The Future of Arts Leadership Debate - chaired by Matt Trueman - part of Departure Lounge festival (BSL interpreted)
Part of Departure Lounge 2018 Friday 20 July, 11am – 12.30pm - FREE (Full Festival dates: Thu 19 – Sun 22 July)
Departure Lounge, our fantastic summer festival of fresh and thrilling theatre, is almost here! Once again this year, the Theatre will be transformed into an exciting festival site, a hub for fresh and innovative performance with a bumper line-up of shows from across the UK, plus workshops and talks.
On the Friday of the Festival, we will see the return of the ever-popular panel discussion which, for this year, will focus on Leadership in the Arts. Practitioners, artists and audiences come together for a fascinating and insightful discussion with leaders from a range of inspirational arts organisations in the UK. Chairing the discussion will be British freelance theatre critic, journalist and blogger, Matt Trueman. The discussion will be BSL interpreted.
The panel of provocateurs will include:
Kwame Kwei-Armah is the Artistic Director of London’s Young Vic and he is also an actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama.
Jenny Sealey is the Artistic Director of highly acclaimed theatre company Graeae, a force for change in world-class theatre, who boldly place D/deaf and disabled actors centre stage and challenge preconceptions. Jenny co-directed the London 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony alongside Bradley Hemmings (GDIF). She was awarded and MBE in 2009 and won the Liberty Human Rights Arts Award.
Natalie Ibu is the Artistic Director of British African theatre company, Tiata Fahodzi, whose aim is to generate a richer, more multiple mainstream theatre culture by championing stories that illuminate the mixed, multiple experience of what it is to be of African heritage in Britain today.
Performance highlights of the Festival for 2018 includes: A Self Help Guide To Being In Love With Jeremy Corbyn by Jess Green and the Mischief Thieves, an award-winning theatre company with a lyrical, powerful and humorous look at modern politics; Major Labia’s Vulva the Revolution, a frank frolic about love, life and labia from East Midlands’ theatre company who delight audiences with their ‘fanny funnies’; Dante or Die’s User Not Found, an In Good Company mid-career commission where audience members are handed a smartphone and a pair of headphones to become a fly-on-the-wall and peer into the life of a man facing the dilemma on whether he should delete his online legacy, a funny story of contemporary grief which gently interrogates our need for connection; Bootworks Theatre Company with The JukeBoxes, two beautiful 1950’s Jukeboxes sit side-by-side - watch them spring to life as two performers (hidden inside) re-create classic pop music videos in a lip-syncing musical medley; Open Wound by Cheeky Chin, a London-based Collective of Theatre Makers from East Asian Origin; I’m Sticking with You by Pebble Gorge, a 15-minute, table-top performance which puts you at the centre and which delivers an experience of some of the feelings that have been running high in the UK since Brexit, a miniature play for ages 7+ written by Tim Crouch; Stuart Bowden’s When our Molecules Meet Again * Let’s Hope They Remember What to Do, a new show from the internationally acclaimed master of lo-fi, off-beat, music-infused solo storytelling; Fallen Fruit by Total Theatre Award winners Two Destination Language, a story of love, breaking free and Europe where a young girl looks forward to life beyond communism, a couple unravels, and 80s TV permeates everything; The Eulogy of Toby Peach (Winner of the 2015 IdeasTap Underbelly Award), a young man’s journey with cancer, an honest, fascinating and inspiring exploration of modern science and the human body; discovery of self-mortality and celebration of life; We Are Ian by In Bed With My Brother, a mad ‘fer it show which transports audiences back to 1989 and into the frenzied world of drugs, beats, bucket hats, acid parties….and throwing two fingers up to Thatcher!; Fever Dream’s Wrecked, a gripping piece of site-specific theatre (in the Derby Theatre car park) where audience members are invited into a stolen car seconds after it has crashed, a powerful, intense and individual show experiencing the aftermath of a car accident.
On the Friday of the Festival there will be Represent, a Women of Colour showcase which includes: Priya Mystery’s Tropical Awkward Bastard, a bold provocative rant about being misrepresented in the world, while ticking all the right boxes, which involves a pineapple, a bunch of bananas, a tropical juice carton, one sharp cleaver and a tutu; MENTAL by Lauren Whitter, a physical piece of theatre with elements of puppetry and spoken word exploring real issues, such as suicide and race and where the artist wants to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health; Mia Johnson’s Pink Lemonade, a partly autobiographical multi-disciplinary piece of theatre which explores female masculinity and lesbianism inspired by the rebellious butches of the early 20th century and beyond; and Michelle Vacciana, Nottingham-based theatre and film maker with She Came from Inner Space,
Other workshops, discussion and participatory events include: a Networking Lunch, an opportunity for artists and Festival-goers to chat and connect over food; I Dare You rehearsed reading, a piece about family, trauma, suitcases of worms and a sofa that has seen everything; an Open Mic session, (INSERT MORE INFO); a Dante or Die Workshop, a 90-minute introduction to site-based theatre-making for professional theatre-makers or nonprofessionals with theatre experience to experience some of Dante or Die’s methods for creating site-based work, including improvisation exercises, devising techniques and relationship to audience; Eat, Meet & Greet, 1-2-1 sessions with key staff from Arts Council England and In Good Company partner venues; LaPelles The Night Shift, a very special creative all-nighter which is part workshop, part performance-making-free-for-all, a 12-hour theatrical lock-in for anyone interested in rapid-response theatre-making and staying up really, really late and Stacy Makishi: Killing Time Workshop, a physical workshop that welcomes anyone who is curious about live art and performance which will galvanizes participants to: create faster than critique, resist resistance and pulverize procrastination.
Ben Anderson (Creative Producer, In Good Company) said (of the Festival as a whole): “Departure Lounge continues to challenge, inspire and entertain audiences and artists alike. We have a hugely diverse programme on offer once again this year which will animate every corner of Derby Theatre and beyond, as we branch out into the Intu Centre for the first time. We've also got our regular mix of the best of the East Midlands blended with the UK’s most exciting artists, international artists, sharing works-in-progress, performances in cafés and cars, immersive and intimate performances, touring work and Edinburgh previews.
Departure Lounge exists to present theatre of the most radical nature right in the heart of the country; proving that the Midlands is a vibrant place to shape the future of theatre.”
PRICES
The Future of Arts Leadership Debate FREE
Weekend Festival Pass (Thu – Sun)
£80 (saving £50 per person) Includes all performances and events during this period
Festival Full Day Pass (Fri and Sat only)
£35 (saving £13 per person) Includes all performances and events during this period
Individual performances and events
Range from FREE - £9
£9 each for the following shows:
£7 each for the following workshops:
£5 for work-in-progress pieces, £5 for each of the following events:
Free for the following events:
The Future of Arts Leadership Debate Networking Lunch Eat, Greet & Meet Rehearsed Reading