RicNic began almost by accident. In 2004 a group of friends in Hampshire wanted to put on a musical during the summer holidays, entirely on their own and without an adult director. Luckily, their head teacher let them have the school theatre for three weeks. With a cast, band and crew drawn from local schools, and no one aged over twenty, a production of Guys and Dolls was staged. Everyone involved had the most amazing summer producing incredible theatre with like-minded people their own age, and the audiences loved it too. When it became apparent it had even made a profit, it seemed silly not to do it again the summer after and as a result RicNic was born.
Thirteen shows later - by which point RicNic Hampshire had moved to the Theatre Royal Winchester - we opened our second branch at the Pegasus Theatre, Oxford (2012) and we followed that up in 2017 with our third branch RicNic London.
Fifteen years later, 1000 young people have had their own 'RicNic experience' and have contributed to other successful, sell-out productions, including West Side Story, Thoroughly Modern Millie, My Fair Lady, Singin' in the Rain, Into The Woods and In The Heights. Some of the original founding students from 2004 now sit on the Board of Trustees, joined by an amazing team of trustees, staff and advisors who have a wealth of arts and business knowledge between them,
2019 marked a pivotal point in RicNic's history, when we appointed our first Executive Director to develop our reach both artistically and geographically. We are developing exciting partnerships across our existing South East network and in the West Midlands where our second branch network will develop over the next 5 years.
We are working towards celebrating our 20th Anniversary in 2024 with double the number of Empower branches running each year, supported by a programme of Engage and Evolve opportunities which will bring the very best creative inspiration to all young people free of charge.
Thirteen shows later - by which point RicNic Hampshire had moved to the Theatre Royal Winchester - we opened our second branch at the Pegasus Theatre, Oxford (2012) and we followed that up in 2017 with our third branch RicNic London.
Fifteen years later, 1000 young people have had their own 'RicNic experience' and have contributed to other successful, sell-out productions, including West Side Story, Thoroughly Modern Millie, My Fair Lady, Singin' in the Rain, Into The Woods and In The Heights. Some of the original founding students from 2004 now sit on the Board of Trustees, joined by an amazing team of trustees, staff and advisors who have a wealth of arts and business knowledge between them,
2019 marked a pivotal point in RicNic's history, when we appointed our first Executive Director to develop our reach both artistically and geographically. We are developing exciting partnerships across our existing South East network and in the West Midlands where our second branch network will develop over the next 5 years.
We are working towards celebrating our 20th Anniversary in 2024 with double the number of Empower branches running each year, supported by a programme of Engage and Evolve opportunities which will bring the very best creative inspiration to all young people free of charge.
Meet The TeamFind out more about RicNic's Staff, Trustees, Advisors and Patrons
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RicNic StoriesPast Participants tell us about the impact RicNic has had for them
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Past ProductionsTake a look at our gallery of past productions
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