Over three days in October the inaugural Out of the Shadows festival, present twelve pieces of new writing at Theatre N16. I catch the sold out final night and encounter four pieces in varying stages of development.
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!
The Woods intermingles a fairy tale and a woman’s personal tragedy, of post partum depression. The woman, played by Lesley Sharp, is lost in a dark forest. She tries to save a boy, played by Finn Bennett, and also stay safe from the wolf, played by Tom Mothersdale, lurking outside her cabin.
Courtesy of Manuel Harlan.
I firmly believe that if Virginia Woolf were alive today she and her lofty set of literati would be stomping around East London somewhere – floating between the fringes of privileged society and the liberal arts world sipping a kale juice or soy latte. In my eyes, it’s appropriate then for Hal Coase’s adaptation of Mrs Dalloway to find a home at the fringe Arcola Theatre in Dalston.
Munich Kammerspiele – Season 2018/19
Justice is “out” and immortality is “in”.
Artistic Director Matthias Lilienthal presented the new season together with directors Christopher Rüping, Susanne Kennedy, and Trajal Harrell in June. Whilst the press were enjoying Lebanese pizza and wine, Lilienthal announced thirteen new productions for 2018/19 of which seven would be world premieres.
After celebrating 10 years of success on the London’s West End, Thriller Live begins its UK tour at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury this week. A two hour concert, Thriller Live is filled with Michael Jackson’s top hits spanning his 45 year musical history.
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.
Argentinean documentary director Lola Arias, who is best known for her theatre work, recently presented her debut film Teatro de guerra at the Berlin Film Festival. Related to her play Minefield that opened at the Royal Court Theatre in 2016, followed by a world tour, the film features six war veterans from the UK and Argentina who re-enact their experiences and relive their trauma of war together. A master of documentary fiction, Arias is interested in personal stories in a larger historical context, and for her new production she has chosen a highly relevant subject indeed.
Courtesy of Thomas Aurin.
In a lonely desert, away from everyone and everything else, a person waits. A punishment for killing his father, Mavuso has been awarded a unique deal – to sit outside a prison, and stare at it until he decides that his reconciliation is over. There is nothing keeping him there, yet he remains. Trapped by his own sense of moral compass, he has become a prisoner to life.
Courtesy of Ryan Buchanan.