Calling Barnsley

A group of students standing in front of a red telephone booth.
Picture by Robling Photography

COME and dial a hotline to the heart of our communities thanks to an innovative new town centre attraction, Calling Barnsley. 

Calling Barnsley is centred on a bespoke phone box with a difference at Barnsley Civic, where you can lift the receiver and listen to one of 30 previously untold stories. 

This free installation will be based at the Civic from January until March. 

Later in the year, the customised phone box will go on tour around our Principal Towns of Cudworth, Goldthorpe, Hoyland, Penistone, Royston and Wombwell. 

Theatre company LUNG worked with Barnsley College students to research, write, and record short playlets based on the lives of members of the public from Barnsley’s Principal Towns. The recordings are by a mixture of professional actors and students.  

Students performed a selection of the stories as monologues for an invited audience at Calling Barnsley’s launch at the Civic. You can now come and listen for yourself from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday. 

As part of this project, LUNG is hosting free creative workshops at the Civic from 11am to 4pm every Saturday from January until March.  

Calling Barnsley is part of Storying Barnsley, a Cultural Development Fund project supported by Arts Council England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. 

Storying Barnsley aims to boost Barnsley’s cultural and creative sectors through partnerships and offer unique cultural experiences for people living and visiting the town. 

Barnsley Council’s Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, Cllr Robin Franklin, said: “We want everyone in Barnsley to be able to enjoy memorable cultural experiences, and Calling Barnsley certainly fits the bill.  

“This ingenious project brings together fascinating tales straight from the mouths of Barnsley people through an innovative hotline to the heart of our communities.” 

Liane Holdsworth and Coby Walsh, Barnsley Council’s Cultural Development Fund Storying Barnsley Team, said: “Calling Barnsley encapsulates the spirit of our Storying Barnsley programme. This project with LUNG highlights the voice of young people across the borough in a truly co-created body of work."

“It has been a privilege to get to know the young people who have been so passionate about how they see their hometown of Barnsley.” 

About LUNG 

LUNG is a national touring Verbatim theatre company. Founded in Barnsley, LUNG is campaign-led and uses real-life stories to shine a light on political issues in the UK. LUNG became a Barnsley National Portfolio Organisation in 2023. 

Creative workshops 

LUNG is offering free creative workshops at Barnsley Civic as part of the Calling Barnsley project. 

With drop-in arts, crafts and writing activities, there is something for something for everyone: 

  • Every Saturday from January until March 
  • 11am to 4pm 
  • Barnsley Civic 
  • Bring the family, try something new and let's get creative! 

LUNG will also be partnering with The Salvation Army in Goldthorpe and Feels Like Home in Barnsley Town to create a piece of art that speaks to the themes of Calling Barnsley.