After receiving critical acclaim for solo show WHITE, the debut show in her Colour Trilogy, writer and performer Koko Brown returns with the debut of the trilogy’s second instalment, GREY – an autobiographical piece exploring depression and the taboos that so often obscure black women’s mental health. Starring Sapphire Joy and directed by Nicholai La Barrie, GREY integrates spoken work, vocal looping and British Sign Language to further explore the broader conversation of mental health. Koko tells us more about the show…

Home to Europe’s most famous street party, the Notting Hill Carnival typically witnesses over 1,000,000 spectators partying the day away on the streets of West London. With over 50,000 performers providing the iconic carnival’s sparkle, the August Bank Holiday weekend serves as a time to connect with fellow spectators and celebrate years of tradition the carnival has brought the capital. Inspired by her experiences of carnival, playwright Yasmin Joseph has crafted her first full length play J’Ouvert, which translates as ‘dawn’ in the Antillean Creole French language and is an annual street party taking place in many Caribbean Islands. Ahead of J’Ouvert’s run at Theatre503, Yasmin spoke to us about the show’s pivotal themes, how she approached creating the show and what she’d like for audiences to take away from it.

Kema Sikazwe is an actor, rapper, singer (who performs under the name Kema Kay), rising star and Live Theatre Associate Artist. He played Daniel Blake’s neighbour China, in the Ken Loach film, I, Daniel Blake. His debut show Shine is a Live Theatre production which tells his own autobiographical story through an electrifying live soundtrack and heartfelt words. Shine premiered at Live Theatre, Newcastle from Thu 2 – Sat 11 May and transfers to the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh from Thu 16 – Sat 18 May. Find out more about his show ‘Shine’; a show looking back at his journey from Zambia to assimilating to a new life in Newcastle at 3 years old.

An Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation since 2012, the Norfolk and Norwich Festival collaborate with artists both locally and globally to curate a unique line up of artists annually. Taking place over 17 days in May, the festival ‘transforms our public spaces, city streets, performance venues, parks, forests and beaches, bringing people together to experience the same brilliant and inspirational events’. This year’s eclectic line up will witness shows spanning ‘music, theatre, literature, visual arts, circus, dance and free outdoor events’. Responsive to universal issues, this year’s festival looks to explore themes of  ‘journeying and crossing borders’ and ‘making and doing ourselves’, two themes incredibly pertinent. Ahead of his year’s festival, festival Director Daniel Brine discussed the planning and creatives who make this vision possible.

From Monday 20th to Sunday 26th May, Dementia Action Week aims to encourage ‘everyone to take action by starting a conversation; whether it’s calling a relative with dementia or visiting a neighbour, it’s time to start talking’ (Alzheimer’s Society). The week will ‘unite people, workplaces, schools and communities to take action and improve the lives of people living with dementia’. We’re living in a time whereby discussions around dementia are starting to become prominent, however greater awareness to the disease is a necessity. Having conducted workshops with dementia peer groups; inspiring the creation of their immersive show One Hundred Trillion, The Dot Collective look to create a sensory show raising awareness as well as being relatable to its audience. Read on to find out more about the show’s creation process and inspirations as we spoke to Director Laura Harling ahead of the show.

With the rise in popularity of phone apps, the accessing of products/services has become increasingly easier, the e-commerce industry in effect making shopping experiences convenient for customers as they’re able to utilise apps at whatever time and whenever. Apps can be found for a variety of industries whether that be gaming, beauty, social networks, you name it, however theatre seems to be new ground. Having been inspired to create an app, Getgo Culture, to help introduce audiences to new theatre experiences, Joshua Beecham and his team look to make theatre a lot more accessible to both theatre goers and those new to the theatre. Read on to find out more about this exciting and innovative theatre subscription service!

Currently deliberating over this year’s Network of Independent Critics cohort, independent critics Jo Trainor and Daniel Perks know all too well just how beneficial the experience can be for content creators looking to pursue a career within arts journalism. The world’s largest arts festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe attracts the best globally and just under 3 million arts goers. With so much going on, covering as much as possible can prove difficult; however creating the opportunity for independent critics to cover different genres of performance helps to diversify the arts journalism landscape. This is the Network of Independent Critic’s aim, to offer opportunity to underrepresented writers. Both Jo and Daniel have now taken over from co-founders Laura Kressly and Katharine Kavanagh to organise this year’s experience; they both talk to us about the introduction of well being sessions for this year’s participants.

Now in its 4th year, the Network of Independent Critics continues its mission of championing the works of independent publications. Offering access to the world’s most popular arts festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, bloggers, vloggers, journalists, critics and reporters are afforded the opportunity of being located in the very heart of this exciting world renowned festival, whilst covering a particular art form of their choice and having a means to focus on their craft without distraction. As the name suggests, individuals will also be joined by a network of fellow critics, encouraging an environment of discussion, supportiveness as well as a shared appreciation for the arts. Ahead of this year’s festival, co-founders of the initiative Laura Kressly (Founder of theatre blog The Play’s The Thing) and Katharine Kavanagh (Founder of blog The Circus Diaries) talk about how they were inspired to create Network of Independent Critics, how the initiative has supported critics taking part and independent critics Jo Trainor and Daniel Perks taking over this year’s cohort.