Periplum

Socially engaged productions with ambitious immersive design

Periplum is led by founders and artistic directors Claire Raftery & Damian Wright, who design, write & direct all of the company’s work. Formed in 1999, Periplum create extraordinary audience experiences through ground-breaking site-responsive & outdoor theatre performance. The company deliver highly visual, socially significant and emotionally explosive work for all the senses, creating large and mid-scale touring productions for festivals, and heritage, participatory & educational projects for unique location-specific events. We explore dynamic staging that responds to & visually transforms environments, offering an intense & interactive experience through 360-degree surround performance and promenading formats. Whether detailing the delirium of a fevered mind or the vast workings of a social revolution, we believe that through performance transformation can take place. We have had work commissioned & funded by the National Theatre of England, the British Museum, the British Council, the BBC, Arts Council England, Brighton Festival, Greenwich & Docklands International Festival, Stockton International Riverside Festival, Conaculta Mexico, The Anglo Mexican Foundation, Hull 2017 UK City of Culture, Liverpool City Region Borough of Culture- Wirral 2019, Knowsley 2022, Without Walls Street Arts Consortium, MALTA Festival (Poland), Uijeongbu Music and Theatre Festival (South Korea) and many local authorities, festivals & venues across the UK. Accolades & nominations for our work include multiple Guardian Critics’ Choice awards, the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe First, Best Event Liverpool Echo Awards 2019, Best Event Sunderland 2018 for Fireflight (Culture Awards), Best Event Teeside 2014 for Homecoming (Journal Culture Awards) and the Pierre de Coubertin prize for Best Creative Cultural project for education in the Cultural Olympiad. The company have toured acclaimed productions & education projects across the UK, Europe, Asia & Latin America.