Determined to improve the representation of disabled artists on our stages and screens, award-winning actor and public speaker Julia Hales has broken barriers by becoming the first TV host living with Down Syndrome to present on Australia’s national broadcaster ABC. Initially performed in 2018 as part of Perth Festival, before being staged in 2019 as part of Black Swan State Theatre Company’s season, her show You Know We Belong Together, will make its UK premiere at the Southbank Centre, Purcell Rooms from the 18th to 20th August, before a run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A collaborative effort including fellow ensemble members Joshua Bott, Patrick Carter, Tina Fielding, Mark Junor, Melissa Junor and Lauren Marchbank, You Know We Belong Together is an exploration of the ensemble’s personal experiences and their day to day realities via monologues, video, scenes, dance and song. Ahead of the production, Julia tells us more about exploring the show’s themes further, her inspirational advocacy journey so far and what to expect from the show.
Showing as part of the 5th edition of the Shubbak Festival, Halka is a Moroccan production, created in partnership with The Abu Dhabi Festival, and in association with Crying Out Loud. Created by Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger – the company draw upon the tradition of performing acrobatic tricks on ‘Moroccan beaches and in village squares, creating spectacles for the public with astounding human pyramids, cartwheels and somersaults, always accompanied by music and song’. On Thursday 11th July, the 14 strong troupe will bring this vivacious tradition to the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre.
Project Manager Alex Turner has overseen the preparations for this year’s TheatreCraft. An event aimed at those aged 16 to 30 looking to learn more about theatre disciplines off stage, the initiative will see industry professionals give talks and workshops, as well as a careers fair at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel offering attendees the chance to meet some of the UK’s leading theatres, companies and education providers. Read on to find out more about this year’s event.
It is often said that some of the best things in life improve with age, and at Polari Literary Salon’s Tenth Birthday Party, we are informed that 10 years is a long time in gay years, making Polari precisely 40 years old!
Courtesy of the Southbank Centre.
Said to be the longest epic poem in existence, the Mahabharata is one of the most important Indian texts. A Hindu epic written in Sanskrit, the long form poem maps out the Kuruksetra War and the fates of Kaurakava and Pandava princes. The Mahabharata is highly revered as a text containing philosophical principles and also makes reference to another incredibly important text, the Ramayana. Inspired by one of the most significant female characters within the Mahabharata, Sharanya Ramprakash takes the story of Draupadi and crafts a piece Speaking up about gender inequality.
Video director, artist and choreographer Holly Blakey opens up a queer, sexual Garden of Eden in her latest movement piece Some Greater Class at the Southbank Centre. Known for her work with the likes of Florence and the Machine and Jungle, Blakey offers us an explorative critique into the the dynamics of contemporary pop culture.
Courtesy of the Southbank Centre.
It’s not easy feat attracting millions of views on your YouTube channel, however Mawaan Rizwan has managed to achieve this with his online TV channel. The actor/comedian has enjoyed over 11 million views, with this stat only increasing. What’s clear, whilst watching his channel is his sense of fun and quirkiness, qualities that are very prevalent within his latest show, Twerk in Progress.
Courtesy of Mawaan Rizwan.
Originating in the eastern coastal state of India, Odisha; the classical dance form of Odissi is typically danced by women. Odissi is known for expressing religious stories and ideas and can be traced back as far as 500BCE-200BCE, where it has been mentioned in the highly revered Sanskrit text, The Nātya Sāstra, a 36 chapter book solely on the performing arts.
Courtesy of the Southbank Centre.
Dante Alighieri‘s triptych, The Divine Comedy is regarded as one of the greatest pieces of literature to have ever been written. A long form poem written in three parts; Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, the piece continues to inspire all forms of art today. Written in 1308 and completed a year before Alighieri’s death in 1320, The Divine Comedy taps into the unknown, the afterlife and envisions what lies beyond our physical world.
Courtesy of Akademi.
Notes on Chai is a collection of snippets of everyday conversations interwoven with abstract sound explorations that attempt to relocate our relationship with the quotidian.
Courtesy of the Southbank Centre.