22 February 2019
Newsdesk
The Lyric Hammersmith will be bringing its Evolution festival back for a fourth year. Evolution showcases artists aged 18-25, celebrating the ground-breaking and exciting work being produced by young people in the capital. The multi-art form festival will run from Friday 1 March - Wednesday 13 March 2019.
This year, Evolution puts women in the spotlight and invites them to be bold, to be loud and to take up space, under the theme ‘Who Run the World?’. The festival will be packed with activity led by the next generation of female artists with performances, scratches, workshops and networking opportunities. Evolution creates a safe and creative space for artists to share their work, represents the diverse and multi-cultural talent in London and allows artists to connect with a wider audience.
The festival features several projects developed by the Lyric including three shows Memories, Feels and Petroleuse; panel discussion I’m Not Bossy I’m The Boss; and scratch performances including 1381 by the Lyric Ensemble and Maybe She’s Born With It. This year the festival welcomes Clean Break’s young artists group, who present their production Belong, and The Performance Lab, whose Cut The Bakwaas offers a platform for artists to address the lack of representation of British Asians in arts and culture.
Evolution gives a platform to young artists currently underrepresented in the arts. In 2018 Evolution showcased 137 artists and performers between the ages 18-25. 60 artists were from BAME backgrounds and 88 of artists were female. Artists from last year’s Evolution have gone on to create shows at the Lyric, the Vaults, the Bunker Theatre and the Young Vic.
The Lyric Hammersmith is also delighted to have been selected as the recipient organisation for the newly established Bill Cashmore Award which has been set up in Bill's memory by his family and friends to support an emerging artist. The annual award will provide £10,000 per year over the next 3 years to support the professional development of a young artist and the rehearsal and development of a 'scratch' idea into a show to headline future Evolution festivals from 2020.
The Award will be supporting not just the lead artist, but all the young artists, creatives and technicians involved in the production.
Following the success of the 2018 Lyric Ensemble, whose show Abandon sold out its run, received critical acclaim and saw Kate Marlais nominated for a 2018 Stage Debut Award for Best Composer or Lyricist, the 2019 Lyric Ensemble show is announced for 19 - 29 June. Tickets go on sale today.
The Lyric Ensemble is a group of 15 actors aged 18 – 25 who haven’t previously accessed formal training, working and training two nights a week over nine months with under the leadership of the Lyric Ensemble’s Director, Holly Race Roughan; the Lyric's Director of Young People Nicholai La Barrie and the Lyric’s Artistic Associates. Over the nine months they work together to create a show, which they will perform in June 2019 following scratch performances as part of Evolution in March.
The Director for the 2019 Lyric Ensemble is Holly Race Roughan, currently Associate Director for arts in prison charity KESTREL. Holly was also the associate director for People, Places & Things (National Theatre and West End) and has worked as a director for many theatres and theatre companies across the UK, including the Royal Exchange Manchester and Gate Theatre, Southwark Playhouse and Theatre 503 in London.
The 2019 Lyric Ensemble includes: Johnson Adebayo, Bashie Baptiste, Wesley Bozonga, Ella Dacres, Marvell Fayosa, Kane Feagan, Niamh Granville, Savas Hutchinson-Fuat, Gavin Joseph, Ele Mc Kenzie, Roseanna Musgrove, Priyanka Patel, Danielle Tama, Kamram Vahabi and Joseph Vaiana.
LISTINGS
Megan Valentine, Chanto Silva and Lyric Hammersmith present
Petroleuse
1 March | 7pm | Studio | £8
Petroleuse (noun). A women or girl who uses petrol to set fire to a building or other property. Four teenage suspected arsonists come across four long-gone feminist activists and discover they have more in common than just their sex. What’s the right way to achieve change, and who gets to decide what that is?
This play has been developed through the New Directions Programme run jointly by the Lyric Hammersmith and Wimbledon College of Art.
The Performance Lab presents
Cut The Bakwaas
8 March | 7.30pm | Reuben Foundation Wing | £5 A celebration of being Brown and British.
Join us for an evening of music, performances, and good vibes to unify the masses. Stories will be shared through multidisciplinary artworks, performances led by British Asian women.
Lyric Hammersmith present
I'm Not Bossy, I’m The Boss
5 March | 6pm - 8pm | Reuben Foundation Wing | £5
Kicking off with a panel discussion, this event will focus on getting ahead in your professional life. An inspiring line-up of leading creative women, including actress Romola Garai and gal-dem founder Liv Little, will share their experiences and top tips. After that we’ll be hosting a networking session to help you grow your creative contacts and meet potential collaborators.
Prime and Lyric Hammersmith present
Memories
5 & 6 March | 8.15pm | Studio | £8
Memories is about three young women in the care system, commissioned by the Lyric Hammersmith.
As they unravel their pasts and question their futures they take us on a journey through their lives, and the broken system that allowed them to fall through the cracks.
Lyric Hammersmith present
1381
6 & 7 March | 7.45pm | Rehearsal Room 1 | £5
Come and support our Lyric Ensemble as they scratch their new show, directed by Holly Race Roughan, ahead of its full production in June. Starting with an extraordinary true story from the 14th century, this piece asks how much has really changed since then?
A blend of history, modern myth and music. Clean Break presents
Belong
7 & 8 March | 7pm-7.30pm | Studio | £8
Esther, Frankie and Shiloh don’t know each other. Their lives are very different, and they don’t have any mutual friends.
But they do have one thing in common. Sometimes they all feel utterly alone.
This dynamic play, devised by Brazen, Clean Break’s Young Artists, and adapted by bold new voices Carys Wright and River, explores youth loneliness in London.
Filled with hope, longing and lyricism, this is an unmissable theatrical debut from a vibrant young company.
Created as part of the Co-Op Foundation funded Youth Loneliness Project. T.D. Moyo and Lyric Hammersmith present
Feels
Written and devised by TD.Moyo
11, 12 & 13 March | 7.45pm | Studio | £8
Feels explores the experiences, feelings, dreams of five Black men who find themselves in a crazed pursuit of memory and the desire to attain, attain something, anything.
A play about their transatlantic, multi-generational, don't-care-if-you're-a-boy-or-girl, in-your- face, catch-this-vibe, spot-the-lie, Black-is-beautiful, never ending type of feelings. Feels was a scratch performance in Evolution 2018, which has been developed with the Lyric over the past year.
Come and feel with us. Lyric Hammersmith present
Maybe She's Born With It
12 & 13 March | 7pm | Rehearsal Room 1 | £5 The future of theatre needs you.
We’ve invited eight different artists and companies to share performances in the early stages of development.
All performances will last 10 minutes or less, and audiences will be invited to offer their ideas and thoughts to help shape the future development of the work.
Come along, share your feedback, and be able to say you were there when these shows began.
Lyric Hammersmith and TEAfilms present
Fresh Faced Film Fest
15 March | 8pm | Cinema | Free (but ticketed)
A selection of six quality films by young directors will be showcased in front of a panel of film industry professionals.
Evolution Podcast
In the three weeks leading up to the festival, the Lyric will release three podcasts featuring inspiring leading creatives in conversation with emerging artists. Hear true stories about the journeys artists have been on to create work as well previews of events in the Festival programme and who is behind them.
Booking Information: All tickets are £5 or £8
Tickets: 020 8741 6850 | www.lyric.co.uk Lyric Square, King Street, London, W6 0QL
Multibuy offers:
Get 15% off when you book 3 or more Evolution events.
*All three shows must be booked in one transaction for the discount to apply. Put all three in your online basket and the discount will automatically apply.
