Ashita No Kaze (Winds of Change) Vol 2 Japanese Contemporary Plays and Playwrights Festival is a month long initiative celebrating Japan’s brightest playwriting talent. A collaboration between Yellow Earth, StoneCrabs and OneTwoWorks, the festival’s ethos to start up conversations with both the playwright and translator gives the festival a uniqueness. We talk to Yellow Earth Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kumiko Mendl about this year’s festival!Ashita No Kaze (Winds of Change) Vol 2 Japanese Contemporary Plays and Playwrights Festival is a month long initiative celebrating Japan’s brightest playwriting talent. A collaboration between Yellow Earth, StoneCrabs and OneTwoWorks, the festival’s ethos to start up conversations with both the playwright and translator gives the festival a uniqueness. We talk to Yellow Earth Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kumiko Mendl about this year’s festival!Playwright Nichola McAuliffe talks about her latest show, Revenants (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018)
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.
For lovers of comedy, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the go to event to witness some of the UK’s top talents. Decades have witnessed the launching of various careers, and shows no signs of stopping in doing so. Winner of the ‘Best MC’ award at last year’s UK Comedy Awards, Laura Lexx promises ‘belly laughs’ with her latest stand up show Trying – a show exploring the topic of mental health. Laura talks more about the show below.
Silicon Valley is synonymous with tech excellence, having produced some of the world’s most famous tech products and services, from Mark Zuckerberg’s era defining Facebook, to Steve Job’s influential Apple products to Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s innovative Google. These accomplishments define the Californian region, however not everything is all as it seems. Comedian Sid Singh unearths the racism and gentrification prevalent within the region in his latest stand up show ‘American Bot’. Read on to find out more about the show.
Celebrated for its boundary pushing line ups, the LIFT Festival brings to the capital some of the world’s most exciting theatrical works. Challenging theatre form, practitioners present ideas in ways that have audiences talking afterwards. East Wall contributes to this tradition, a large scale outdoor production situated in the Tower of London’s Moat. A project crafted by some of the UK’s leading choreographers – Hofesh Shechter, Becky Namgauds, Duwane Taylor, James Finnemore and Joseph Toonga, East Wall’s 150 strong East London Dance cast will no doubt draw the crowds. Krump specialist Duwane Taylor talks more about the creative process behind the show.
Curated by musician and theatre maker Kim ‘Busty Beatz’ Bowers and dance/theatre company co – founder and choreographer Lisa Fa’alafi, Hive City Legacy will boldly take over North London’s Roundhouse with a line up of 9 talented acts of colour. A female led line up, the evening’s aim is to create a ‘fierce and political homeage to London’. Acts range from circus artists to beatboxers, spoken word artists to cabaret performers – showing off the capital’s diverse talent. One of this year’s chosen acts; dancer, choreographer, photographer, videographer, and writer Shakaiah Perez tells us more about her varied career and what to expect from the evening.
The Verity Bargate award winning play – The One, received critical acclaim when it debuted in 2013. Five years later, and Vicky Jones’ debut play about love, lust and destruction returns to Soho Theatre from early July. Taking on the role of Jo, one half of the show’s duo, actress Tuppence Middleton tells us more about how she’s approached the role, what to expect and working alongside fellow actor John Hopkins.
Curated by musician and theatre maker Kim ‘Busty Beatz’ Bowers and dance/theatre company co – founder and choreographer Lisa Fa’alafi, Hive City Legacy will boldly take over North London’s Roundhouse with a line up of 9 talented acts of colour. A female led line up, the evening’s aim is to create a ‘fierce and political homeage to London’. Acts range from circus artists to beatboxers, spoken word artists to cabaret performers – showing off the capital’s diverse talent. One of this year’s chosen acts, singer/songwriter Sherika Sherard has sang with the legendary Seal and also been acknowledged by iconic filmmaker Spike Lee. Sherika tells us more about her music career and what to expect from the evening.