What have the Romans done for us?

The Ouseburn Festival,
Newcastle, east end
2025

*Producing

A tongue-in-cheek street theatre romp through time and neighbourhood, What Have the Romans Done for Us? brought together a community cast of storytelling locals in Byker, Battlefield and Shieldfield to resurrect the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall for one day only.

Produced for the Ouseburn Festival, the project activated a series of surprise sites across the areas immediately surrounding the Ouseburn valley, expanding the festival’s activity into those communities and with those communities.

The performance pieces featured myths, music and mischief – exploring what it means to live in the shadow, or glory, of a fallen empire in 2025. With site-specific surprises on the hour across three performances, the work invited audiences of all ages to see their own neighbourhood through a completely different lens.

Rooted in place and shaped by the people who live there, the project’s community-led, site-responsive approach found the extraordinary in the everyday and brought new audiences into unexpected cultural experiences.

Developed and delivered by associate producer Lindsay Nicholson.