Within the past year, the way in which we’ve consumed live art has changed; due to the closure of arts venues, creatives within arts industries have had to adapt their work digitally, online platforms providing a space for audiences to connect. A response to our current climate, the Electric Dreams Online Festival showcases a mixed programme of web native theatre, music and immersive experiences exploring the use of various digital technologies from social media to Virtual Reality (VR). Curated by award winning immersive and interactive curators and co-founders of Crossover Labs Mark Atkin and Tom Miller, both tell us what we can expect from the online festival!

‘A digital meditation on hearing loss’, Platform 4’s immersive filmic experience Invisible Music places centre the personal experiences of Artistic Director Catherine Church, her mother and voices from the Winchester Lip-Reading Group. The 45 minute piece’s aim to highlight how the sense of sound when altered impacts day to day interactions.

A collaboration witnessing the renowned Pina Bausch Foundation and influential dance company École des Sables restage Pina Bausch’s seminal 1975 work The Rite of Spring, the company were due to embark on an international tour, their first showing originally scheduled for March and due to take place in Dakar, Senegal. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and the global lockdown that would follow, École des Sables’ base would form the setting for a final filmed rehearsal on a beach nearby. Captured by filmmaker Florian Heinzen-Ziob, he tells us more about filming Dancing at Dusk – A moment with Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring ahead of the global lockdown. 

In a matter of months, the theatre industry have had to quickly adapt to how they engage with their audiences post the Covid-19 pandemic. An industry whereby live art is integral, the digital space has become new ground for platforming thought provoking creative works and reaching wider audiences. Launching their House to House online initiative, Brixton House in collaboration with LIVR showcase a series of plays filmed in 2018 – Random Selfies by Mike Kenny and WHITE and GREY by Koko Brown. Brixton House tell us more about the initiative and how they envision theatre moving forward within our digital age.

When I attended the press conference in June last year, we were still living in a normal world – people could go to the theatre without worrying about social distancing or crowds. This year the corona pandemic has made this almost impossible. Bavaria was the worst affected state in Germany, so lockdown regulations were stricter here than in the rest of the country. However, although social distancing rules are still in place, theatres will be allowed to open their doors to the public again this month. Matthias Lilienthal will start the remainder of his final season in Munich with two premieres that were originally planned for April and are now scheduled to take place on June 15^th– the immersive installation Oracle where Susanne Kennedy and Markus Selg explore the transformative power of paradoxes with the help of artificial intelligence, and the world premiere of WUNDE R by Enis Maci, directed by Felix Rothenhäusler. There will be a farewell ceremony with the entire ensemble and the staff at the Olympic Stadium on July 17^th.

At first impression, Philip Glass might seem to embody all that is intimidating about opera at its most culturally exclusive: shows five hours long (without intermission); obscure, coded symbolism; and plots that are difficult or elusive, if present at all. But for anyone willing to brave shows like Satyagraha, his music is immediately recognisable and redeeming. That’s because Glass has so influentially permeated cultural common – his sound has reached from ground-shaking film scores like Inception, to the finely tuned world of soporific-yet-focussed study music. Listening to any opera by Glass, even for the first time, always feels like re-listening to some extent. That’s also because the composer’s stylistic trademark, minimalism, is all about repetition: music that builds and falls in waves, where the slightest change can have a profoundly moving effect on the audience.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis and temporary closures of theatres, 57% of small theatres in the UK could fail without government support. Theatres Trust warns that as many as 136 small local theatre operators could go into administration in the next three months. In response, Theatres Trust has announced a package of additional support for small theatres to help them survive the impact of Covid-19.

Small Victoria Hall.

Situated within a Lagos (Nigerian) hospital, filmmaker Jon Krasbe and his team spent a month documenting the pregnancies of six women and four blood delivery drivers across a 1 month time period. Their documentary Blood Ridersbringing to light Joseph and Deborah’s pregnancy journey.

In response to the impact of Covid-19 within the arts’ sector, We Are One Global Film Festival have responded to this by uniting 20 film festivals across the world to showcase a variety of works created by a talented network of filmmakers.

In light of recent events, we’ve collectively witnessed a shift in terms of the awareness brought towards particular societal issues, systemic issues of racial injustice and police brutality stark reminders of a broken system in need of reform.

Courtesy of Paul Kolnik.