WE ARE THE UNBOUND STORYTELLERS

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Unbound is the award-winning company at the heart of storytelling in Buckinghamshire and beyond. Working across theatre, audio, film, and publishing from their home at Queens Park Arts Centre in Aylesbury, the company’s work reaches thousands of people every year.

The company was formed in 2014 with the mission statement to ‘tell great stories’. It is run by creative producer Dario Knight – a professional writer, director, producer and designer – alongside an ever-expanding community of theatre makers, known as the Unbound Storytellers.

Over the last 11 years, Unbound has become the powerhouse and cornerstone of storytelling in Bucks, having successfully delivered more than 200 unique projects including unique commissions to support local venues, events, and programmes of work.

The company’s activities span funded projects supporting industry professionals (ensuring Bucks-based creatives can finally find work in their home country), and volunteer-led community productions platforming homegrown talent on and off stage.

Read on for details on the projects and programmes Unbound delivers as part of its work.

The beating heart of Unbound is new writing, with original plays and stories debuting every year. Head over to our filmed performances page to see some of the acclaimed one-act plays that the company have debuted. Original writing is also found in the Unbound Sketchbook troupe’s sketch shows, and the Rothschild Foundation-funded New Voices Writing Commission. 

Other theatrical work includes the award-winning Buckinghamshire Shakespeare Festival, which runs every summer and visits venues across the country, including several free-to-view performances. Unbound also works on rehearsed readings, improvised theatre, contemporary and classic plays, and the Queens Park pantomime.  Click here for a comprehensive guide to Unbound's past theatre projects. 

Outreach work is another pillar of Unbound’s programme. The Unbound Storytellers regularly produce bespoke shows for live events in Bucks and beyond, including fun family shows, educational theatre, and interactive / immersive performances. Local authorities regularly commissioning work include by Aylesbury Town Council, Dunstable Town Council, Harrow Council & Buckinghamshire Council.

Unbound is a company-for-hire, available to create work for any live event / project / programme. Many scripts the company has produced are also licensable for other theatre companies to perform. Click here to find out more about commissioning / licensing an Unbound show.

Unbound isn't just a theatre company - read on for more storytelling, audio, and film...

The company has also presented many audio and film projects, with its free-to-access digital content attracting more than 200,000 views and streams online. Audio series include the award-winning Chronicles of Professor Chronomier and the acclaimed sitcom Inspector Murder Inspects…, as well as Sounds and Sweet Airs – an ambitious project to bring the Complete Works of Shakespeare to audio.

Film work includes recordings of live theatre shows, illustrated audiobooks, web series, short films, bespoke promo clips, and lockdown feature film As You Skype It, which was nominated for a Charity Film Award. Unbound regularly work with local company Fernando Productions to record multiple live shows every year that can then be viewed online for free.

Short stories and poems have their role to play in Unbound’s work, too. The Bard of Aylesbury – a special role created by Unbound in collaboration with Aylesbury Town Council – is the figurehead of the company’s mission to put creativity and storytelling at the heart of where we live, an endeavour also embodied by the Aylesbury Anthology project. 

More than a decade on from when it began, Unbound’s work has never been more vital in nurturing local talent, creating opportunities for aspiring storytellers, and sharing homegrown tales increasingly further afield. 

Across our website you’ll find plenty more info about who we are and what we do. For a personal account of the company’s first ten years, you can check out our creative producer Dario Knight’s ‘Unbound Tales’ blog. 

We hope you enjoy everything that Unbound has to offer!