Starting life as a 5 minute play, Daniel York’s Forgotten has been many years in the making. A response to the lack of acknowledgement given to the tremendous effort aiding Britain’s and the Allies’ WWI victory, Forgotten places at the forefront the 140,000 Chinese labourers who sacrificed their lives in the hopes of escaping their current regime. The title, Forgotten speaks of many who have disgracefully been written out of the history books, a common thread often witnessed within significant Western texts. A much needed historical lesson, the production looks to highlight an alternative perspective of an event we are so often used to being presented in a particular manner. November 2018 marks the centenary of the war’s ending, making this a very timely piece. Daniel tells us more about the show’s creation and what to expect! 

Marking 35 years since the influential poetry organisation formed; creating a space for emerging artists to hone their craft, Apples and Snakes acknowledges this exciting achievement by curating an immersive production taking over the newly renovated Battersea Arts Centre. Rallying Cry, just like Apples and Snakes is a call for vibrant, non-apologetic voices that disrupt the norm, fighting for equality. Apples and Snakes’ Associate, Roger Robinson celebrates over 3 decades of writing and spoken word poetry, having performed with influential bands, touring internationally with the British Council, been featured in the National Portrait Gallery’s New Generation Poets collection and having been chosen by the arts organisation Decibel as one of their top 50 influential Black British writers. A project that witnesses emerging and established spoken word talent collaborate, Robinson talks about what audiences can expect.
Hi Roger! You’ll be performing in Apple and Snakes’ event Rallying Cry from the 4th to 6th October. How do you feel ahead of the performance?

The American Playwrighting Foundation’s The Relentless Award, formed in tribute to the late and great actor – Philip Seymour Hoffman’s pursuit of truth within theatre seeks to find powerful new voices that ‘are challenging’, ‘exhibit fearlessness’, ‘are not mainstream’, ‘exude passion’ and that ‘are relentlessly truthful’. 2016 semi-finalist, Dipika Guha’s The Art of Gaman – a production exploring displacement after the devastation of the Hiroshima bombing during the final stage of WWII follows the lead, Tomomi, as she navigates a new life post conflict. Receiving its UK debut at Theatre503, Dipika tells us more about what to expect from the show.

Synonymous with the art world, Pablo Picasso’s works are easily some of the most recognisable. An artist credited as being an influential spearhead within the cubist movement, his art works are immediately what spring to mind at the mere mention of his name. Behind the scenes, it’s known that Picasso‘s love life was just as colourful, his marriages tainted by extra-marital affairs. Brian McAvera’s Picasso’s Women taps into this, giving the eccentric painter’s partners a voice to be heard. Produced by Flying Elephant Theatre, performer Colette Redgrave talks about taking on the role of ballet dancer and first wife to Picasso, Olga Khokhlova.

‘Three days, three cities, three theatres – Infinite ways to imagine the future of dance’ – This is the tagline that greets you when you visit Dansathon‘s website. Exciting in concept, the initiative sets out to push the performance genre of dance to a new level. Fusing the latest tech with some of the world’s most forward thinking dance practitioners and performance makers, innovations in how we perceive dance will be challenged. Dance Producer JiaXuan Hon tells us more about the forward thinking initiative!

This year marks two significant anniversarys; the first being the execution of the Romanov Family, the ruling family of Russia up until the February Revolution and Russian Revolution in 1918 – a century ago, and the 50th anniversary of the assasination of Martin Luther King Jr, one of the most influential figures within the Civil Rights Movement in the US. These two events would go on to make an impact on history thereafter, politically and socially. Nichola McAuliffe draws on these two significant historical events in her latest piece, Revenants – set 25 years prior to the latter event, and 25 years after the former. Read on to find out more about the show.

We now find ourselves living in a world whereby having an online presence can prove powerful. A single image or headline can travel the lengths and breadths of the world in a matter of minutes. Traditional news outlets perhaps not the first point of call when finding out the latest headlines, independent publications are now finding that their voices are proving very influential. Renowned for their exploration of timely topics through physical theatre and puppetry, Theatre Témoin return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to showcase their latest project, Feed, exploring this new digital world we find ourselves living in. Contributing playwright Eve Leigh tells us more about the company’s current piece.

London is renowned for its multi-culturalism, it’s an aspect of the city that makes it great. Immigration is an element of society that has had a great focus placed on it, and mainly for the wrong reasons. Director Katharina Reinthaller discusses directing Cecilia Gragnani’s Diary of an Expat, a show inspired by Cecilia’s own story of leaving Italy to pursue a new life in the UK.