tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80968850328865253202024-03-05T18:12:05.817-08:00BilimankhweInternational TheatreKate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-31045849243109910832016-04-23T10:34:00.000-07:002016-04-25T02:45:46.698-07:00White Directors and African Theatre<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Yesterday I
was sitting in the audience in a lecture theatre at The Globe when my name
appeared on the screen together with a photograph of a show I directed in 2003.
This was not a good thing – my show was being used, alongside Greg Doran’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Julius
Caesar</i> for the RSC<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>and Dominic Dromgoole’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hamlet </i>for The Globe, as an example of
white directors dabbling in ‘African’ theatre. It was overtly stated by the
presenter, Prof. Jane Plastow, that this was colonial theatre practice that is
outdated and patronising and has no place in today’s theatre. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">While I was
surprised to be in such illustrious company, I was astonished that Prof.
Plastow put my production alongside those others. I will come to exactly why
later on, but for now, I’d like to look at this idea that white people can’t
(or shouldn’t) direct black theatre.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I realise
that there is discussion to be had here and that there is an
under-representation of anyone non-white, non-male and non-Oxbridge in theatre.
I really hope that this is changing, although way too slowly, but I do baulk at
being tarred with the same brush as other directors who use Africa as a
backdrop to their productions. This is not what I do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In 2012
Michael Walling (another white director working interculturally) wrote about
this issue in his blog (link to the blog below). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">He addresses
the opinion which had been expressed that the position of power in the majority
of ‘intercultural’ productions tends to be held by ‘the white person with the
money’, and that this perpetuates a colonial relationship between Europe and
its former colonies.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">"It's an issue I have faced before - though always from white middle-class intellectuals, and usually in relation to my directing 'black work' in the UK. From the point of view of Border Crossings, my answer is always that we don't do 'black work', but that we create theatre which deals with the fact that different cultures now inhabit the same spaces, globally and at more local levels, and that somehow we need to negotiate ways of living together. We won't achieve that by separatism. </span></blockquote>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Walling goes on to say:</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">"It's crazy in a globalised world, to say that only black people can talk about Africa or Chinese people talk about China. We have to have dialogues - and to discriminate as to who can take part in them on the basis of colour will prevent artists of integrity from working together. And that is dangerous. Because the world needs what they can make in collaboration - something much bigger than they could make alone."</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">This is a pretty much perfect description of the work that we intercultural practitioners aim to do, and yes, I do put Bilimankhwe in that category. We do not present 'black theatre', we collaborate with international artists. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Globe’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hamlet</i> has just completed a two-year
world tour. It was created in London, by a British team and only one of the
12-strong cast (</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Rawiri Paratene, from New Zealand) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">can be described as non-British.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the Hamlets, Ladi Emeruwa, came to the
UK from Nigeria when he was 10 to attend boarding school, and Jennifer Leong
came from Hong Kong, also for boarding school, at 16. Even with these
inclusions the claim that I heard the other day that this is a multi-cultural
cast cannot be supported. The cast is from a variety of ethnic and racial
backgrounds, but in fact they are almost all British. So this is a British
production, through and through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Greg Doran’s
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Julius Caesar</i> is another case in
point. Out of a cast of 20, only one (Jude Owusu, who lived in Nigeria until he
was 7) could be described as African. 3 were from the West Indies. It was a
play set in Africa – this was a design choice, a directorial idea rather than
an intercultural production. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Both the
Globe’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hamlet </i>and the RSC’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Julius Caesar </i>were excellent
productions; I saw them both. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why was
I upset to be set alongside them? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
makes what I do different from their work?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I lived and
worked in Malawi for several years, setting up a fully-professional Malawian
Theatre Company, Nanzikambe, in 2003. All of the performers, actors, musicians
and dancers were Malawian. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hamlet </i>was
our first production, which was created in Blantyre, Malawi and toured
nationally within Malawi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">We were then
commissioned to make a production of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Macbeth.
</i>Again this was a fully Malawian cast and crew, with local pop stars Ben
Michael Mankhamba, Sally Nyundo and Sam Katimba as the witches and Ben’s band <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Zigzaggers</i> playing original music
throughout. This toured Malawi and Zimbabwe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In both
cases, we decided to put ‘African’ in the title (which I understand was what
Jane Plastow took issue with). The company all felt that we should do this, so
that when we toured, potential audiences would know that this was not a
European classic performed by white folk coming to show them how it’s done – this
was both set in Africa and performed by Africans (it was the company’s choice
to identify as Africans rather than as Malawians). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">It worked.
Every venue was full to bursting, and audiences were more than 95% Malawians.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNer27-QGQxg7ZRbyNjpsVUvdflbt0lIDzdBQAKSsa4lICOcwdk4rU5ajqRmbI0D1SBbIo4WLdItiL4rYddbtS87y2EEawm56IkxxuFrSCV2-tdbIwcMcmPawoAolC5LU76G6ukK2Mpyg/s1600/Macbeth+audience1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNer27-QGQxg7ZRbyNjpsVUvdflbt0lIDzdBQAKSsa4lICOcwdk4rU5ajqRmbI0D1SBbIo4WLdItiL4rYddbtS87y2EEawm56IkxxuFrSCV2-tdbIwcMcmPawoAolC5LU76G6ukK2Mpyg/s640/Macbeth+audience1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Compare this
to when the Globe came to Blantyre, with their European production. The audience was 90% British expatriates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64X7jZgEgl1ULHhG127-R_hR16IRS1_86NM0GjLps7UXb_5sReUontUgZiJg1i1-bC9tLiPM3jOvM43tI7mVbeNeayRqkCRIb-bFXFJHeHVgPuSa6ihGGDOfh0fZbdpV1WQLwlCIsk1U/s1600/IMG_3249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh64X7jZgEgl1ULHhG127-R_hR16IRS1_86NM0GjLps7UXb_5sReUontUgZiJg1i1-bC9tLiPM3jOvM43tI7mVbeNeayRqkCRIb-bFXFJHeHVgPuSa6ihGGDOfh0fZbdpV1WQLwlCIsk1U/s640/IMG_3249.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">What I do is
intercultural theatre. Since my time in Malawi I have continued to work with
partners in Malawi. In 2012 I went there to develop an adaptation of Jack
Mapanje’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And Crocodiles Are Hungry At
Night,</i> which opened in Nanzikambe’s Theatre Space, again to a house packed
with Malawians (I don’t remember any white people in the audience that night). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTqtYWMvcQB9Y9WPeEySIIwUzNBgvWLuSa-IU8aSDpP4j8ms-5DwUWe5iQAf0K3aEXBO6AEgmERdEYU-Nim3-cpFdCLpkUJENWDsEtJmJdlwsxmScM518WiHQhcm7i_LcPnngdObcAMt8/s1600/crocs+are+hungry_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 14.6667px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTqtYWMvcQB9Y9WPeEySIIwUzNBgvWLuSa-IU8aSDpP4j8ms-5DwUWe5iQAf0K3aEXBO6AEgmERdEYU-Nim3-cpFdCLpkUJENWDsEtJmJdlwsxmScM518WiHQhcm7i_LcPnngdObcAMt8/s640/crocs+are+hungry_1.jpg" width="640" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt;">I then
brought the company – again all Malawian performers – to the UK where the show
opened in Stratford-on-Avon and continued for a three week run at The Africa
Centre in London. This was as close as I have come to directing a purely
Malawian show in the UK; I did not tour any of my other productions outside of
Africa, so they were created purely with an East African audience in mind.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I am now
working on an intercultural production of <i>The Tempest</i>, which will (if we get sufficient funding) be
performed both in the UK and in Malawi. The company will be drawn from British,
Zambian and Malawian actors and the script will be bi-lingual English and
Chichewa. I will be directing, working alongside a Zimbabwean choreographer and
collaborating closely with the intercultural cast. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The same
year that I was touring African Macbeth around Malawi and to Zimbabwe, Max
Stafford-Clark’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Out of Joint </i>presented a Macbeth set in Africa. It had a British cast, and he had the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">chutzpah </i>to actually tour it in Africa
as part of a world tour. I don’t know how it went down in Ghana, but it was
reviewed extremely positively in London. It was very good … but it wasn’t
African, it was inspired by African politics. So why was my work seen as
‘colonial’ and not Stafford-Clark’s? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Having my
integrity and credibility questioned in a public forum is potentially very damaging
to my reputation. I realise that this response is unlikely fully to undo the
damage, but I do hope it may limit it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I am very
much looking forward to continuing to build my reputation by putting my money
where my mouth is in my next production, and I will stand or fall by its quality and integrity. Watch this space.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://bordercrossingsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-great-white-director.html" target="_blank">The Great White Director - Border Crossings' blog</a> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.bordercrossings.org.uk/" target="_blank">Border Crossings website</a></span></span></div>
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Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-22441898614820374232015-10-19T02:32:00.004-07:002015-10-19T02:32:45.116-07:00Bilimankhwe visit the Afrovibes Festival in Amsterdam<br />
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Kate Stafford on a visit she and Amy Bonsall had to the Afrovibes Festival </h2>
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<br /><b>Amsterdam, early October 2015. </b><br /><br />We are sitting in the upstairs room of a lovely theatre, the Compagnietheater. Everywhere the <a href="http://www.afrovibes.nl/2015/en/">Afrovibes Festival</a> roars around us - in the few days we have been here we have been in a maelstrom of intercultural performance. We have seen high energy, urban dance, Afrikaans/English rap; verbatim theatre documenting South Africa’s recent upsurge in xenophobic violence and some wonderful clowning. There are visual art exhibitions, performances in English, Dutch and Xhosa and lively discussions with artists from hugely diverse backgrounds. <br /><br />But now we are meeting with the organisers of this festival, to talk about bringing our production of Brothers in Blood to Afrovibes 2016. And the opening remarks? “I saw a pitch for this play in South Africa some time ago. I didn’t like it”. <br /><br />Oh dear. But I am hear to report, gentle reader, that by the end of the meeting we are pretty much agreed - the Bilimankhwe-UK Arts co-production of Brothers in Blood by Mike Van Graan, directed by Amy Bonsall, will be performed in Amsterdam next Autumn. Our show will be current, exciting, dynamic and explosive and we managed to blow away the memories of whoever that other company was that pitched the play so badly! <br /><br /><b>London, mid October 2015</b><br /><br />So back in London the work begins. We must put together the UK tour, apply for funding and do all the other production work in order to make this happen. I am sitting at my computer procrastinating when a notification pings. Brett Bailey has sent an update from Rio: <br /><br />‘Shit hit the fan last night here in Rio, when a debate around Exhibit B and associated issues was taken over by shouting, furious members of the audience. no debate. no discussion. A huge amount of anger and frustration and absolute fed-upness with the injustice dealt to black society in this country which saw the import of 4.9 million slaves, in which racial inequality is rivaled only by South Africa, in which police brutality towards black people gets scant notice, and around 77% of the victims of all homicides are black youths. All this got focused on me and the festival which intends to host the work next year. Again I'm a racist motherfucker.<br /><br /><div>
<a href="https://dub114.afx.ms/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=80ce4dfc-7358-11e5-8f16-00215ad801a4&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3a48506AD9-A1E8-474D-B27D-1001393F0957&cid=96082e6f76457182&shared=1&hm__login=roelane&hm__domain=live.com&ip=10.211.36.8&d=d567&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2019%20Oct%202015%2009%3a19%3a52%20GMT&st=roelane%25live.com%407&hm__ha=01_ecf2c4e084ab2b31a29b31d0ead9e0df533db99c8e40e4c8b50ed37f9c875288&oneredir=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://dub114.afx.ms/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=80ce4dfc-7358-11e5-8f16-00215ad801a4&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3a48506AD9-A1E8-474D-B27D-1001393F0957&cid=96082e6f76457182&shared=1&hm__login=roelane&hm__domain=live.com&ip=10.211.36.8&d=d567&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2019%20Oct%202015%2009%3a19%3a52%20GMT&st=roelane%25live.com%407&hm__ha=01_ecf2c4e084ab2b31a29b31d0ead9e0df533db99c8e40e4c8b50ed37f9c875288&oneredir=1" /></a>I gotta really weigh up, even if the relevant festivals decide to go ahead and run the work, whether I have the energy and will to enter that kind of maelstrom again. perhaps its just not my battle.'<br /><br />As regular readers of this blog will know, I saw <a href="http://thirdworldbunfight.co.za/exhibit-b/">Exhibit B</a> in Paris last year, and think it is an extraordinary work of extreme power. I would be sad to see it cancelled again - but let me post this response from Ismail Mohamed, the Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, as he says it so much more eloquently than I can:<br /><br />'As the Artistic Director of the National Arts Festival I engaged with the proposal for this production for a long while when it landed on my desk. My initial response to the proposal was hugely negative. I engaged privately for long hours about how a White artist would be appropriating history and pain of the "other". I was concerned that the work would make an exotic museum piece of the "other". I thought of almost every single reason that has been presented by those who are determined to prevent the work from being staged. After days of contemplation, I decided that despite all my concerns the work needed to be staged. I knew that it would evoke pain. I knew that it would stir guilt. I was prepared for any anger that it might unleash. When it was staged it did evoke all those emotions and much more. It made White audiences feel guilt, remorse and even anger for the pain, humiliation and destruction that their forefathers brought to Africa. It gave White audiences an opportunity to cry and to look at the first "other" person they saw in that "theatre" with a deep sense of humility. The work gave Black audiences a spiritual connection with their past and an opportunity to feel affirmed that the struggle is still far from over. There were audiences who also hated the work; and they had every right to do so. The purpose of presenting good art is not to make the artist feel loved. It is to push the artist out there from our comfort zones and to stir us from our inertia. To unearth those bottled emotions. To play havoc with our minds. To push us into those dark spaces that we hope will get forgotten. To let us walk on our own way and to inspire us with the energy to triumphantly celebrate the human spirit. To leave us for days on end pondering, questioning, confused and arguing with ourselves, the artist and the art. EXHIBIT B did all of that in Grahamstown. For that reason alone I would stage the work again and again and again.'<br /><br />To which Brett replied: “thanks, Ismail”. Yes, thanks Ismail, for standing up against the shouting and furious rage, and expressing what many of us feel. </div>
Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-69099750699456185042015-10-15T05:56:00.000-07:002015-10-15T05:56:13.253-07:00Romeo and Juliet: the first Chichewa translation<h2>
Support the first ever translation of Romeo and Juliet for Malawian audiences</h2>
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Exciting news! Our Associate Director Amy Bonsall is going to be collaborating with Malawian writer Stanley Onjezani Kenani to create a Chichewa translation of Romeo and Juliet and tour it around Malawi!<br />
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Please help us to make this exciting project happen, either by donating <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/romeo-and-juliet-the-first-chichewa-translation/x/9498899#/story" target="_blank">here</a>, or by helping us to spread the word about our campaign.<br />
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· You will be helping to fund the first ever production of a poetic translation of Romeo and Juliet into Chichewa. <br />
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· You will be supporting the best of Malawi's actors and graduate actors. <br />
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· You will be giving hundreds of Malawians (many of whom do not speak English) the opportunity to see Romeo and Juliet in their own language. <br />
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· Thousands of students will have online access to a poetic translation of one of Shakespeare's great plays in their own language. <br />
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About the project</h2>
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Shakespeare has been popular in Malawi for over 100 years and his plays are widely studied, Romeo and Juliet being the current curriculum text. However, with English as a second language, many students find Shakespeare hard to understand and enjoy. Bilimankhwe Arts has engaged Caine Prize nominated Malawian writer, Stanley Onjezani Kenani to produce a poetic translation of Romeo and Juliet to be performed at Chancellor College in Malawi in April 2016. <br />
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The production will have a Malawian cast, drawing from the very best of Malawi's professional actors and students from Chancellor College's Performing Arts Department. It will be directed by international theatre director Amy Bonsall with a Malawian assistant director. Students in Malawi currently only have access to English versions of Romeo and Juliet and this is an amazing opportunity to give them a translation in Chichewa, the most widely spoken language in Malawi. The educational impact of this is huge and teachers, students, academics, theatre practitioners and artists throughout Malawi overwhelmingly support this project. The British Council in Malawi has pledged to support the project by making the text available online. This really is an opportunity for you to support the making of theatre history.Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-49712930640234056972015-06-28T04:24:00.000-07:002015-06-28T04:24:05.573-07:00July 2015 newsLeah Moyo is currently in the air on her way to Grahamstown for the National Arts Festival. She will be blogging about it soon ... This is a great partnership as she is accompanying Jan Ryan from UK Arts International and representing both Bilimankhwe and Black Theatre Live. She is looking for two things: plays to present as rehearsed readings at Afrovibes 2016 and actors for our production of Brothers in Blood which will be touring with Afrovibes, with a cast drawn from both South Africa and the UK. can't wait to hear more ...<br />
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In other news, Amy Bonsall has just completed a two week R&D for Romeo and Juliet - the first draft of the Chichewa translation is complete and she worked Professor Mufunanje Magalasi's students at Chancellor College. Again, watch this space for more details.<br />
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Work on The Tempest is also continuing. With a new partner on board, the York International Shakespeare Festival, the plan is to go out for our R&D in 2016. <br />
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So there's a lot in development for a very busy time in the coming year. If you've discovered our blog but not yet signed up on our mailing list, please do ... The link is here: http://www.bilimankhwe-arts.org/#!contact/cvrhKate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-70645871999360426702015-01-28T11:09:00.000-08:002015-05-09T15:36:15.603-07:002015 and beyond<h3>
Welcome to new Associate Artist Leah Moyo</h3>
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Back in the autumn it became clear that we had put together an amazing team for our rehearsed readings at Afrovibes. Travelling to 5 cities performing staged readings of two plays with extremely limited rehearsal time concentrated the mind wonderfully. One of our actresses, Leah Moyo, stood out as a committed, talented, intelligent artist and we are very, very pleased to be able to announce that she has joined Bilimankhwe as Associate Artist.<br />
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Leah graduated last year from The Drama Studio following a career change; she moved out of International Development into Theatre. She was born in Zambia and speaks both chitumbuka and chichewa (Nyanja), two of the main bantu languages spoken in Malawi so is the perfect fit for us. Amy, George and Kate couldn't be more delighted to have her on our team.</div>
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Three Shows in Development</h3>
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This year is going to be a busy one, as we have 3 plays in development for production in 2016 and 2017. </div>
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Brothers in Blood</h4>
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After a very successful tour of the Mike Van Graan play readings at Afrovibes, we are working with Jan Ryan of UK Arts International to produce a tour of <i>Brothers in Blood </i>as the audience response to the readings was so positive. The play investigates frictions and relationships between Muslim, Christian and Jewish communities in South Africa; with the recent events in Paris and the Jewish Community in London now shockingly saying they don't feel safe here it seems the perfect time to re-visit this award-winning play. </div>
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Shakespeare - The Tempest and Romeo & Juliet</h4>
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The other two projects being developed at the moment are an inter-cultural production of The Tempest which will tour Malawi and the UK, and a chichewa language version of Romeo and Juliet, developed in association with the Universities of Malawi and Leeds. </div>
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Throughout June our two Artistic Directors, designer Hazel Albarn and actress Leah Moyo will be in Malawi working on the R&D phase of both Shakespeares; Amy will be in Zomba at the University working with Professor Mufunanje Magalasi and the students there on Romeo and Juliet, and Kate, Hazel and Leah will be in Blantyre working with the artists of <a href="http://nanzikambearts.org/" target="_blank">Nanzikambe</a>, our partners.</div>
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<h3>
The Globe in Africa</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MTOVuZtKyvA2PjF8m_LpOLP-Xz8LfsLEdb5Kf88vU0I2UbByv7MGjce521mtncPCNnM6MqGFHUl_HMM7khguJulkR-GXoCA0pfauplIaSexiJ8uSv8nZu8F0w3KEtpxbJ8_mEOPDIjs/s1600/Hamlet_Globe.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MTOVuZtKyvA2PjF8m_LpOLP-Xz8LfsLEdb5Kf88vU0I2UbByv7MGjce521mtncPCNnM6MqGFHUl_HMM7khguJulkR-GXoCA0pfauplIaSexiJ8uSv8nZu8F0w3KEtpxbJ8_mEOPDIjs/s1600/Hamlet_Globe.png" width="320" /></a></div>
As well as all that, Amy and Kate will be in Malawi at Easter for the Globe-to-Globe touring production of Hamlet. Nanzikambe are hosting the show which gets to Malawi on 8 April. For more information about the Globe production have a look at the <a href="http://globetoglobe.shakespearesglobe.com/" target="_blank">Globe-to-Globe</a> website.</div>
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Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-24458541825603265752014-09-25T05:36:00.000-07:002014-09-25T05:36:26.355-07:00and more on Exhibit B ...Now that we've had our say ... this was written by theatre director Nadia Latif:<br />
<br />
<img class="media-image" data-height="685" data-width="488" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ByXZWqeIUAAZqMs.png:large" style="display: inline-block; height: 483px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 345px;" />Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-72821207419969440282014-09-24T10:20:00.000-07:002014-09-24T11:40:27.420-07:00Exhibit B<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>Kate Stafford</b> writes:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Last night I had tickets for the opening night of Brett Bailey's installation EXHIBIT B at the Barbican. Only I didn't see it, because it was closed down by a reportedly violent mob of protesters, due to concerns that the safety of both audience and performers could not be guaranteed. I feel ashamed to be living in a country where this could happen. After engaging with some of the protesters on twitter, it became clear that this issue had become polarised, not least because the argument was being conducted in bite-sized chunks, 140 characters long.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
And of course the argument is largely between people who support it - but haven't seen it, and people who oppose it - but haven't seen it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
When (Associate Artistic Director) <b>Amy Bonsall</b> was up in Edinburgh this year, she did see it. And I have seen Brett Bailey's work in South Africa. We are also white and working in African theatre, as is Brett Bailey. So it occurred to us that we may actually have something to add to the discussion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
So last night we started a conversation, which I am reproducing here. At the end I have added some links to further opinions, reviews and discussion pieces.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Firstly I asked Amy for her response to the show. This is what she wrote, off the top of her head, late at night:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Exhibit B.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I am a White woman. I am a middle class white woman. I am a dyslexic middle class white woman. I am a mother. I am a wife. I have knowledge of some things I have no knowledge of others.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I was born in Scotland, I have spent most of my life in England. I work in Theatre. I work in Theatre that prejudices Southern and Eastern African work. And Shakespeare.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I say all of that because context is both essential and irrelevant.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I saw Exhibit B at the Edinburgh Festival. I saw it because Jan Ryan of UK Arts International who produced it knew that I wanted to see it and she made sure that I was able to. I don't know Brett Bailey and nor have I seen any of his other work. I had seen some controversy about it, about the way the work was presented on the <i>Scotnites </i>forum. But had only seen this in fragments.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I sat downstairs waiting for my number to be called. I didn't hear all the instructions and so felt ill at ease, that I was going to mess up the piece for everyone else by getting it wrong. My number was called and up the stairs I went. Formal and silent, directed by solemn ushers as to where to go. The first performance is that of 2 people, naked from the waist up. Their vital statistics in a book, open - a live re-creating of the appalling practice of treating human beings as possessions, to use, to trade.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I felt ashamed. I felt ashamed to be white.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I made myself read each and every statistic and to look at each body part so as to treat that person as a person and not glide over them as though they were an object. And it was uncomfortable, and challenging and I felt ashamed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I tried to do the same at each other 'exhibit'? see, that seems wrong because they are performances, they are directed performances and the people volunteering are actors. They may not be professional actors, they are volunteers, but they are actors in the context that they are performing of their own free will. And each 'performance/exhibit' has a story and has characters. Each of the stories is factually correct, and is horrifying. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Some of the stories I had heard of, and some I had not, I guess it was about a 50/50 split between the two. The depiction of stories from modern times back through hundreds of years of colonial barbarity illustrated how appalling humans are to each other. How appalling some white people were and are to people of colour and black people, and people of other races, sexes and it made me feel sick. It made me feel like I could not nor should not look. It made me feel ignorant, it made me feel that dialogue is essential. It clearly illustrated how racism is alive and happening, and though I was aware of this before, the performances presented stats and figures in a visceral and horrendous way. And not only stats and figures, of the experiences of people I know and people who I have heard about. It was all there, in that room and it was inescapable and I felt culpable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
My family were working in mills for a pittance at the turn of the century. So who was responsible. And we know who was. It made me think even more clearly about what we do about it, how so so much more must be done. What is my responsibility in that? The white marble heads looking down over the scenes they could be indirectly responsible for was disturbing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
The conversation between Amy and I continued into the night:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>KS: </b>I have been reading some articles and reviews written in response to the work, in South Africa and Europe. Everywhere the reviews have been extraordinary. It seems that this work opens up a painful wound, forcing us to look again at our attitudes and how society treats race. So I am incredibly sad that although I had tickets, I was unable to see this work, to be challenged by it and experience it. I think that there is a real misunderstanding by many people of what it is really about: there has been a hysteria around the assumption that because Brett Bailey is a white South African, then his work is inherently racist. As I say, I haven't seen this. But I have seen another of his plays.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I saw iMumbo Jumbo in a township in the outskirts of Grahamstown back in (I think) 2004. It was challenging, aggressively anti-colonial and scary. As a white person in a largely black audience in a black township (they bussed the audience in) I felt insecure, and the rage of the people who had lived under apartheid was palpable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Anyone calling Brett Bailey racist is seriously misunderstanding where he is coming from, and refusing to listen to what he has to say.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>AB:</b> The reason why I am so angry about this is because in the UK we have freedom of speech, we do not have censorship, And that is were I start from. Freedom of speech is not, as has been suggested to me time and time again about this a wishy washy neo liberal construct. it is absolutely essential in preventing this terror happening again, and indeed in highlighting it when it is happening now. because it is happening now.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>KS</b>: To stop his voice, his expression, is a dreadful thing to do. I truly believe that people want to shut him up because of the colour of his skin. Which is ironic, really, don't you think?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>AB:</b> Many of the reactions against Exhibit B seem to be against the lack of diversity at the Barbican in its management structure and programming and community engagement and ACE and the same charges. And I would agree with all of those. But that is not the fault of this piece.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
And so so many are basing their opinions of the piece on what they have read in the media and on petitions. They have not seen it. And that is absolutely their right , but they do not have the right to stop a performance. That is censorship. It goes against everything an equal and free society should be.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>KS:</b> It's a shame that when one of our national cultural institutions do finally showcase work addressing race, colonialism and our attitudes to immigrants, the popular media manage to somehow turn it on it's head, and call it racist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>AB:</b> I can not agree with statements that imply that black people can only work on black art and white people on white. that is offensive to all, and the world does not work like that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>KS: </b>All of us can only respond truthfully to our own experience. Whatever our background, race or culture. And another irony is that having read a lot about the piece, I'm fairly sure I would have hated it. I read a blog by Selina Thompson who saw the piece, absolutely hated it, and I think I may well have had a similar reaction. But of course the opportunity is now not there for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>AB:</b> She has seen it, and while I have a different experience and opinion from her, we both have the right in a democracy and country of free speech to pay our money if we wish and to see it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>KS:</b> I just wish that people would see the work, and then respond. the woman that started the petition talked about how she couldn't take her 12 year old daughter to see such terrible depictions of black people. Well of course she couldn't! That would be entirely inappropriate, because a child would not be able to understand the context, what the artist is saying.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>AB:</b> I have not said it isn't racist. I have never been able to get that far in discussing it because the argument has overwhelmingly focused on a white man directing black actors. Many have accused the Director of being self indulgent. Can you not throw that at every single artist who shares their art with an audience? If he had no cast there would be no play - if there was no audience there would be no play.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
<br />
The day before EXHIBIT B was closed down, Brett Bailey released a statement. The closing sentence was:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Do any of us really want to live in a society in which expression is suppressed, banned, silenced, denied a platform? If my work is shut down today, whose will be closed down tomorrow?"</span></i></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.obv.org.uk/news-blogs/barbican-shut-down-bailey-s-offensive-human-zoo" target="_blank">Lee Jasper: Barbican shut down Bailey's offensive 'Human Zoo'</a></span>
<br />
<a href="http://selinathompson.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/exhibit-b/" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Selina Thompson's blog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/sep/05/exhibit-b-is-the-human-zoo-racist-the-performers-respond"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">article in The Guardian</span></a><br />
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Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-30148684677560357912014-09-23T07:54:00.001-07:002014-09-23T07:57:04.173-07:00Welcome to George - just in time for Afrovibes! Artistic Director Kate Stafford writes:<br />
<br />
Bilimankhwe is expanding, and finally, after a long time looking, we have found the perfect Creative Producer. Georgina (George) Bednar is currently working for the Barbican; however, due to her freelance producing career taking off, she is now available to help us at Bilimankhwe to fulfil our potential as leading practitioners in African theatre. Hurrah!!<br />
<br />
George is the retiring Artistic Director of Muju, a Muslim and Jewish theatre organisation based at the Tricycle. Which is a lovely bit of serendipity, as our autumn project, a tour of playreadings by Mike Van Graan, includes <i>Brothers in Blood</i>, a play about Muslim/Jewish/Christian relations in Capetown, South Africa.<br />
<br />
So the Arts Council grant has come in, and we are almost cast for the play readings which are being produced at Afrovibes2014. We're going to be reading the two plays in London, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester and Newcastle so there's a lot to organise. More info is on our website here: <a href="http://www.bilimankhwe-arts.org/#!afrovibes-2014/c1rsg" target="_blank">http://www.bilimankhwe-arts.org/#!afrovibes-2014/c1rsg</a><br />
<br />
There's a lot more in the pipeline ... so expect rather more regular blog updates. I'm hoping that both George and Amy (Associate Artistic Director) will be contributing interesting, entertaining pieces for your delectation. So watch this space, and follow us on twitter @bilimankhweartsKate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-83950816249217663392014-07-10T09:22:00.001-07:002014-07-10T09:22:43.271-07:00In Battalions Festival<div class="MsoNormal">
Amy Bonsall, Bilimankhwe’s Associate
Artistic Director, attended the <i>In Battalions</i> one-day festival on the 4th July,
which was held as part of a three-day new writing festival at Drama Centre
London. The idea behind the festival, the brainchild of playwright Fin Kennedy,
was to bring together culture professionals (theatre-makers, journalists,
politicians and academics) ‘to share innovative ideas and practical ideas for
maintaining a vital theatre ecology in the UK’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">A tall order, given the current climate of
austerity and cuts in investment in the Arts, I would have thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Anyway. Here are Amy’s thoughts:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What an important day it was: emotional,
sometimes vicious, informed and enlightening. Firstly a huge thank you to Fin
Kennedy, co-Artistic Director of Tamasha and the creator of the <i>In Battalions
</i>movement, for his incredible work. What became clear as the day went on was
that cuts were deep and cuts were hurting. The state of new writing seems
perilous; without the nurture and experience of companies to encourage, develop
and produce new work we are risking losing a generation of plays. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The day began with the usual rather awkward
but rewarding ‘intro chats’ with new faces, those who seem familiar and those
better known. Indeed the event was very well attended and I was pleased to see
some Bilimankhwe friends there, including Rebecca Gould from the Soho Theatre
and later Stella Duffy. It was heartening to see theatres such as The Gate,
Slung Low, Eclipse Theatre, Theatre Centre, Northumberland Theatre Company,
Yellow Earth, Theatre 503, London Bubble, Theatre Absolute, Coney, Park
Theatre, Finbrough Theatre and Neil Darlison (ACE Director of Theatre) all
taking part in panel discussions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">What was a total disgrace however
(especially when you consider that <i>In Battalions</i> was born as a result of a
discussion about new writing with Ed Vaisey MP) was the significant lack of a
single solitary representative from ANY political party. Not one, not even
UKIP. (Cancelled the day before apparently). Now that speaks volumes as to
where the Arts are located on the Political Agendas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The excellent Keynote speech by Taryn
Storey, <i>The Arts Council and The Politics of Risk: Funding for New Writing in a
Neo-Liberal Age</i>, was chilling. The changes in the function and the purpose of the Arts Council and its politicisation paved the way for the current funding
crisis; and as I heard time and time again, for many it <i>is</i> a crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This set the tone for the rest of the day.
The format was 3 rooms with 3 different panels in each one; attendees were able
to switch between any of them at any time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Throughout the course of the day I attended
two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The morning session, <i>National Portfolio
Organisation Analysis </i>was a fascinating discussion with companies who were new
recipients of NPO funding and companies who had been NPO funded but lost it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">During the morning I found myself pondering
various issues. Specifically: why is there no facility for Whistle Blowing at
the Arts Council, for people involved with projects/companies in receipt of
funding who are concerned at misuse of funds? Surely we must do all we can to
protect the small amount of public money we do have!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Even more importantly, I feel that there is
an argument that there is a creeping censorship by lack of funding to
particular groups. Not all artists from all communities are in a position to
‘make the work anyway’ and so those voices are essentially silenced. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">There was still a sense from those in the
audience that the National Portfolio is still a closed ‘Club’ and that there is a significant
issue around Arts Council officers not being able to see artistic work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">During this session there was a comment
that minority issues being discussed did not include ‘women’. I feel it is
essential to include this in any discussion about contemporary Theatre and it
was sadly missed from the otherwise essential and engaging debates. I trust
that this will be rectified at the (fingers crossed) next <i>In Battalions Festival</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><i>Building the Battalion </i>was a more
fragmented, but no less interesting afternoon. We heard from Maddy Costa and
Jake Orr, founders of Dialogue Theatre Club and the unstoppable Stella Duffy,
founder of FunPalaces (which will light up the Theatre landscape of Britain in
October 2014). There was much inspiration to be found; the message was to be
brave and to make work without funding and without mainstream approval. I don’t
disagree with this, but there has to be a balance in state subsidised artistic
risk-taking to promote a healthy and vibrant theatre and new playwriting
landscape. If artists cannot afford to live, then only those with ‘means’ or
those who are willing/able to subsist and make art will be the ones whose
voices have a chance of being heard and that neglects swathes of the general
population. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The day provided a unique opportunity for
individual professionals and companies to come together and discuss common
goals and issues as a collective. This is something rare in what is an
extremely competitive industry. There is a huge pool of business, funding and
management expertise within the industry and it was wonderful to see links
being made for the overall good of the profession.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">I sincerely hope that this will become a
regular event, and that in future we will have the policy makers there as well
as the theatre makers. It is quite clear that we are not ‘all in it together’,
but we can all come together to find creative, innovative ways of carrying on
our work in this state-imposed ‘Age of Austerity’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Notes: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The<i> In Battalions </i>report, published by
playwright Fin Kennedy and researcher Helen Campbell Pickford in 2013, received
widespread coverage and formed a significant part of the recent debate about
arts funding cuts, in particular around theatres' capacity to take risks on
developing new plays and playwrights in an age of austerity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The 2014 follow-up, the <i>In Battalions
Delphi study</i>, brought together 36 innovative solutions to this problem, sourced
from and voted on by theatre professionals. These proposals suggest new ways
for theatres and theatre-makers to work with the Arts Council to protect
creative risk-taking on new work. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Read Fin Kennedy’s blog here:
<a href="http://finkennedy.blogspot.co.uk/">http://finkennedy.blogspot.co.uk/</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-small;">More information on the In Battalions
Delphi Study: <a href="http://www.writersguild.org.uk/news-a-features/theatre/492-in-battalions-delphi-study" target="_blank">http://www.writersguild.org.uk/news-a-features/theatre/492-in-battalions-delphi-study</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-75284561828697328612014-06-10T09:14:00.000-07:002014-06-11T14:51:27.695-07:00More Shakespeare musingsThis month has been an exciting and interesting time with several new initiatives and ideas progressing to the next stage. Most notably, I had a fab meeting with artist Hazel Albarn. I met Hazel through her daughter Jessica (whose solo exhibition 'Resurrection' opens at the Lawrence Alkin Gallery in London this week http://www.lawrencealkingallery.com/events/resurrection). Hazel works with organic materials to create beautiful, earthy sculptural pieces; her work in paper was of particular interest, given the theme of magic and books in The Tempest, which is likely to be the next major Bilimankhwe project. I am so incredibly excited to announce that she has agreed to join the creative team for The Tempest to create a set design which can be adapted for use both in Malawi and the UK. Her experience of working outside the UK, most notably in Africa (although she also did some very interesting work around books and paper-making in Japan) will be invaluable. She is however mostly known for her theatre design work with Joan Littlewood at Stratford East in the early 1960s and her famous artist/musician son Damon, for whom she recently made a moko jumbie puppet. She is currently fascinated with puppets and masks which I hope will also form part of the design for The Tempest.<br />
<br />
So the game is most definitely afoot! I have just come back from a very interesting and energising lunch with Dr Sonia Massai of King's College London, in which we talked about various Shakespearean productions we had seen. A lovely wide-ranging chat which always gets my creative juices going! Of course the conversation inevitably turned to The Tempest, and the various merits of colour-blind, and in a term coined by Jude Kelly, 'photo-negative' casting.<br />
<br />
When I first started thinking about The Tempest, I had a conversation with Muthi Nhlema in Malawi (he was my assistant director on 'An African Dream' back in 2005, and now a writer whose opinion I very much respect). We were talking about the colonial themes, and how we could make that clear in the casting: my idea was to have Caliban and Ariel played by black Malawians as the original inhabitants of the Island, and the Colonisers (Prospero and Miranda) as white. He was keen to switch these, to challenge the stereotypes and make people think about how humanity organises itself into the oppressors and the oppressed.<br />
<br />
Sonia reminded me of the American production of Othello, directed by Jude Kelly, which did exactly that: Patrick Stewart's Othello was the only white cast member, the rest being played by African-Americans. While this was largely a successful production, Sonia thought that casting a play so simplistically, reversing 'white' and 'black' roles might be seen as a gimmick, a tokenistic approach to a serious topic. In her words, there may well be a collective shrug, a 'so what?' in response.<br />
<br />
This is very interesting. Casting a play about colonial oppressors with the white people as the subjugated indiginous people would be a hugely political statement in Malawi. But here in the UK it might be seen as simplistic, tokenistic. Is this a reason not to do it? I think not. the plan is to start this production in Malawi, to rehearse and open the show there in 2015. Then in 2016 to bring it to the UK as part of the commemorations of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Perhaps we should first gauge the reactions of the Malawian public and then take a risk with UK theatre-goers.<br />
<br />
We are just at the start of this journey, and already the conversations we are having are incredibly rich. Exciting times ahead. <br />
<br />
<br />Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-47089793665454923342014-06-05T10:15:00.001-07:002014-06-05T10:15:30.540-07:00Malawian PoliticsInteresting times in Malawi. An election was held. Declared invalid by the incumbent President to an outcry from the opposition, who could smell power. The courts got involved ... a re-count was ordered but there wasn't enough time so everyone shrugged their collective shoulders and let the original count stand. So welcome Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika, and commiserations to the losing candidates, Rev. Chakwera (the closest challenger), Joyce Banda and the Young Pretender Atupele Muluzi.<br />
<br />
This election has got me thinking though. What is it about political dynasties that everyone likes so much? Are we really hard-wired to have a monarchy so that we revert to it as a default position? However able the new president proves to be, I can't help thinking that he got in on a 'better the devil you know' ticket. Even though his brother Bingu led the country into the worst economic, political and diplomatic crisis in decades and was deeply unpopular, somehow the collective memory has been wiped, and the majority of voters want to see the DPP return.<br />
<br />
Unless of course Joyce Banda was right, and the DPP were guilty of electoral fraud.<br />
<br />
I suppose we'll never know, now.<br />
<br />
My friend Seodi White, an intelligent and highly educated lawyer who lives in Malawi, is a supporter of Mutharika and was an outspoken critic - famously so - of Joyce Banda, the outgoing president. I respect her opinion, and am really hoping she's right this time. But I am watchful and wary of this new-but-old administration.<br />
<br />
Fingers crossed.Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-84617054020566859782013-10-06T23:44:00.000-07:002013-10-06T23:47:19.816-07:00Fun PalacesSo I'm off today to the Theatre Royal Stratford East to discuss Fun Palaces. But what is a Fun Palace, I hear you ask. Well ... here is what the organisers say:<br />
<br />
<blockquote type="cite">
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<tr><td class="mcnTextContent" style="border-collapse: collapse; padding: 9px 18px;" valign="top"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><strong>What is a Fun Palace? </strong><br />Based on Joan Littlewood and Cedric Price’s 1961 idea, it is a welcoming, inclusive space sharing arts, sciences and learning. It’s fun. It might have music, theatre, lectures, dance, tutorials, playing, sitting down, lying back – whatever you want. It is created with and for local people, for all ages. It is free, with public engagement at its heart. It can happen in a village square, a theatre foyer, a museum corridor, a school canteen, it might take over an entire venue or a street, it might be a small tent in a field. Every Fun Palace will be as unique as the people making it and its locale.<br />More about Fun Palaces : <a href="http://stratfordeast.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=0c7630df03e9aa44ccb8cb78d&id=1c3cecadbd&e=8fd9fa3423" style="word-wrap: break-word !important;">www.fun-palaces.com</a></span></td></tr>
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Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-51797851881447121722013-08-06T08:02:00.000-07:002013-08-06T08:02:23.455-07:00The Epic Adventure of Nhamo the Manyika Warrior and his Sexy Wife ChipoOff to the theatre last night - the press night of a new play by Denton Chikura at the Tricycle Theatre. I was really looking forward to it, as I have loved Denton's work as an actor and theatre maker (most notably in Two Gentlemen of Verona which played last year at The Globe) and worked with him during the research and development of Jack Mapanje's new play. Also this was to be the directing debut of Lucian Msamati, Artistic Director of Tiata Fahodzi and one of my favourite actors.<br />
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So it was with some trepidation that I approached the theatre ... I so wanted it to be good, as I would see both Denton and Lucian there and I am a bad liar!<br />
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Luckily, this was a fabulous evening. I haven't laughed so much in ages, and in spite of being seated right at the top looking down at the stage, I had a really brilliant time. While the ensemble of four actors worked beautifully and they were all splendid, Nyasha Hatendi as Commander Specimen still managed to steal the show with a perfectly timed comic performance which was truly masterful. The rest of the ensemble, Don Gillet, Ery Nzaramba and Tanya Fear also had their moments of brilliance and the lovely simple set by Ben Stones was beautifully lit by Paul Keogan.<br />
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This was a really successful intercultural show - with a cast drawn from Africa (Rwanda and Zimbabwe) and Britain, a Zimbabwean/British writer, a Zambian/British director and an Irish Designer, it was truly global and made full use of the opportunity to draw from differing cultures. Western cultural references jostled with Zimbabwean goatherd jokes, and on the press night the diverse audience at the Tricycle joined in enthusiastically when given the opportunity to 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the outrageous performances. This was an upfront, over-the-top celebration of humanity: I laughed my socks off. Don't whatever you do miss it!Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-30719119230425546962013-06-04T06:12:00.002-07:002013-06-04T06:12:59.610-07:00Working with CompliciteHere at Bilimankhwe we're buzzing with our newest project - we are collaborating with Complicite, one of the UK's most respected theatre companies, on a project in Malawi.<br />
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It's all come about after we were approached by Jamie Hampton of the Chauncy Maples Trust. The Chauncy Maples is an old ship which is currently in dry dock in Malawi being converted into a floating clinic. The Chauncy Maples Trust has raised a staggering amount of money to convert it, and it will soon be travelling to otherwise inaccessible communities on the northern shores of Lake Malawi, bringing much needed healthcare. <br />
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The idea is that a travelling company of actors will travel on the ship, performing wherever it docks. The shows will be in local languages (chichewa, yao and tumbuka), have health themes and will help to publicise the clinic. </div>
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To kick the project off, we are sending two teachers from Complicite to Nanzikambe's Mwezi Wawala Festival at the end of August to run a 3 day theatre-making workshop for Malawian artists. </div>
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One of us will also be there to co-ordinate and participate in the workshop. </div>
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This is a fantastic example of how theatre can really make a difference in the world, and we are proud to have been part of it. </div>
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Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-41539193454017781342013-05-09T05:54:00.001-07:002013-05-09T05:54:59.213-07:00More African Shakespeare on its way from Bilimankhwe ...
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Amy Bonsall writes :</div>
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CULTURAL ISSUES IN THE EXCHANGE OF SHAKESPEAREAN THEATRE BETWEEN THE UK AND MALAWI</div>
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This is the name of my PhD thesis. I am hoping to start my PhD AT Roehampton University in January 2014, with the support of Bilimankhwe Arts UK and Nanzikambe Arts in Malawi. It is really a whole new area of research and we aim to create a new international theatre research branch for form part of the work of Bilimankhwe Arts. The idea has developed from the very successful production of <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> in 2012, I felt that there was much more to discover in the text than the 3 weeks we had for rehearsal would allow, and we wanted to create a genuinely cross cultural experience for both UK and Malawi audiences. As a director it will be a big shift in my thinking and practise to go back to academia, but it will have a substantial practical element too and the aim is to develop our discoveries into further productions and collaborations as well as writing papers for academic journals and attending conferences.</div>
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It is an exciting time for us at Bilimankhwe, while we don’t have any major productions planned for 2013 in particular showcasing the amazing work of South African writer Mike Van Graan, we have smaller projects and we are doing the groundwork for some very exciting productions and co-productions over the next 3 year. Keep checking the website for more details.</div>
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We are also beginning the process of adding to our board of trustees, because we are developing and expanding it is very important to have a board who can support us in our work fully and who are diverse in their skill set. Details of new members to be announced soon.</div>
Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-10490329812789252832013-02-03T06:41:00.000-08:002013-02-05T02:37:12.069-08:00Love on TrialWe're all rather excited, as Charlie and Roe are going into rehearsals tomorrow for Love on Trial. A one-man show starring Bailey Patrick, it looks like it's going to be rather good. Intercutting the short story by Stanley Kenani about illegal homesexuality in Malawi with the press frenzy surrounding George Michael's arrest for 'lewd conduct' in a public toilet in LA it's lively, thought provoking and often hilarious. Check out the trailer, filmed and edited for us by Fred Rich:<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: red;"><a href="http://www.ovalhouse.com/whatson/booktickets/loveontrial" target="_blank">book to see the show ... click here!</a></span></span><br />
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In other news ... we've got several extremely exciting potential projects on the go ... a collaboration with Nanzikambe in Malawi, a new play by Roe Lane and a collaboration with a South African writer to name but three. But as the funding is still pending, watch this space for the announcements ...<br />
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Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-1178252410016870592013-01-05T04:47:00.004-08:002013-01-05T04:47:59.736-08:00Happy New Year!What an amazing year 2012 was ... so it's onwards and upwards for 2013. Our new Associates Roe Lane and Charlie Morgan Jones are creating a new performance piece as a co-production with Ovalhouse based on Stanley Kenani's short story <i>Love on Trial</i>.<br />
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The story was on the Caine Prize short list last year and tackles the tricky subject of homosexuality in Malawi (where, despite a president who has publicly promised to address the issue, enaging in homosexuality is still illegal). Roe is juxtaposing the story with that of George Michael's arrest for 'lewd conduct' and the ensuing press uproar. Are we really so different in our attitudes here in the smug West? It is a multi-media show - a thought provoking and exciting piece of theatre which we are hoping to continue to craft and develop.<br />
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<i>Love on Trial </i>is at Ovalhouse<br />
Tue 19 Feb – Sat 23 Feb, 7:45pm<br />
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And for Amy and I ... there seems to be no end to the proposal writing and strategic planning! Watch this space for news ... Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-58286803336977330332012-11-15T08:50:00.001-08:002012-11-30T16:42:08.414-08:00into the futureIt's been a really amazing few months for Bilimankhwe Arts ... we have doubled in size to a team of four. Artistic Director Kate Stafford and Associate Director Amy Bonsall have recently welcomed Roe Lane as Literary Associate and Charlie Morgan Jones as Creative Associate.<br />
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Roe and Charlie have had no time to catch their breath - they have already started work on a new piece to be presented at Ovalhouse in the New Year. Based on Stanley Onjezani Kenani's short story <i>'Love On Trail'</i> (nominated for the Caine Prize in 2012), <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">it is multi-media and very contemporary in style, intercutting Kenani’s story of
illegal homosexuality in Malawi with the press frenzy surrounding British
singer George Michael’s 1998 arrest for ‘lewd conduct’ in a LA public toilet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the mean time, our Malawi partners Nanzikambe have been busy showing both <i>Romeo and Juliet </i>and <i>And Crocodiles Are Hungry At Night</i> in Malawi. On the 8th November <i>Crocodiles </i>played
at Chancellor College, University of Malawi - where Jack Mapanje was
Head of the English Department at the time of his arrest. Chanco
students are notoriously difficult to please, so it was with some
trepidation that we received a copy of the review - however, it seems the
production was very well received, by both critic and audience. </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"the masterpiece And Crocodiles Are Hungry At Night craftily immortalises memories overwritten by 19 years of multiparty democracy" - James Chavula, The Nation</span></i> </blockquote>
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Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-67821887896813986742012-08-09T05:54:00.000-07:002012-08-09T05:54:06.958-07:00reviewsHere, for anyone who'd like to see them, are the two reviews so far ... <br />
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FINANCIAL TIMES : <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">"The ensemble is vibrant and muscular ... the sum of the whole is raw and vibrant. You can smell the Mikuyu prison jail from your seat" \</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">4 stars **** </blockquote><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/31b3a8c2-dbb9-11e1-aba3-00144feab49a.html#axzz22exb2pPl" target="_blank">click here for the full review</a><br />
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TIME OUT LONDON <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">"Misheck Mzumara's depiction of Mapanje flashes with a desperate, earnest charm ...</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">" A play which bursts into moments of shocking frustration and touching humanity"</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">3 stars *** </blockquote><a href="http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/event/270819/and-crocodiles-are-hungry-at-night#.UCBC2BJIT5A.twitter" target="_blank">click here for the full review </a><br />
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</blockquote>Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-11305391667278731312012-08-02T08:37:00.000-07:002012-08-02T08:37:44.707-07:00**** four stars!!We have a four-star review in the Financial Times. Such a relief when someone really gets what it is we are trying to achieve! So now it's all hands to the plough to try to convert an excellent review into ticket sales.<br />
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Time Out were there, so it's just a matter of waiting for the review (a bit nervously: just because one critic loved it doesn't mean another will). We're still trying to get the other London papers. <br />
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Here's a rather shocking fact for those of you who may be interested: the Evening Standard only has one theatre reviewer, and he is currently in Edinburgh. Have I misunderstood? Is the Evening Standard not a LONDON paper? Are we not in the middle of the LONDON Cultural Olympiad? So what in God's name is the reviewer doing in Edinburgh?<br />
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Onwards and upwards I suppose. A small but select audience last night and it looks to be the same tonight. My family are in, so it had better be a good one! <br />
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<a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/31b3a8c2-dbb9-11e1-aba3-00144feab49a.html#axzz22P0mRCRQ" target="_blank">four star review in the Financial Times</a>Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-73419421758312409432012-08-01T08:50:00.000-07:002012-08-01T08:50:47.205-07:00opening nightWell it's happened! The press night was wonderful. Free glasses of cava all round, with some fab food and a great show. The place was pretty full and the actors rose to the occasion, so now it's just a case of waiting for the reviews to come out. Let's hope they will be kind. <br />
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Stratford-on-Avon also went really well, although the performance space is much more challenging. However, The audience absolutely loved it, and there were people standing to applaud at the end, so I think it was OK! <br />
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The journey to this point has been rocky, to say the least. Poor Dipo Katimba had her visa refused, so we were challenged at the very start, having to replace her with a UK based actress. Angella Ching'amba, who played Lady M in my African Macbeth, and Titania in An African Dream and is now based in Nottingham, stepped into the breach. This was great, because she was also a member of the team at the start of this project, developing and performing in After Mikuyu back in 2006.<br />
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In the mean time, I discovered that Misheck, who is playing Jack Mapanje, was committed to another project, and had performances booked right up to the day before we were due to open in Stratford. Some internet diplomacy ensued and we managed to get them to agree to release him a little early, to give us three full days of rehearsal before opening the show. <br />
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The next thing was having to find extra money when Nanzikambe's promised funding was delayed. Air tickets had to be bought whether the funds were in or not! So some borrowing from Peter to pay Paul was organised ...<br />
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So the project was still on! Hurrah! And then ... seven of the actors missed their flight. For a while there it was touch and go but after a day which took more than three years off my life, a plane took off from Kamuzu International Airport with all seven of them on board. It seems that Mphundu has a golden tongue and talked them into changing the flights at no extra cost. A miracle! But when they arrived their katundu (luggage and stuff) didn't. It was still in Addis Ababa. So we had the actors, but not the set or costumes.<br />
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So all in all, it's completely amazing that we have a show - and not just a show, a good show. Which just goes to show that Malawian performers are resilient, resourceful and pretty fabulous. Second night in London tonight ... fingers crossed. Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-26418844217781319422012-06-30T13:05:00.000-07:002012-06-30T13:05:36.559-07:00Caine Prize and the Arts CouncilThis week has been a busy one. The Caine Prize winner will be announced on Monday, and the five shortlisted candidates are in town - including my friend Stanley Kenani who has been shortlisted for the second time (the first time was in 2008). <br />
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So it was off to the Royal Overseas League on Thursday for the first of a series of panel discussions with the shortlisted writers. A very lively, robust and entertaining evening, made even more fun by the fact that Stanley had had a couple of glasses of wine before going on stage, which loosened his tongue marvellously. They were asked the question about whether they thought of themselves as African writers and the blue touch paper was lit. Stanley said he wasn't going to answer that question until writers from European countries were asked if they through of themselves as 'European writers'. "This question really pisses me off" he said. Fantastic stuff. He got a well-deserved round of applause.<br />
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Today it was the Royal African Society's 2 day festival at SOAS. Again, a most interesting discussion with the Caine Prize writers. Made more so for me by the addition of James Gibbs in the audience - a rare pleasure to have a chat with this grandee of the African Theatre world. I also took the opportunity of asking Dr Mpalive Msiska (reader in English at Birkbeck University) if he would be interested in chairing a Q&A with Jack during the run of the show. In theory he is - but a family wedding in Malawi slap bang in the middle of the run may de-rail the plan. We'll see.<br />
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Tomorrow I am back at SOAS for an event featuring Jack Mapanje and the publisher of his memoir, Becky Nana Ayebia. Looking forward to a stimulating discussion, and of course Jack is always very entertaining. <br />
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Other developments this week have included the confirmation of our Arts Council funding - a great relief - and the ensuing flurry of activity. I have now employed a Company Stage Manager, the lovely Kala Simpson, and a very talented young Lighting Designer, Charlie Jones. Charlie has some fab ideas, and it was a joy to talk some of them through with him. This is going to be a very exciting show!Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-92022548752501460722012-06-03T13:35:00.000-07:002012-06-03T13:37:08.463-07:00expanding the teamAnd so the expansion continues ... today Amy and I held interviews for some new people, as we are overwhelmed by the amount of administration and organisation we have to do in the next few weeks. Found some great people, and offers have been made. I'll let you know if and when they're accepted!<br />
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This is an anxious time ... still waiting to hear from the Arts Council, fingers tightly crossed in anticipation. However, we're getting more and more people involved - Chickenshed are now official parters, and have given us some rehearsal space, which makes a massive difference, and I had a very positive meeting with Border Crossings on collaborations during the Africa Salon at The Africa Centre during August. We will be performing 'Crocodiles', and Border Crossings will be curating a series of African events, including a workshop delivered by our extraordinary company of multi-talented Malawians. <br />
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But still ... if the Arts Council don't come through, we can run the project but it will be on a shoestring, and very difficult to do. So we've got everything crossed. Trying not to think about it while I embark on the final re-write of Crocodiles.Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-76391890476409536362012-05-13T11:20:00.000-07:002012-05-13T13:35:46.000-07:00co-incidences and serendipitous connectionsHad a wonderful time yesterday at Chickenshed, where Border Crossings were running Sunshine on a Rainy Day, a one-day mini festival of Southern African performance. Michael Walling (Artistic Director of Border Crossings) had invited me to be on the panel for the discussion. I didn't know what to expect but was delighted to find myself sitting between <span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_DetailsViewNews_lblText">Arifani Moyo and Christopher Maphosa, both amazingly interesting Zimbabweans. Ari is studying for his doctorate, and also worked for Nanzikambe, the company I founded - although a long time after I had returned to the UK so this was a big - and happy - surprise to me. Christopher was there because his life story was the inspiration behind the play we were to see later in the day - a one man show called The Rain That Washes, written by Dave Carey, directed by Kieran Fay and performed - quite brilliantly - </span>by Ashley Maynard.<br />
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The discussion ranged widely, taking in some of my favourite things to talk about ... the role of political theatre in Africa; how Shakespeare can be used to get a subversive message across that would be censored in a modern play; theatre as education as well as entertainment, for both adults and children. Of course I talked at length about Jack Mapanje and <i>And Crocodiles Are Hungry At Night ...</i><br />
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<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_DetailsViewNews_lblText">Earlier in the day we saw a lovely film called Kini and Adams. Made in 1997 it has never had a general release here, which is little short of a scandal. Directed by </span><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_DetailsViewNews_lblText">Idrissa Ouedraogo in English, and set in an unspecified Southern African country it is a road movie where they never actually leave town, </span><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_DetailsViewNews_lblText">is funny and tragic and an absolute gem. I only wish I could tell you where to get a copy. Associate Director Amy Bonsall was with me and was surprised and delighted to see that the film was featuring John Kani, who became a friend when she worked on Hamlet with him in Cape Town. </span><br />
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<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_DetailsViewNews_lblText">Later we had a chance to have a long chat with Dave Carey. He has also been to Blantyre, visiting Nanzikambe and working with Mphundu Mjumira and Dipo Katimba on their Street Children project. So you can imagine his pleasure at the news that Mphundu is in the <i>Crocodiles </i>cast and will be arriving in just a few short weeks. We are trying to arrange one of our workshops to be held at Chickenshed. </span><br />
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<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_DetailsViewNews_lblText">So the day had a very Malawian flavour; it was wonderful to find these connections. Michael was talking about his work with David Kerr in Botswana - another of my Malawian theatre contacts as David taught for many years at the University of Malawi. (I'm proud to say I introduced them, although I'm sure they would have met sooner or later without me!). </span><br />
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<span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_DetailsViewNews_lblText">So now I have to get on with the pre-production. We have had some very bad news, as Dipo has had her visa application denied, and will not be able to be part of the UK productions. However, we are incredibly lucky that Angella Ching'amba is here, living in Nottingham and available to come to London to be in the show. We will greatly miss Dipo, but as Angella was in the research and development piece, <i>After Mikuyu</i>, it will also be a joyful reunion. </span><br />
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</span>Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8096885032886525320.post-30360199843306362592012-04-12T11:05:00.000-07:002012-04-12T11:05:46.818-07:00the journey continuesBeen back just over a month and so much has happened. After advertising on the Young Vic directors' forum, as of today I now have two new associates:<br />
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Amy Bonsall has joined as Associate Director, and she will direct a production of <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> to be performed in the gardens of Hall's Croft in Stratford. She has only just been appointed, and already I'm wondering how I managed without her energy and ideas.<br />
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Working with Amy as Assistant Director for R&J will be Roe Lane, who is coming to the end of her MA in Text and Performance at Birkbeck/RADA and has been associated with my Malawian theatre work since 2004 when she joined Nanzikambe for her gap year. I'm really looking forward to having her around again, and will be shamelessly exploiting her intelligence and good nature!<br />
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The second of my new Associates is Jemma Gross, who has galloped in on her white charger to take over responsibility for the PR and Marketing of <i>And Crocodiles Are Hungry At Night </i>and <i>Romeo and Juliet. </i>I am feeling very lucky!<br />
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Of course it's not all plain sailing. Today has also seen some very worried messages from Misheck in Malawi who is planning on travelling to Germany this coming Monday for the project with Theater Konstanz. Misheck and Dipo from our <i>Crocs </i>company are both also doing the German project; they already have German visas (these took 2 days to process) and have sent their passports to the British High Commission to get the UK visas before the trip to Germany. They have now been waiting a month with no feedback from UK visas - so now they have had to ask to cancel the application and have their passports returned urgently. Apparently the UK government 'outsource their visa function' to South Africa so the passports are not even in Malawi. Fingers crossed that the passports make it back to Malawi in time - and we will have to start the visa application all over again. This does not make me proud to be British. <br />
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Also in the last month Amy and I have prepared and submitted the Arts Council application for Grants for the Arts. A long and arduous process, it's also very useful as it makes us be truly specific about why we want to do the project and what we hope to achieve. I only hope the application is strong enough to beat off the competition (at the moment only 45% of applications get approved for funding). Now our attention must turn to all the other funding applications waiting to be completed ...Kate Staffordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11768313152472821424noreply@blogger.com0