In response to the pandemic and the dark period theatre has been through, ETT and Headlong came together to imagine Signal Fires, a project that would celebrate the extraordinary diversity of the national touring network. An ‘open source’ idea for performances and storytelling that could happen around a campfire, to inspire theatre companies across the UK.

Since then Signal Fires has taken a multitude of forms: walks, performances, online sharings – and now, a brand new publication, bringing together a collection of texts written and shared in autumn 2020. Signal Fires: 6 Notebooks features short plays, monologues, prose and poems, and presents them with a new invitation: to gather around a fire of your own – be it a bonfire, a candle, or even a torch – with friends or strangers, to collaborate and connect. Share these texts again, or write new ones to perform alongside them; speak up, sing out, and light new ways forward, out of the dark.

The book has been edited by Maddy Costa who works in and around theatre in various guises, including dramaturg, researcher, conversation host, writer, critic and critical friend. It has been designed by Kevin Mount. Kevin Mount is a book designer, typographer and essayist based in Devon, UK.

The book includes an introduction by Francois Matarasso, one of the leading writers on community arts, and includes texts by Mike Bartlett, Stephanie Street, Luke Barnes, Tom Wells, Nastazja Domaradzka, Houmi Mouira, Alice Oswald, Sara Sharaawi, Nima Taleghani, Aisha Zia, Karen Spicer, Odile Gakire Katese, Rowan Evans, and more.

Free accessible versions of the text are made available by buying a standard copy of the book and selecting additional access versions on check out.

• Digital (compatible with screen readers)
• Large Print (Digital)
• Audio

The book is available to buy now at https://digital.fueltheatre.com//merchandise/signal-fires-book/ for £15. The costs pay for the making of the book.