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Casson & Friends
People Powered Performance
C+F Shed Stories (Credit Alisa Boanta) - 1 LS..jpeg

Shed Stories

NEW FOR 2025

NEW FOR 2025

 

theatre, documentary & dance combine to celebrate men’s sheds and the communities around them.

Shed Stories is a new performance from Casson & Friends, inspired by interviews with Shedders of all ages. The show combines compelling movement with human, humorous and heartwarming tales of making sawdust, friends, and cups of tea!

WHAT are 'MEN’S SHEDS’?

Men’s Sheds are community spaces where men can pursue practical skills including making and mending, but crucially offering a social space for men with similar interests to be together - rather than alone. These spaces not only offer somewhere to develop and share skills, but build vital social connections and friendships that can improve mental health and reduce the risk of loneliness & isolation.

ABOUT THE production

Shed Stories is a 60 minute full-length duet for 2 male performers, that has a self sufficient technical setup, allowing us to bring high quality performances to rural, community and unusual spaces - even to Men’s Sheds.

Using Casson & Friends’ unique approach of turning ‘conversation into choreography’, the performance has been created through a series of visits, workshops & residencies at Sheds, Arts and Community Spaces in Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Essex, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and North Yorkshire throughout late 2024/early 2025.

Interviewing & co-creating with shedders, shed organisers and other experts, we have created a performance that is authentic, celebratory and helps to raise awareness of the importance of these spaces - even generating new shed members! 

The show follows on from The Allotment Project and PREPPERS, and is the next in a series of co-created performances that shine a light on the importance of community in the face of an increasingly isolated society.

production photos from our performance at Lincoln arts centre

Performers: Deepraj Singh & Matthew Winston
Production Images taken at Lincoln Arts Centre (Image Credit: Alisa Boanta)

production photos from our performance in the ‘community makeshop’

Performers: Deepraj Singh & Matthew Winston
Production Images taken at Old Diorama Arts Centre’s ‘Community Makeshop’
(Image Credit: Alisa Boanta)

what audiences & reviews are saying

  • “Amazing! Powerful stories, brilliant movement… like a shed in a can!” - Audience Member

  • “A joy to watch! The storytelling, the humour, the thoughtful moments, the movement - all created an enjoyable evening - I absolutely loved it!” - Audience Member

  • “Funny, thought provoking, and emotional - real voices & experiences transformed into a beautiful peek inside the world of Men’s Sheds” - Audience Member

  • “an engaging and delicate study of masculinity and solidarity” - The Quinntessential Review

performance & workshop dates

autumn tour 2025

World premiere 2025

spring tour 2025


SHED STORIES
Professional Development Workshops
Autumn 2025

For the first time C&F will also be leading full-day professional development workshops giving an insight into the creative process of SHED STORIES and how the company make their unique brand of People Powered Performance.

Led by Artistic Director, Tim Casson, the workshops will explore a range of games and creative approaches including working with text, headphone verbatim technique, and turning conversation into choreography. 

The workshops are of interest to those who want to explore socially engaged performance work at the intersection of dance, theatre, and documentary, and are suitable for student and graduate dance artists, and performers with movement experience.

All workshops are Pay What You Can with places available through booking sites - click the links below:

  • Sat 11th October - STOKE-ON-TRENT - Fenton Town Hall (Open Level - Short Workshop)

  • Fri 24th October - LONDON - London Bubble (Professional Level)

  • Mon 10th November - IPSWICH - DanceEast (Professional Level)

NOTE: We want these workshops to be available to anyone who feels it would be valuable. If the cost would prevent you from joining, please reach out to me at tim@cassonandfriends.com and we’ll find a way to make it work.

our partners & collaborators

  • Choreographed by Tim Casson in collaboration with the performers

  • Created & Devised with Matthew Winston & Deepraj Singh

  • Original Music by Paul Rogerson

  • Set Element Design by Alan Casson

  • Production Fabrication by Harlow Hill Men’s Shed and Long Sutton Youth Shed

  • Production Support & Captioning by Samuel Parker

  • Company Producer Nick Sweeting

  • Commissioned by Lincoln Arts Centre & Applause Rural Touring

  • Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

  • Created with additional support from: UK Men’s Sheds Association, Metal Southend, Peterborough Presents, Metal Peterborough, The Key Theatre, Made With Many, Harrogate Theatre, Rural Arts, Black Country Touring, Old Diorama Arts Centre, Sadler’s Wells, Theatreship and Transported

  • Sheds we have visited include: 

    • The Shed @ Collingham

    • The Beacon Shed (Benfleet)

    • Thundersley Men’s Shed (Benfleet)

    • KHL Community Workshop (Corby)

    • Sunnyside Men’s Shed (London)

    • Long Sutton Men’s Shed

    • Long Sutton Youth Shed

    • Men’s Shed at Green Back Yard (Peterborough)

    • Yaxley & Farcett Men’s Shed

    • Ripon Men’s Shed

    • Harlow Hill Men’s Shed (Harrogate)

    • Garon Park Men’s Shed (Southend)

    • Diamond Creek Men’s Shed (Australia)

who are casson & friends

Casson & Friends have been running since 2012 and are well known for making small scale professional performances that tour to theatres and community spaces, with an emphasis on reaching people who wouldn’t usually see performance - especially not dance!

technical information

  • 60 min Full Length or short Extract performances available

  • Presented ‘in the round’ with an approx 3x5m performance area

  • Can be presented in theatres, village halls, community spaces and unusual spaces

  • Touring Team: 2 performers + 1 crew

  • Same day get-in (approx 3h)

  • Contact us for more detailed information or a full technical specification

get involved

Are you a shed, rural touring scheme, community or arts organisation interested in the project? Get in touch using the button below!

contact us about shed stories

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