Artistic Director Jake Smith talks Eastern Angles’ upcoming summer season: “Touring keeps the work honest”

With over 40 years of experience pioneering tours across East Anglia, the company is set to launch its latest edition, featuring a mix of new and adapted works rooted in the local community. Guillermo Nazara chats with the man setting its path to learn more about this year’s offer and how it will resonate with universal audiences.

How does it feel to open this new season following almost half a century of company legacy?

It feels a bit like standing on a wide, familiar shoreline, you can sense all the footsteps that have come before you, but there’s still so much horizon ahead. There’s a real pride in carrying nearly fifty years of history, rooted here in the East of England, alongside an energising sense of possibility. We’re not just looking back, we’re shaping what comes next. This season feels like a continuation of that story, honouring our past while stepping forward with renewed ambition, care, and a deep commitment to making work that feels relevant to the communities we serve.

What makes this season stand out in comparison to its predecessors?

This season feels especially alive with connection. At its heart are two brilliant new pieces by James McDermott and Ben Musgrave, brought to life by a wonderful ensemble of actors. There’s a real sense of these productions speaking to one another as they travel across the East of England, from coastal towns to inland communities. The partnerships we’re building feel stronger than ever, across other organisations in the East of England such as The Seagull and the Food Museum, and there’s a shared energy in how the work is being made and received. Visually and emotionally, too, there’s a richness this year, a careful attention to design and detail that makes each piece feel both intimate and expansive.

This year’s programming is focused on memory, loss, and the lasting impact of formative moments. What are the reasons behind these thematic choices?

These themes feel close to the surface for so many people right now. Across the East of England, as everywhere, there’s been a quiet reckoning with change, with what’s slipped away, and with what still anchors us. Memory and formative moments shape who we are, and theatre offers a gentle, shared space to explore that. Both pieces have grown out of research and development with local community groups, where reminiscence became a powerful, collective act. There’s something deeply human in that process, stories being remembered, reshaped, and given new life.

How will those themes be explored across this year’s programming?

They unfold in different ways across the season, sometimes through small, personal moments, sometimes through wider, more sweeping stories, but always grounded in lived experience. Rural touring brings a particular closeness, audiences and performers sharing the same air, the same room, often just a few feet apart. That intimacy allows these themes to land softly but deeply. At the same time, the work is crafted with enough texture and scale to carry into larger regional venues without losing that sense of connection.

How will the pieces connect with the local community?

Connection is really the heartbeat of what we do. By bringing work directly into village halls, community centres, and local venues, we’re meeting people where they are, quite literally on their doorstep. The stories reflect recognisable lives and landscapes, and the spaces themselves invite a sense of shared ownership. Alongside the performances, workshops and engagement activities open up room for conversation, reflection, and creativity, so the experience doesn’t end when the lights go down.

One of the highlights of the season is James McDermott’s new play, It Comes In Waves. What prompted you to choose this play in particular?

There’s something beautifully direct and compassionate in James McDermott’s writing. It Comes In Waves speaks so clearly to the themes of memory and grief, but it does so with warmth, humour, and a real lightness of touch. I remember watching it at an early R&D sharing and immediately feeling its potential, it had that rare quality of drawing you in completely. It’s compact, finely crafted, and quietly powerful, almost like sitting down to watch something deeply familiar yet unexpectedly moving on the television. It works just as well in a village hall as it would on a larger stage, which makes it a perfect fit for us.

This play will also be accompanied by grief writing workshops. What can you tell us about this initiative?

The workshops feel like a natural extension of the play. They offer a calm, supportive space where people can reflect on their own experiences of loss and memory, guided by a grief specialist. There’s no pressure, just an invitation to explore thoughts and feelings through writing. It’s about opening a door for people, not only to watch a story unfold, but to gently tell some of their own, deepening that sense of connection between the work and the community.

As the company’s Artistic Director, what particular challenges have you faced this season?

There’s always a balancing act between ambition and accessibility, making work that is artistically rich while still genuinely welcoming to audiences across both rural and urban settings. Touring brings its own challenges, but it also sharpens everything, it keeps the work honest. Building partnerships has been a real focus, and something I’m incredibly proud of, especially with organisations like The Seagull and The Food Museum. Of course, there are ongoing financial pressures across the sector, but this season feels like a clear expression of why we exist. There’s also something exciting in the fact that over half of our team is new, it feels a bit like a rebirth, echoing the spirit of our founders all those years ago.

Why come see Eastern Angles’ 2026 summer season?

Because it brings theatre right to your doorstep, and into the heart of your community. This is work that’s made with care, with humour, and with a real understanding of the places it’s performed in. Eastern Angles’ 2026 summer season offers stories that feel both personal and shared, whether you’re watching in a village hall on a summer evening or a regional theatre. It’s an invitation to pause, reflect, and connect, with the work, with each other, and with the stories that shape us.

By Guillermo Nazara