The Herd Comissioned by the South Bank Centre (London)

REPLAY: A LIMITLESS RECYCLED PLAYGROUND 

Part installation, part adventure playground, REPLAY is a space built entirely out of waste materials, repurposed for fun by The Herd Theatre. 

Royal Festival Hall, the Southbank Centre, London, 8 Jul – 3 Sep 2023, 10.30am - 4.15pm Created by Theatre Director Ruby Thompson, Designer Rūta Irbīte and Writer and Composer Sam Caseley. 

@theherduk @southbankcentre| #REPLAY | www.theherdtheatre.co.uk/replay www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Hull Theatre Company to open a pioneering recycled Play Space at London’s Southbank Centre this summer 

Hull based theatre company The Herd have been commissioned by the Southbank Centre to create REPLAY, an exciting new play installation for children aged 0-11 and their families, made entirely out of recycled and reused materials.
In the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames, the critically acclaimed Hull based company will open their biggest project to date. Artist Sam Caseley says “We’re thrilled to bring our work to this stage that’s hosted some of the biggest artists, musicians and writers working internationally. This summer we’re alongside artists and activists like Greta Thumberg and Mikalea Loach.”
Part adventure playground, part installation, REPLAY encourages children and grown-ups to play side-by-side – building, making, imagining, dressing up, creating, designing, inventing and much more.
With a design that ignites imaginations, a score composed from recycled sounds and a unique crowdsourced play generator providing ideas for play, REPLAY is a celebration of play and highlights the importance of dedicated playful spaces for children and their grown ups.
Artist Ruby Thompson says "this is a new venture for The Herd, we’re putting children and their families' imagination at the centre of the experience. Anything can happen. I’ve loved working with children at Endike Primary in Hull and families in London to develop the work, and cannot wait to see the public play with it.”
Commissioned by the Southbank Centre as part of their Planet Summer season, every part of the installation will be built from materials that would otherwise go in the bin or sit in storage for years. Materials have been saved from theatres, events, exhibitions and factories.
Artist Rūta Irbīte says ‘The process of creating the space has been about seeing what waste there is out there, then incorporating it into the design. It’s a completely new way of creating a design - of adaptation rather than making new.’
REPLAY hopes to inspire adults in reassessing what our idea of waste is, as well as what can be defined as a ‘toy’.

The project is a collaboration between Theatre Director Ruby Thompson (SLIME, Southbank Centre), Theatre Designer Rūta Irbīte (We Could All be Perfect, Sheffield Theatres) and Writer and Composer Sam Caseley (Ducklings, Royal Exchange).
The Herd Theatre brings children, young people and families together in playful spaces to share exceptional experiences. They play alongside children to create shows, installations and experiences that celebrate, interrogate and nurture the joy of childhood. www.theherdtheatre.co.uk
The Southbank Centre are the largest arts centre in the UK and one of the nation's top visitor attractions, located in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. We seek out the world’s most exciting artists, from household names to fresh new talent, and give them space to showcase their best work. Through music, performance, art and events, we take you out of the everyday, every day.
The Southbank Centre is made up of Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Hayward Gallery, National Poetry Library and Arts Council Collection.
www.southbankcentre.co.uk