Shropshire Star

Shropshire theatre company diversifies its portfolio

A Shropshire theatre company is awaiting the launch of a new children's book as the company adapted to the pressures of the pandemic.

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Saskia Fuchs and Gem Bridges-Madeley with their new publication

Gem Bridges-Madeley and Saskia Fuchs of Reach Out Arts, based in Bridgnorth, had the idea for the book in their heads, but hadn't the time to commit to writing the words and doing the artwork for it until Covid-19 forced everyone into lockdown.

Gem explained: "As a theatre and events company, when lockdown hit last year, our entire industry closed down. So as directors of our company we decided to use our time wisely and we created a series of children's books about a young girl who has a wonderful imagination that allows her to jump into and visit any world she paints at her Magic Easel."

The first book, The Magic Easel - To The Beach, will be available to purchase on Thursday this week through Amazon. It is inspired by holidays in the UK.

The next book that Gem and Saskia are currently working on is about a train visit, based heavily on the much-loved Severn Valley Railway.

Gem added: "We are so proud to still be standing as a company after the pandemic, particularly with the restrictions we have had to deal with, from a lack of financial support available to cancellations of performances and closure of our theatre schools.

"We have remained strong and are now seeing our company build back up, visiting schools and providing local businesses with creative support for their events - we are very excited to have more projects in the pipeline."

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