About Restoke

Restoke put the people of Stoke-on-Trent at the heart of creative adventures. We make performances, plan events and run workshops alongside people who may not usually meet, forming new bonds of friendship, understanding and solidarity in the city.

Our Vision

Creative Connections

We want free access to singing, dancing and sharing stories because we feel the absence of these fundamental human experiences in our society and our daily lives. We want to feel connected to our communities and we want people to feel connected to each other. We think that creative connections inspire change.

Community Performance

Our performances respond to issues and themes relevant to our communities. These performances centre diverse stories and speak from lived-experienced not opinions, affirming differences and using singing and dancing to celebrate our shared humanity. We use a tried and tested approach called ‘Holding Lightly’ to make performances which are co-created with people from Stoke-on-Trent.

Social Action

We want to create a civic arts centre which is useful, uplifting & free to access creative activities. We recently restored and reopened The Ballroom at Fenton Town Hall, following its 60-year stint as a Magistrates Courts. We’re interested in the role that the arts can play in our hyper-local areas by providing connection, joy and social action. We are part of an ecology of change makers who care deeply about our towns and communities.

Breathing Space

Reflecting, evaluating and sharing our work is important to us. We work with brilliant people to help us to capture the learning in our projects, and we seek out interesting ways to share it. We take the time to reflect and regroup between each project, we take time to see the changes which emerge and leave space for the surprises.