Katie Mahon

It was her own experience of facing barriers to higher education as the first in her family to go to university that inspired Katie in her work, with the aim of tackling the stigma of being working class within the arts community.

All the team’s professional theatre making is influenced by work in the community, with weekly sessions including ‘Singing for Health’ which is open to all, as well as a messy play group and Drama Club. The group’s Rockwell Community Centre runs as an arts and community hub, putting on events and plays as well as poetry nights and previews. Known locally for their intergenerational work, the team regularly creates short performances which see children from the drama club and elderly members of the singing group performing side by side.

The company’s latest production, Where is Love, tells the coming-of-age story of a Bradford woman and her brave fight against the cycles of domestic abuse. It was premiered at Bradford Literature Festival in June and is due to be staged at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer, along with two other productions from the company. Last year, the team took a programme of working class shows to the world-famous festival.

As well as its work in the arts, Bloomin’ Buds Theatre Company hosts a ‘Bloomin’ Big Community Lunch’ every month, offering people in the area a chance to get together and share ideas about what they’d like to see happen locally.

With artistic director Katie leading the way, the team runs a mums and baby group, as well as a male mental health project, which it works on in collaboration with charity Mantality. Bloomin’ Buds also ran a two-week research and development period, supported by funding from Arts Council England, which led to a 20-minute sharing which was presented to an audience at Kala Sangam arts centre.

The team also runs a project offering affordable costume hire which allows other community organisations to hire a package of costumes and props to help them put on performances more easily. Covering themes from ‘50s’ and ‘Christmas Gear’ to ‘Legally Blonde’ and ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, the aim is to open doors for even more grassroots groups and the young people they work with to access the arts and experience its many benefits.

The organisation employs 12 people from working class backgrounds, three full-time, and has a team of around 10 volunteers, five of whom help on an ad hoc basis. Around 200 people from the community attend arts and culture events with Bloomin’ Buds Theatre Company on a weekly basis. The team offers volunteering, intern and academic placements for young people from working class backgrounds within a professional theatre environment.

“I just can’t believe it. It feels incredible to be recognised for all of the amazing work that the Bloomin’ Buds team does within the community. Our mission is to make the arts more accessible for working class people, and we just couldn’t do it without the support we receive from The National Lottery."

"Winning this award will help us to create even more opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and to break down barriers so that the arts can be enjoyed by all.”