13 February 2019
Newsdesk
BABYLON Beyond Borders (12 – 16 February at 7pm) is a live streamed performance both at the Bush Theatre and simultaneously in four countries. The performance can also be seen on the Bush Theatre youtube channel on 16th February - https://www.youtube.com/user/bushtheatre
The early 70s. On four continents four iconic towers are built. Socially progressive, innovative in design, ambitious in scope, wide-ranging in purpose. Concrete. Glass. Steel. Light. Four huge Babel Towers. Fortes Paissandu 9 July, Sao Paolo, Brazil. Ponte Tower, Johannesburg South Africa. The World Trade Centre New York USA. Grenfell Tower, London.
Over their 45-year history these towers have been the site of huge global and human narratives, of dissent, protest, tragedy, terror, ideological battles, and power struggles. They have been homes and funeral pyres, to people and to ideas. They have been revered and hated and birthed myths and identities. They have witnessed cycles of history. Death. Rebirth. Reinvention. Rebranding. The events, big and small, that have taken place in these towers ripple out across the globe and meet in one performance.
Four extraordinary theatres, each deeply rooted in their own community, explore their relationship to home, language and migration. A Brazilian activist at the Pequeno Ato Theatre in São Paulo performs with a chorus of women from Shepherd’s Bush. Musicians at Harlem Stage in New York City act out the experiences of students at the Market Theatre Lab in Johannesburg in a celebration of the possibility and the power of cross border encounters.
Four towers. Four continents. Divided geographically: united as microcosms of human societies trying to reinvent themselves.
At the Bush Theatre three actresses are joined by a chorus of local women to perform stories drawn from their own experience of immigrating to a modern Babylon.
Theatre Director Ruthie Osterman is also a playwright, performer and drama teacher who graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London and the school of Dramatic Arts in Tel-Aviv. Her work includes multiple international collaborations and performances in London, Israel, Poland and India. She is a member of the Lincoln Centre Director’s Lab in NYC and was recognised as a promising artist and endorsed for an Exceptionally Talented Artist Visa for the UK by the Arts Council of England in 2015.
Ticket prices
Prices from £10
Concessions: Bush Locals, Senior Citizens, Disabled and Unemployed patrons, and Bush Connect (Students and U26) members will be eligible for concession prices.
Booking:
Phone 020 8743 5050
In person Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, W12 8LJ
Online bushtheatre.co.uk
