In Winter 2025, RivelinCo’s Young Creatives group had the exciting opportunity to work with Sheffield theatre company Forced Entertainment, exploring storytelling inspired by their project, Complete Works: Table Top Shakespeare.
As one of Sheffield’s most influential theatre companies, Forced Entertainment has been creating bold and imaginative performance for over 40 years. Working with performance artists from our own city gave Young Creatives the chance to experience a contemporary theatre practice that has travelled internationally, while exploring how stories can be told with the simplest of materials.
In Table Top Shakespeare, everyday household objects become the characters in Shakespeare’s plays. A mug might become a king, a sock a messenger, a small box a castle. With only a table, a collection of objects and a storyteller’s voice, worlds come to life.
Inspired by this approach, the session began by introducing the group to tabletop storytelling before watching examples of the work. Young Creatives then worked in small groups, selecting everyday objects and experimenting with how they could become characters, settings and props. Through discussion, improvisation and trial and error, the Young Creatives developed an original tabletop story.
The stories they created were wonderfully varied. Some drew inspiration from Turkish folk tales, while others took influence from the magical world of Wicked. One created a dramatic narrative inspired by a Megadeth album, while others invented completely original stories.
As the session unfolded, the tables quickly filled with an eclectic cast of characters. Kitchen utensils became heroes, a tiny perfume bottle embarked on an adventure, paper cups were transformed into towering mountains.
Through these sessions, the Young Creatives explored story structure, collaboration, improvisation and performance, discovering that there isn’t always a single ‘right’ way to tell a story. The workshops encouraged them to experiment, trust their ideas and build a narrative that was specific to them and their interests.
You can see examples of two of the stories told by the Young Creatives below. One of these is an original story created in the session, and one is inspired by ‘Wicked’!
Young Creatives is RivelinCo’s weekly creative group for young people aged 11–16, providing a welcoming space to experiment with ideas, develop artistic skills and collaborate on exciting creative projects throughout the year. Sessions explore everything from visual art and zine-making to storytelling, performance and creative technology.
We’re passionate about creating opportunities for young people to engage with inspiring artists and their creative practices. This project was a brilliant reminder that theatre doesn’t always need elaborate sets or expensive equipment. Sometimes all it takes is a table, a selection of everyday objects, and a group of people willing to play and experiment.
