As the UK prepares to exit the EU, The Actors Centre and Voila! Europe present a brand-new festival, A Piece of the Continent, celebrating cultural links and theatre from our neighbours from across Europe.
A Piece of the Continent (8-27 Apr) will be staged at The Actors Centre’s Tristan Bates Theatre, in the heart of London. The festival is designed to offer a platform for artists from across Europe as well as extending a welcome to EU citizens who may feel isolated or disenfranchised following the passing of Article 50. The festival will showcase theatre from Italian, French, Polish, Greek, German, Dutch, Lithuanian, Austrian and Spanish artists based in the UK or overseas.
The nine works, each an hour-long, will be staged over the three weeks of the festival, exploring themes including gender equality, freedom of expression and the laborious process of becoming a British citizen. Each will offer a taste of the rich variety of theatre and live performance being made by European artists today.
In the first week, Panta Rei Theatre will present Don’t You Dare! (8-13 Apr) a multilingual political satire about a famous actress accused of witchcraft. Set in 1601, the production draws on Commedia dell’arte to interrogate the way propaganda has been used against women across the centuries. Director Chiara D’Anna is known for her work with writer and director Peter Strickland on the films Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke of Burgundy.
On similar themes, A Voice (8-13 Apr) is a one-woman musical from Anglo-French company Yosis Theatre exploring the exploitation of women at the hands of powerful men. Written in light of the #MeToo movement, it highlights the corrupt and often sexist worlds of music and celebrity through the story of the rise and fall of 1960s pop star Angèle, drawing on the courageous work of women’s rights activists of the 60s.
Exploring the final moments of the life of a dementia sufferer, Dark Matter (9-13 Apr) dives into the world of Alfie, an elderly astrophysicist nearing the end of his life. Using Bunraku Puppetry, a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, live microcinema and physical storytelling, Dark Matter from London-based pan-European company Vertebra Theatre is a devised and puppetry performance about star constellations, black holes and a race against the clock to discover meaning.
In week two, audiences will be transported back to the era of the Spanish civil war for The Copla Musical (15-20 Apr) to unearth the story of drag artist La Gitana. The Copla Musical takes audiences from her rescue from prison to becoming a drag cabaret sensation in the US, all the while struggling to merge her Spanish past with her American future. Placing traditional Spanish Copla (folk) songs into the context of a contemporary musical, English/Spanish company HisPanic Breakdown shares a story of love, freedom and identity.
Mortgage (15-20 Apr), a horror farce collaboration from Created a Monster and David Glass Ensemble, tells the story of Beatrice Gunta Mortgage, a murderess and failed stage manager suffering at the hands of two demonic drag doctors in a corrupt asylum. Infused with Theatre of Cruelty, slapstick and Film Noir, Mortgage is a haunting take on Dante’s Divine Comedy, touring Europe this year.
From Exchange Theatre, Noor, a true story of Liberté (16-20 Apr) is based on the true-life story of Princess Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan, a British secret agent of Indian and American descent who fought tirelessly to overcome the tyranny of the Nazis during WWII. The first female wireless operator to be sent from Britain into occupied France, Noor’s bravery outraged her German jailers and torturers, and she is widely considered Britain's first Muslim war heroine. Exchange Theatre specialises in bilingual works in English and French.
The third and final week of the festival opens with Berlin-based COSmino Productions. Drawing parallels between London during the Blitz and Brexit Britain, Dreams Die Hard (22-27 Apr) brings the diaries of actor and director Rachel Karafistan’s grandmother to the stage. Combining projection and live shadow puppetry, and spanning more than 40 years across London, Liverpool, Cyprus and beyond, it asks questions of national identity and borders prevalent both then and today.
Collide Theatre will present the premiere of Metamorphosis (23-27 Apr), a brand-new dance-theatre work inspired by the classic Franz Kafka novella of the same name. It uses the tale’s focus on a man turning into an insect to depict an ode against ostracism and a cry for parental acceptance of their children, no matter how different or unusual they are.
To close the festival, Diary of an Expat (24-27 Apr) confronts questions of national identity and citizenship, bringing to the stage theatre maker’s Cecilia Gragnani’s autobiographical experience of being an expat in Britain in the age of Brexit. Having left Italy for London – the city she now calls home – ten years ago, she is now faced with the possibility of being forced to return. Drawing on real-life testimonials and her own experiences, she explores the emotional and complicated process of becoming a British citizen, whilst staying true to her roots.
Speaking about the festival, Will Mytum, Theatre Programme Co-Ordinator at The Actors Centre said “A Piece Of The Continent was created to offer a platform of visibility and opportunity for European artists, who may feel a sense of alienation in the aftermath of Brexit and the antagonistic rhetoric that has followed. The incredible quality of the companies participating in the festival is a testament to how valuable European work is to the fabric of UK’s theatre scene. Anyone questioning the value of collaboration with our European neighbours should come and try a Piece of the Continent!’.
Sharlit Deyzac and Amy Clare Tasker, founders of Voila! Europe said “A Piece of the Continent is an exciting evolution for Voila! Europe and for the artists we support. Our annual November festival offers 2-3 performance dates, an important step for work in development. Programming shows for a full week in the West End allows European companies to take their work to the next level. Three projects featured in A Piece of the Continent began at our Voila! Europe festival, and now are ready for a larger platform. Other shows in the programme are already touring around Europe, and we are proud to give them their UK premiere.”
A Piece of the Continent
8 – 27 April
Tristan Bates Theatre, 1A Tower St, London WC2H 9NP
£13 (£11 concs) | www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk | 020 3841 6611
www.actorscentre.co.uk | www.voilaeuropefestival.com
A Voice 8 – 13 April
6.15pm (7pm, 8 April)
Yosis Theatre | £13 (£11 concs)
A Voice is a one-woman musical about the rise and fall of 1960s pop star Angèle, premiered at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Plucked from obscurity by ambitious music impressario François, Angèle’s downfall involves a doomed love triangle and career rocking scandal, told in flashback from a press conference held by the now brittle star. Written in light of the #MeToo movement and drawing on the histories of female right activists of the 60s, A Voice explores how artists on the world stage can change lives by speaking up with a soundtrack from the swinging 60s
Yosis Theatre is an Anglo-French theatre company founded by sisters Sophie and Anne Bertreau. Playwright and actress Anne lives and works between Paris and London.
Dark Matter 9 – 13 April
7.45pm (4.30pm matinee & Q&A, 13 April)
Vertebra Theatre | £13 (£11 concs)Exploring the final moments of the life of a dementia sufferer, Dark Matter dives into the world of Alfie, an elderly astrophysicist nearing the end of his life. Using Bunraku Puppetry, a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, live microcinema and physical storytelling, Dark Matter is a devised and puppetry performance about star constellations, black holes and a race against the clock to discover meaning.
Vertebra Theatre is a London based ensemble of European theatre makers who create devising performances stretching the boundaries between object theatre, dance and the visual arts.
Don’t You Dare! 8 – 13 April
9.15pm (8.30pm, 8 April)
Panta Rei Theatre | £13 (£11 concs)
Award-winning director Chiara D’Anna returns to London with her trademark surreal comedy in a multilingual political satire. It’s 1601: a famous actress accused of mesmerising her audiences stands trial for witchcraft. As the trial unfolds, an entire nation turns against her. Through a contemporary reinterpretation of Commedia dell’Arte and drawing parallels between the violence, oppression and indoctrination of the Inquisition, and the hate speech of contemporary politics, Don’t You Dare! weaves a narrative across centuries of attacks on women, the arts, and freedom of expression.
Panta Rei Theatre (‘everything flows’ Theatre) creates interactive work to inspire, challenge, and empower audiences. Following London festivals, Don’t You Dare! continues its European tour, with performances in Rome, Torino and Milano.
The Colpa Musical 15 – 20 April
7.45pm (7pm, 15 April)
HisPanic Breakdown | £13 (£11 concs)
In the midst of the Spanish Civil War, drag artist La Gitana is rescued from prison by a group of Republican fighters, setting out on a mission to spy on the forces that captured her. She moves continents, becomes a drag cabaret sensation and finds love, yet still struggles to merge her Spanish past with her American future. A story of freedom, romance and loss, it uses live traditional Spanish Copla (folk) songs that have not seen the light outside of Spain, now taking the form of a contemporary musical in English. The Copla Musical has recently toured internationally to Europe and South America. Participating artists are from both Spanish and British backgrounds.
HisPanic Breakdown is a young theatre company committed to developing and showcasing original collaborations between English and Spanish artists. Its artistic mission addresses the depiction of traditional culture and folklore through cultural exchange. In 2010 it presented the production Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown at the Henley Fringe Festival, a dark comedy about gay Latino immigrants in America.
Mortgage 5 – 20 April
9.15pm (8.30pm, 15 April)
Ceated a Monster and David Glass Ensemble | £13 (£11 concs)
Mortgage (AKA Beatrice Gunta Mortgage) is a lunatic, murderess, and stage manager. She has burnt down the last theatre on Earth. Now in the care of two demonic drag-doctors, she isn't having the best day. As the audience circumnavigates her short and miserable life in the asylum, where the patients are sane and the doctors are lunatics, the healing is a hell all of its own. Mortgage is a horror-farce which draws on Theatre of Cruelty, slapstick, Film Noir, magic and violence. A collaboration between Created a Monster and the David Glass Ensemble, this is the second in the series of David Glass’s iteration of Dante’s Divine Comedy and will tour Europe this year.
Noor, a true story of Liberté 16 – 20 April
6.15pm (2.30pm matinee, 20 April)
Exchange Theatre | £13 (£11 concs)
Noor, a true story of Liberté honours the story of Princess Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan, a member of the Women’s Auxillery Airforce and later a British secret agent who went above and beyond in her mission to help overcome the Nazis during WWII whilst all the time remaining a harsh critic of British imperialism. When she was captured and executed in Dachau concentration camp, ‘Liberté’ was reportedly the last word she spoke. Noor, a true story of Liberté, which has been developed by Nadia Nadif, the RAF Museum and Exchange Theatre, will have its world premiere this April.
Exchange Theatre is an international cultural organisation established in 2006 to translate and produce unknown or rare French-language plays from major French playwrights for the first time in London and off Broadway. Led by Mauritian actor/ director David Furlong and French actress/ producer Fanny Dulin, the company was resident at the London French Institute from 2010 to 2012 before specialising in a bilingual works. In 2017 and 2018, the company was nominated for Best Director, Best Production and Best Video design at the Off West End awards. Nadia Nadif is of a Muslim upbringing, David Furlong has Indian roots and Fanny Dulin is French; all three have spent their adult lives living and working in the UK.
Dreams Die Hard 22 – 27 April
6.15pm
COSmino Productions | £13 (£11 concs)
Inspired by a diary from 1945/6 written by actor/ director Rachel Karafistan’s grandmother, Olive Davis, Dreams Die Hard weaves projection and live shadow puppetry; war time politics with Brexit time politics; the drama of 1940s London with the reality of 1980s Liverpool. Journeying from London to Cyprus and way beyond, it summons ghosts from the past on a journey towards truth and tolerance, questioning national identity, discrimination and national boundaries. At A Piece of the Continent, Dreams Die Hard makes its UK premiere before embarking on a tour of Europe.
COSmino Productions is a Berlin based company made up of British actor/ director Rachel Karafistan and Polish actor/ director, musician (and veteran Berlin Blue Man) Kuba Pierzchalski. Both Rachel and Kuba are former members of acclaimed Polish company, Teatr Biuro Podrozy.
Metamorphosis 23 – 27
(3pm matinee, 27 April)
Collide Theatre | £13 (£11 concs)
Collide Theatre premiere a brand new dance-theatre piece about being young and made to feel alien by the people most close to you inspired by Franz Kafka’s classic novella Metamorphosis. This is not a piece about a man turning into an insect; it is a piece about a family not accepting their child for who they are. Metamorphosis is an ode against ostracism; an ode to the beauty of the human body.
Collide Theatre was formed by Greek director Emily Louizou in May 2015 to bring together emerging artists who share a passion for bold international texts and dream-like theatrical storytelling. Its work is bold, highly theatrical, surreal and expressionistic, involving dance and live music. Since it launched, Collide Theatre has created four cross-art and sold-out performances in unconventional spaces around London. It has also been selected to be part of Ugly Duck’s creative season for emerging companies twice, in 2016 and 2017. In November 2018, it was awarded a grant from Arts Council England for the UK premiere of a contemporary opera at VOILA Europe.
Diary of an Expat 24 – 27 April
7.45pm (1.30pm matinee, 27 April)
Paper Smokers/Fumatori di Carta | £13 (£11 concs)
Faced with the possibility of having to leave her home of ten years, Cecilia Gragnani shares her personal experience and testimonials of others to ask: what does it feel like to be an expat? A comic story of the encounter between a modern migrant and London – a contemporary El Dorado craved by generations of young Europeans – Diary of an Expat looks at the road to becoming a British citizen, embracing a new nationality whilst staying true to your roots, and the knocks your identity takes when no country claims you as their own. From amusing miscommunications to bewildering legal technicalities, Cecilia delves into the day-to-day of living in a country that can’t pronounce your surname.
