Eclipse Theatre's 10by10

A series of 10 short films that explode the myth of a homogenised Black British culture

10by10 is a brand new project developed and produced by eclipse theatre company ltd – the only black-led national touring company delivering an annual middle-scale tour to regional theatres.

In April 2012 eclipse theatre invited 10 writers from across their UK touring network to attend a writing workshop at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. The intensive two day workshop was led by Artistic Director Dawn Walton and Writers Tutor Ola Animashawun (Royal Court Theatre).

These British writers backgrounds are a mixture of theatre, television and spoken word but what they all shared was that socio-politically they all identified as Black.

All attendees were asked to read A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes. This influential novel is a journey across the variety of black communities in late ‘40s Harlem. The numerous characters are as authentic as they are distinct from each other. The challenge for our writers was for each to write a contemporary drama in response to the novel. The pieces also had to be set in their own city and approximately 5 minutes long.

Each 10by10 script was shot in a single day, and each film is set in a different city: Middlesbrough, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, North and South London and Sheffield.

All the films were directed by eclipse theatres’ Artistic Director – Dawn Walton, produced by Victoria Wood with original music by contemporary artists Chris Inperspective and Steve Survival.

Each film is a treat but watch all 10 films for a unique journey across the UK from a Black British perspective.