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Projects

Cross the Sky Theatre Company

Cross the Sky is our very own theatre company for autistic and learning-disabled adults living in Barnsley and the wider South Yorkshire area and has been part of Barnsley Civic since 2015 but has been running for nearly 25 years.

Our fifteen performers are led by Artistic Director Becky Newbould and Musical Director Simon Grainger. The group devise their own original musical theatre productions, inspired by autistic culture and our performers’ lived experiences as disabled people.

Currently, the company are developing their latest production, The District, which will premiere at Barnsley Civic in April 2026. Set in a dystopian future, where a ruling authority has abolished all music. The excluded and marginalised community of The District come together, in secret, to rediscover music and to make a change for good.

The District is ‘love letter’ to music, inspired Autistic culture and highlights the importance of music making in the creative lives of learning disabled and Autistic people.

To find out more about Cross The Sky, watch our multi-award-winning short documentary, produced with Studio Bokehgo in 2023, or email enquiries@barnsleycivic.co.uk

Civic Pride Singers

Civic Pride Singers is a welcoming singing and social group for Barnsley residents who identify as LGBTQIA+. Created out of Barnsley Civic’s LGBTQIA+ focus group in 2021, the group offers a safe, supportive space for people to connect, share their love of music, and be their authentic selves.

Led by a professional musician and supported by volunteers, Civic Pride Singers is disability and neurodivergent friendly, recognising the intersection between trans, non-binary, and neurodivergent communities. Whether you’re looking to feel more comfortable with your voice or just want to meet like-minded people, this group offers a judgement-free environment where everyone is accepted.

In 2024 and 2025, the group was proud to perform as the opening act on the main stage at Barnsley Pride. They were also invited by the Maurice Dobson Museum in Darfield to perform for their visitors twice in 2024.

As one member shared: “I joined the group looking to get involved in something local and social where I would feel included and accepted as a queer neurodivergent person, and now it is the thing I look forward to the most in my life.”

If you’re aged 18+ and identify as LGBTQIA+, we’d love for you to join us and make new friends through music.

Civic Pride Singers is supported by Better Barnsley Bond and Creative Minds.

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Barnsley Young Writers

Barnsley Young Writers has become the key local resource for young people passionate about creative writing. Meeting every two weeks, the group offers workshops for 14- to 19-year-olds; and also provides a safe and supportive environment for neurodivergent young people and those identifying as LGBTQIA+.
Participants explore poetry, short stories, playwriting, and journalism. They have the opportunity to grow as writers and be published, perform, enter national competitions, and receive one-to-one mentoring.

Members have performed at venues including The Leadmill and Sheffield Hallam’s Performance Lab and of course Barnsley Civic. They’ve participated in events like Barnsley Book Festival and Off The Shelf Festival. The group has released three anthologies of poetry and short stories.
The project is delivered in partnership with Hive South Yorkshire, which counts multiple poet laureates, and winners of BBC Young Writer of the Year and Foyle Young Poet of the Year among its alumni. The sessions are delivered by award-winning writers Vicky Morris and Nik Perring. This level of profile ensures that the young participants are inspired to dream and think
boldly about a future in creative writing

Interested in trying it out? Whether you’re curious or already love writing, we’d love for you to join us. Just email jasonwhite@barnsleycivic.co.uk to get started.

Barnsley Young Writers is currently supported by Barnsley Council’s Great Childhood Ambition.

Past projects

The Young Civilians

A young persons’ collective based at Barnsley Civic. They’re creative, disruptive, and have something to say about the way things are. They’re changing the programme – ripping it up and starting again!

  • Are you aged between 14 and 24?
  • Do you live in Barnsley?
  • Are you thinking about studying or pursuing a career in the arts?

Join the Young Civilians and help shape the future of Barnsley Civic, and arts and culture in Barnsley by creating your own arts festival for young people.

What will you do?

  • Take part in training and artist led masterclasses
  • Gain experience in event planning, programming theatre, curating exhibitions
  • planning arts workshops, social media and finance management
  • Have the chance to volunteer at two of Barnsley’s biggest cultural events
  • Take part in and eventually organise your own arts festival aimed at Barnsley’s young people.

The project will start in March 2025 and will finish in August 2025.

Who is this for?

If you are thinking about studying or pursuing a career in the arts, then this opportunity is for you. To take part, all we ask, is that you aged between 14 and 24, live in Barnsley and can commit to two sessions per month, with most sessions taking place on Friday evenings. Your travel expenses will be paid, and refreshments and snacks provide.

We are only recruiting 16 young people, and we want this group to represent as many Barnsley communities as possible. We invite applications from all ethnic groups and backgrounds and endeavour to make sessions accessible to disabled and neurodivergent folk.

This is an amazing opportunity that will make your CV glow!

If you would like to apply for a place on this project, please complete the application.

Life in a Northern Town (Young Playwrights Programme)

If you’re a young person aged 14-19 and passionate about storytelling, Life in a Northern Town could be for you. At Barnsley Civic, we believe the future of theatre starts with new voices, and this programme is designed to help you bring your ideas to life.

In partnership with Northern Broadsides, Blackpool Grand, and Customs House South Shields, we offer free online creative writing workshops and masterclasses led by professional playwrights and dramaturgs. You’ll develop your own short plays, learn valuable skills, and be part of a group of emerging young playwrights from across the North.

This project ran from January 2024 – February 2025.

EATING ART, 2023

Eating Art was a Barnsley Civic project supported by Creative Lives’ Know Your Neighbourhood grants, bringing together five different community groups to explore the theme of communal food sharing and the design of food-sharing objects. Led by surface pattern designer Ellie Mae Fisher and ceramicist Moz Khokhar, participants from Feels Like Home, TransBarnsley, Creative Recovery, Chilypep, and Barnsley College’s Fine Art Practice students took part in creative workshops.

At the end of the project, the participants’ designs were exhibited in the Gallery at Barnsley Civic, and everyone came together for a celebration meal to mark the project’s success. Watch the video documenting the event here.

TEENAGE WILDLIFE: 70 Years of Youth Culture on Eldon Street (2021-2023)

Teenage Wildlife was a community engagement project exploring 70 years of youth culture and teenage experiences in Barnsley, centred around the Eldon Street Heritage Action Zone. Funded by Historic England and supported by Barnsley Council, this project celebrated the stories, memories, and shared experiences of Barnsley’s teens across the decades.

Over 18 months, Barnsley Civic worked with volunteers to capture the stories and images of Barnsley’s teenage past—whether you were a Teddy Boy in the 1950s, a New Romantic in the 1980s, or an Emo in the 2000s. This project highlighted both the similarities and the unique differences between generations, and we invited people to share their stories of growing up in Barnsley.

Using Eldon Street as the conversation starter, the project delved into themes like music, fashion, youth employment, education, cinema, theatre, pubs, and youth clubs. Behind the scenes, we collaborated with local community groups, which led to a range of creative outputs—including exhibitions, poetry, magazines, a digital archive, and a piece of community theatre.

In 2022, Barnsley Civic’s Creative Engagement team decided to extend the Teenage Wildlife community theatre project, using it as a tool to engage schools and communities across Barnsley.

THE WAY AHEAD & THE BARNSLEY 15 (2021)

In 2004, disabled artist Caroline Cardus created The Way Ahead, a powerful fine art protest piece using UK road signs to represent ideas around disability access and the changes disabled people wanted to see. Widely toured and in regular demand, The Way Ahead remains a significant work of disability art and protest.

Historically, activism by disabled people through direct action has been essential in improving access, rights, and awareness. In spring 2021, inspired by her original exhibition, Caroline Cardus collaborated with four local disabled groups to amplify the voices of disabled people in Barnsley. This collaboration led to the creation of a new public artwork called The Barnsley 15.

The groups involved were ArtWorks South Yorkshire, Barnsley SEND Youth Forum, My Barnsley Too, and Wednesday’s Voice (part of Cloverleaf Advocacy). Due to the pandemic, the project was delayed from 2020 and had to adapt to remote participation. Caroline developed a poster worksheet that could be mailed to participants, along with a simple video to guide them through the process.

Despite the challenges, 75 individuals took part in the workshops, with 35 road sign ideas submitted. Caroline worked with these designs to create the final selection, which became The Barnsley 15.

The Barnsley 15 was installed in Mandela Gardens (S70 2HZ) in June 2021 and officially launched in September 2021.

In 2024, as part of Barnsley Civic’s ongoing collaboration with Netherwood Academy in Wombwell, we installed 10 signs from The Way Ahead collection in the school’s art department. Students were also invited to design a new road sign, and the chosen design—reflecting the experience of a young autistic woman ‘masking’ amongst neurotypicals—was added to the collection.

We'd love to keep in touch!

Contact
Barnsley Civic, Eldon Street, Barnsley, S70 2JL
01226 327000
enquiries@barnsleycivic.co.uk

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