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NATIONAL THEATRE WALES RECEIVES £175,000 GULBENKIAN PERFORMANCE GRANT |
National Theatre Wales is the recipient of a major grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for the creation of a new, high-quality and spectacular production led by four young Somali artists from the Butetown area of Cardiff. Worth £175,000 over two years, the grant will support the development of an innovative performance piece in which leading professionals collaborate with disadvantaged communities. It has been devised by the Foundation to encourage arts organisations to create new productions which genuinely involve local people, while remaining adamant about uncompromisingly high artistic standards, and which have international impact. Ahmed Hassan, Ali Goolyad, Daud Farah and Bashir Deria came to National Theatre Wales with their idea for De Gabay – the song of their lives as young British-born Somali men. Eager to change perceptions of the Somali community, which is often represented negatively in the news, they were inspired by their involvement in National Theatre Wales’ Butetown production, The Soul Exchange. The new show will be devised over two years with organisations including Heeso Cymru, and will draw on the Somalis’ own music and poetry and be developed with a range of artists including the leading Belgian-Moroccan theatre-maker Ben Benaouisse. Combining the music of key international Somali musicians with Welsh talent, it will culminate in a series of installations and site-specific performances around Butetown and Cardiff Bay. Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales, John McGrath, said: “National Theatre Wales is absolutely delighted to be given this fantastic opportunity from the Gulbenkian Foundation. De Gabay was initiated and will be steered throughout by the very people who will be central to the performance – the community of Butetown in Cardiff, and in particular the young Somali men who are hoping to change the way the world sees them and their peers, through the power of their words and images. We are very excited to be embarking on this journey with them.” Andrew Barnett, UK director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, said: “We are keen to reflect the social and cultural breadth of the Foundation’s interests, working with organisations to extend their reach in ways that can influence artistic practice in the UK and internationally. Our aim is that on-going connections should be established between participants and communities with demonstrable social and cultural benefits. To this end there will be a careful evaluation process so that the lessons learned inform the development of new models of working that can be replicated elsewhere.” The Foundation said an important factor in the decision to support this project was that the idea came directly from its participants, providing a theme which, given National Theatre Wales’ reputation for excellence, will be explored with the highest production values. The project meets the Foundation’s criteria of being innovative, involving and international and will create a model for participatory theatre that is genuinely participant-led, spectacular and accessible for a range of audiences, and long-lasting in its impact. |
| National Theatre Wales web site: www.nationaltheatrewales.org |
| e-mail: catrinrogers@nationaltheatrewales.org |
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 |
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