About
Riding Lights
Riding Lights Theatre Company makes theatre that makes a difference.
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As a charity we have toured to communities across the UK, performing in churches, schools, prisons, theatres, and on the streets for nearly 50 years.
The company, shaped by a Christian ethos, our work is inclusive, accessible and welcoming to all.
A BROAD RANGE OF WORK
Riding Lights has created a wide range of work. Our productions include new writing such as His Last Report (with York Theatre Royal), African Snow (UK tour and West End), classic plays such as The Alchemist (Coventry Belgrade) All’s Well That Ends Well (Friargate Theatre) and The Fire Raisers (The Bridewell).
Alongside this, we make shows that engage directly with social issues, including Cups on a String (a UK tour exploring how mentoring young people can be a catalyst for early intervention),
My Place (examining the impact of fostering and adoption) as well as entertaining childrens’ theatre such as Christmas Inn Trouble and The Selfish Giant which toured to younger audiences all over the country in all kinds of spaces.
We seek to joyfully inspire audiences of every kind to engage with ideas surrounding creativity, faith and social justice.
HELPING OTHERS MAKE THEATRE
Through Riding Lights MAKE we run theatre-making courses, summer schools and creative retreats to support emerging and community artists, as well as resourcing schools and churches with podcasts, films and scripts helping others to make their own theatre which makes a difference.
Our Team
Our Team
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DIRECTORS
Andrew Bradley
Oliver Brown
Sean Cavanagh
Antony Dunn
John Emmett (chairman)
Martin Hands
Joseph Harmston
David Lampitt
Sally Maddison
Yvonne Morley-Chisholm
Israel Oyelumade
ARTISTIC ASSOCIATES
Sean Cavanagh
Nigel Forde
Bridget Foreman
Murray Watts
ACTING UP!
Kelvin Goodspeed
Rose Batey
Erin Burbridge
Rachel Khosravi
FRIARGATE THEATRE
Riding Lights moved into its first permanent home, Friargate Theatre in the heart of York, in 1999. It opened to the public in May 2000 with the company’s production of Ben Jonson’s classic satire, The Alchemist.
The building features an almost 100-seat studio theatre on the first floor, a ground-floor rehearsal room which doubles as a 50-seat cafe-style performance space, administration and workshop space, as well as a cafe-bar.
As well as being Riding Lights’ base for creating touring theatre, Friargate’s versatility means it functions as a film studio and small scale cinema space with state-of-the-art projection and sound system. Friargate is available to hire for your event – for more information contact Chloe Oldroyd at hires@rltc.org.