Chinese Arts Now(CAN) today unveils an exciting new name and bold new visual identity:
Kakilang (自己人)
– ‘one of us’ in the Hokkien dialect, evoking kinship and affinity – widely used amongst East and Southeast Asian diasporic groups, is the company’s new name.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is undertaking its biggest feedback drive in years following the conclusion of the 2022 festival. With the return of artists and audiences on a scale not seen since before the pandemic, there was heightened interest across a range of areas last August. As the festival joins other global cultural events on the road to recovery, the Society team are seeking input from a wide range of Fringe constituents as it looks to address the key challenges and opportunities ahead.
Today, UK Theatre announces the nominees for this year’s UK Theatre Awards, the only nationwide awards to honour and celebrate outstanding achievements in theatre throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by UK Theatre members.
“Oh I wouldn’t like to be a n***** in new England”
A play which today will be divisive. While the play is described to be “as relevant today as the day it was first performed “ in 1979, I would like to ask what the point of such staged reckless violence was. On the other hand, I could be persuaded to see the value of theatre as an archive which tells stories without censure. Sometimes there is no point and maybe that’s what’s so horrifying about it all.
A moving and daring piece of feminist theatre by New Earth Theatre Company which tackles issues of diplomacy, war crimes, sexual slavery, and generational trauma. Not a second of theatre was wasted with a narrative so neat, so precise that I kept abandoning my notebook in fear of missing a second of it. Kyo Choi is without a doubt a gifted storyteller that had this audience at the palm of her hands. Post lockdown the Arcola continues to disrupt the theatre scene at a time when we need dissenting voices most.
Presented four years ago as a smaller work as part of Sadler’s Wells’ Reckonings programme, choreographer and dancer Botis Seva’s BLKDOG returns as a fully realised production. One that has won him an Olivier Award for Best New Production in 2019 and critical acclaim in 2021 as it returned to the Sadler’s Wells Stage. An exploration of memory and trauma, the Hip Hop production sees Botis reunited with musical collaborator Torben Lars Sylvest and also features spoken word elements from his performance company Far From the Norm. Ahead of the production, taking place on Friday 30th September and Saturday 1st October 2022 as part of Sadler’s Wells’s Well Seasoned programme celebrating black dance, Botis tells us more about what to expect
Hi Botis, your Award Winning show BLKDOG returns to Sadler’s Wells from the 30th September to 1st October. How are you feeling?
I’m feeling blessed to back at Sadler’s Wells. Performing in this theatre always brings back amazing memories as we developed some of the work in the building so it is a treat to get the performers back on stage – the show is a special one to me and I’m just grateful we can share it with a big audience.
Just Add Milk (JAM) are pleased to announce that the applications are now open for The Luke Westlake Scholarship. This year’s award is supported by The Foundry Personal Management.
Bridgette Westlake, Melodei Karczewski (2021 Award Winner) and Lee Westlake.
Hailed as a symbol of the women empowerment movement in the early 60s, the pill – a medication that disrupts the usual flow of the menstrual cycle and stops the process of fertilisation, would be seen as a step forward in the fight for equality and women’s rights. However, decades down the line, has this necessarily been the case? Offering an honest account of her very own experience of taking the pill, Rebecca Pythian presents autobiographical show Pill as part of this year’s Clapham Fringe Festival line up.
Ending in tragedy, Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet is a storyline familiar with many – two teens from warring families brought together by their unrivalled affection for one another. Set in stone, their fates sadly play out, the impact this has on those around them clear to see. But what happens if their fates are tweaked and changed? Inspired by Queen’s A Night at the Opera album and Romeo & Juliet, Hideki Noda presents A Night at the Kabuki, a delve into rival families – the Genji and the Taira’s worlds – set in 12th century Japan.
Courtesy of Kishin Shinoyama.