Folkestone Theatre Company Putting Local Voices Centre Stage
The Folkestone Performing Arts Company [FPAC] is carving out a distinctive role in Folkestone’s theatre scene by placing community, collaboration and local stories at the heart of everything it does.
FPAC has built a reputation for creating work that is both rooted in the lived experiences of local people and ambitious in its scope. From free theatre workshops to policy-focused performances, the company redefines what theatre can do — and who it is for.
At the core of FPAC’s work are five key programmes, each designed to widen access to the arts while nurturing creativity across the region. Its Community Acting Sessions and Writing for Performance Groups are open to all, offering free, welcoming spaces where participants, with or without prior experience, can explore performance and storytelling for the stage.
More unusually, the company has also ventured into the realm of civic engagement through its Art Informed Policy Development Programme. This initiative uses theatre as a tool to explore social challenges and influence decision-making. In a recent project, FPAC collaborated with their local MP, councillors and students to create “Legislative Theatre”, examining how to address the issue of young people finding suitable work-placement opportunities and how employees can engage better with students. The work aimed to spark dialogue and propose tangible solutions through performance.
FPAC’s commitment to social impact extends further through its Theatre for Development Workshops, which have supported both local and global humanitarian efforts. Recent projects have included work with asylum seekers and refugees from Napier Barracks and working in Geneva with the United Nations, using theatre as a means of expression, connection and empowerment.
Alongside its community-driven initiatives, the company maintains a Professional Ensemble responsible for developing touring productions that celebrate Kent’s unique identity. Their recent work includes The Winter Wish, a children’s show for the winter holidays, and The Leech of Folkestone, currently in development with support from Arts Council England. Upcoming productions include, Everyone Through The Same Door, the Sarah Baker Story, a new one woman play based on 18th century actress and theatre manager, Sarah Baker, who ran six theatres throughout Kent including one in The Bayle, Folkestone.
For more information about how to get involved in any of the programmes or shows, please visit www.fpac.info. We are always looking for new participants and partners, so please do get in touch if you want more information: folkestonepac@gmail.com.
Underpinning all of FPAC’s work is a distinctive creative philosophy known as the Viewpoints for training performers, building an ensemble and creating for the stage. Viewpoints, developed by theatre director Anne Bogart in New York City, offer an alternative to conventional approaches to acting, directing, playwriting and design. They represent a clear-cut procedure and attitude that is non-hierarchical, practical and collaborative in nature. As a company, FPAC has embraced the Viewpoints as a central
tenet in its creative collaboration. Matthew Hahn, Artistic Director of FPAC, trained with Ms. Bogart at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and Central School of Speech & Drama in Lndon and with her company, SITI, in New York City. He has also led numerous Viewpoints workshops at RADA, Central School of Speech & Drama, & Goldsmiths College, amongst other drama schools and universities. As an international theatre director, he has co-created productions utilizing the technique to build ensembles and to devise new work.
FPAC is a pioneering proponent of this philosophy and the only theatre company in Kent to use it in training and new work development; this use of Viewpoints gives the FPAC a distinctive voice in theatre-making.
As arts organisations across the country continue to grapple with questions of access, relevance and sustainability, FPAC, a proud member of the Theatre Greenbook, offers a compelling model: one where theatre is not only performed for communities, but created with and by them.
Header image: FPAC Legislative Theatre Performance October 2025 – Mark Hourahane
The Folkestone Performing Arts Company folkestonepac@gmail.com www.FPAC.info
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