The Collaborative Touring Network (CTN) believes in the power and possibility of live performance

What is the Collaborative Touring Network?

Established in 2013, CTN came together as a collective of 8 organisations based in Wigan, Gloucester, Hull, Torbay, Thanet, Peterborough, Medway and Wandsworth. This initiative worked to bring artists and communities together to make and tour life-affirming, soul-shaking, perspective-changing shows.

In 2022, CTN worked with John Pfumojena to tour and adapt his acclaimed show Meet My Ancestors. Find out more about this project on our Bunker of Zion page.

Since forming in 2013, the Collaborative Touring Network has toured the work of more than 40 exceptional artists and companies to over 100,000 people nationally.

We think touring live performance is most impactful when it is invited into places where community is already happening. CTN put this philosophy into action by creating local partnerships and putting on shows in unlikely spaces: from car parks, to nightclubs, rooftops to community centres.

We believe in supporting artists in the making and touring of their work. Collaborating with our communities and, as a network, we want to work with artists to create and tour shows that resonate with people and which move them; to laughter, to tears, to dance, to action.

What else has CTN done in Peterborough?

CTN previously worked to bring Platform8 to Peterborough. Over three years, each producing team delivered six festivals of high-quality touring work alongside homegrown talent, workshops, feasts, music and discussion. The CTN festivals challenge traditional touring models that often exclude areas without an existing infrastructure for theatre and performance. Peterborough’s festival was Platform8! To find out more about this project, visit our Platform8 page.

CTN is supported using public funding by Arts Council England

How CTN Works:

One: We work with communities and artists to create new ways of being together.

Two: We believe in the power and possibility of live performance.

Three: We challenge dysfunctional working models. We experiment with different ways of making, sharing and touring live performance that can contribute to a fairer, more inclusive society; where access to cultural experiences and opportunities for creative expression are not limited by circumstance, class or identity.

Four: We question, we listen, we try new things, we learn from our mistakes and we try again.

Five: We believe every town deserves to experience life-affirming, soul-shaking, perspective-changing live performance. We are committed to creating the conditions for this work to exist and grow in our locations.

Six: We work as a network. We give what we can and take the support we need, acknowledging the different scales, capacities, and resources accessible to each of us.

Seven: We value people, their experiences, and their stories. We listen to and create platforms for stories that often go unheard.

Eight: We think touring live work is most impactful when it is invited into places where community is already happening. We do not expect people to come to us. We are interested in meeting them where they are.

Nine: We are in this for the long-run.