ABOUT Crave
CRAVE THEATRE Company and Acting Studio was founded in 2025 to promote voices from the sober and recovery community within acting and actor-training. We are proud that our shared lived-experience with our actors helps to create a supportive and empathetic working environment.
Inspired by the 'Nothing About Us Without Us' movement within the arts, which demands the mobilisation of marginalised voices within policy and practice, our team; founder, actors, teachers and policy makers are either in long-term sobriety or recovery from drug or alcohol misuse, or are dedicated to improving work access for addiction-impacted performers.
The primary aim for our work is to build new societal perceptions, perspectives and attitudes towards those who have struggled with alcohol or substance dependency. Through our training and performance strategies we help to scaffold practical tools for our actors that develop self-care, self-awareness and resilience.
Our recovery-engaged acting approach provides a much needed bridge between the emotional challenges of maintaining one's sobriety and the psychological rigours of performing. We are proud that we offer a vital helping hand and supportive 'way back in' for people in recovery who want to reignite their passion for acting.
Our hope is that our work will inspire the sober actors of today and tomorrow, and position recovery from alcohol or drug abuse at the forefront of the acting business.
OUR APPROACH
We only use established classical or contemporary plays as vehicles for our work, rather than devised or directly autobiographical work. This policy is intergral to establishing the psychological and emotional boundaries that are vital for performers in recovery. By working within this greater degree of personal safety, we allow for safer and deeper exploration of the text, characters, and themes of the play.
Our choice to use text and character-based methods within our training and rehearsals also helps our actors develop an improved awareness of their own impulses and compulsions. This cultivation of self-knowledge and self-reflection improves our actors capacity to build and sustain emotional awareness and resilience. Both of these are vital elements of strong acting and long-term sobriety.
Through our rigorous and courageous approach, we believe that damaging or cliched stereotypes about alcoholics and addicts can be erased and new narratives and perceptions can be formed. We also believe our methods could be applied to build positive new pathways towards a resilience-based, recovery-informed acting approach that would benefit all actors moving forward.
To prioritise our actor's personal wellbeing and safety we ensure our projects are entirely appropriate for each participant's sobriety journey.
Unleash your artistic potential by exploring the craft of acting with our professional classes tailored for individuals in recovery.
Whether experienced or new to theatre, unlock your imagination through acting and discover exciting new avenues for personal growth.
Join us to perform fresh interpretations of classical and contemporary plays that challenge stigma and inspire change.
Our productions promote public awareness and understanding of the potential within recovery, and help foster your own emotional resilience through self-expression and fearlessness.
OUR support networks
Enhance your recovery or sobriety journey by joining our supportive community, designed to empower individuals in their recovery process through the craft of acting.
Make lasting and meaningful connections through shared life experience, empathic understanding and a mutual joy of acting.