create something that would support people’s wellbeing, help people feel connected and it was important to make something worthwhile, that helped people during this time.

​We really hope everyone who listens feels a bit better about the world afterwards. When the World is Loud will provide moments that make you feel happy, make you think and help you reflect on your feelings, combined with some great stories, inspiring community voices and brilliant original music and soundscape.” – Helen Ferguson – When The World Is Loud project lead & Mortal Fools’ Creative Producer

We are really excited for listeners to get fully immersed in this journey with them. Listeners will have the best experience of When The World Is Loud if they put aside at least an hour for the experience, remove any distractions and allow space to get fully lost in it.

When The World Is Loud is available now (from 24th August)! For more information and to access it visit the WHEN THE WORLD IS LOUD page on our website.

We would love listeners to share their listening experience and photos listening along in your chosen location! You can share your thoughts, comments, feedback and pictures via our social channels @MortalFoolsUK and using the hashtag #WTWIL