Ricky Dukes
Director, Practitioner, Teacher & Artistic Director
Ricky is an award winning (fringe report best artistic director), neurodiverse, working class theatre director from Sedgley, near Dudley in the West Midlands.
Ricky's passion is making classical (from ancient Greek to Restoration), epic (politically charged international outlook) & ensemble (inspired by Joan Littlewood, Peter Brook & Bertolt Brecht) work accessible to hard reach communities and those who experience barriers to such work, especially those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
His work challenges traditional assumptions & stereotypes surrounding classical text & plays, working collaboratively as part of an ensemble, learning from and with other creatives & performers.
He is the founding & current artistic director of Lazarus Theatre Company.
DYCP Headlines
Learn how to write a theatre 'how to guide' book
-Mentored by Stephen Unwin (award winning Director, Artistic Director (ETT, Rose Theatre), Playwright (All our Children, Laughing Boy), Adapter (A Dolls House, Ghosts, La Ronde), and Writer (A Pocket Guide to Shakespeare’s Plays, A Pocket Guide to Twentieth Century Drama A Pocket Guide to Ibsen, Chekhov and Strindberg (Faber and Faber) So You Want to be a Theatre Director? The Complete Brecht Toolkit published by Nick Hern Books)
Key Activity:
-Research publishing with Nick Hern Books & Bloomsbury
-Research literary Agents with Alan Brodie Representatives
-Reflection on my current directing practice to begin formulate content for book
-Formatting sessions to collate & organise what information should go where in the book
-Access Literary Consultation (Bloomsbury) to ensure book is accessible format i.e easy read, font and size
-Writing sessions with mentor check ins
-Feedback from Nick Hern Books
-Redrafting and final draft or treatment with two example chapters
Aim: To know how to write a theatre book.
A game changing step-change in my own cultural practice; from director to writer
Glossary
- Access Literary Consultation
To learn from Bloomsbury Access Consultant on things to be aware of and consider when writing. Includes book length, amount of pages, additional entry points such a audio book / voice files, font & size, paper thickness and quality, amount of information and how it's set out on the page. I want this new book to be as accessible as possible so access consultation from the outset is paramount.
-Mentor check in sessions
A chance to check in with Stephen, share with him drafts and get his unique expert advice at every step of the way.
-Draft treatment
Treatment is an outline of what the book might look and feel like, sample chapters will demonstrate the form, type of writing and contents - it gives publishers a better idea of final book and to check i'm on the right path.
Data bank
Demonstrating future demand of book:
-Since 2010 GCSE Arts subjects declined by 47% & A Level declined by 29%
(Campaign for the Arts)
-LTC teacher network survey found teenagers have a “low engagement” &
“negative relationship” with Shakespeare & suggest: "If YP experienced Shakespeare at Primary school this would improve"
(LTC annual teacher survey)
Making Shakespeare Accessible
Since 2020 Ricky has made it his mission to explore and interrogate different storytelling methods to engage community's, particularly Young People with Shakespeare.
If we can crack the barriers between our National Playwright and underserved / underrepresented communities, we can open up the whole of the early modern literature cannon and engage all with our rich, diverse and exciting cultural heritage.
Since 2020 Ricky has explored the XR Tech, Digital Tech, use of Puppetry & Dance / Movement potential of removing barriers, his findings feeding into his own creative practice, Lazarus Theatre Company productions on stage and his collaborators and wider networks creative field.
Past ACE Funded Projects
Puppetry Exploration
Exploring the artistic and accessibility potential of using visual storytelling methods i.e. puppetry to engage younger audiences (aged 6+) with their very first experience of Shakespeare.
Puppetry will be used to physicalise the characters of the Fairies: Peaseblossom, Moth, Cobweb, and Mustardseed from practical text: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Findings from this project will be directly transferred into future full scale production in summer 2025.
Dance / Movement R&D
Exploring different styles of dance, movement and physical theatre to breakdown barriers by creating a physical & visual language.
Diverse styles such as hip-hop, ballet, contemporary & jazz.
Using practical text from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.
Digital Tech R&D
An exploration into how digital tech, particularly live camera, monitors & projection can enhance audience / performer relationship.
Using practical text from Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.