Messe Basel 16-19 June 2022 Despite a stalled global economic recovery in the wake of the epidemic, turmoil in financial markets, severe setbacks in crypto markets and staggering inflation in many developed countries, the art market performed surprisingly well in the midst of the economic downturn. The three major auction houses posted a year-on-year …
Recently, the immersive theatre has become popular in mainland China, with some British immersive theatre companies, such as ‘PunchDrunk’ and ‘Les Enfants Terribles’, bringing their shows to Shanghai. Other companies have emerged within British theatre culture from different industries, such as Visual Reality, Augment Reality and drama education projects being accepted by many mainland Chinese …
In theatre, the development of technology has always inspired artists and realized creative possibilities. More than ever, performers and choreographers consider using in live performances recorded videos or utilizing cinematic means, as this is also what the audience anticipates. At the same time, however, abusive use of multi-media has also damaged many productions. Simply, it …
Interviewed by: Joanna Dong / 採訪：董一燃 Text by: Struan Robinson / 撰文：Struan Robinson Translated by: Peng Zuqiang / 翻譯：彭祖強 59Production is a pioneer design company in contemporary global context, their project such as London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony shown their talent to everyone on this planet. Whether creating stage productions, museum installations, live music shows, large scale events, …
Text by: Struan Robinson / 撰文：Struan Robinson Translated by: Peng Zuqiang / 翻譯：彭祖強 The marriage between the live action of stage and the smooth cinematic experience of screen is central to Katie Mitchell’s most recent work, Forbidden Zone. Emphasis upon the visual is a recurrent theme throughout her plays; from the illustrative projections in Some Trace of …
Theatre O is a difficult company to pin down: they have produced only a handful of shows in their 14-year tenure, with their artistic directors Joseph Alford and Carolina Valdes also choosing to collaborate with auteurs such as Katie Mitchell (on a children’s Christmas production of The Cat in the Hat at the National Theatre in 2009) and the Young Vic Theatre (on Juliet Stevenson’s ‘Happy Days’ in 2014), rather than solely
Text by: Joanna Dong / 撰文：董一燃 Joseph Seelig is co-founder and co-director of the annual London International Mime Festival. He was formerly international programme director of the Hong Kong Festival and artistic director of the New Zealand Festival. As the director of HQ Theatres and the Birmingham European (BE) Festival, Seelig also serves as consultant …
Text by: Ava Davies / 撰文：Ava Davies Translated by: Zhao Kunfang / 翻譯：趙坤芳 Fusing installation art, physical and site-specific theatre, Punchdrunk are the world’s most recognisable immersive theatre company. Set up in 2000 by Felix Barrett, the troupe has garnered a huge following and spawned multiple lookalike companies which seek to emulate their global success. Though no …
Text by: Struan Robinson / 撰文：Struan Robinson Translated by: Shen Xinyi / 翻譯：沉心懿 “shunt” was founded by ten artists from Central School of Speech and Drama, who met in 1997 whilst doing a one year postgraduate course. Its beginnings as a collaborative effort has become the group’s defining feature, as embodied in the company’s title as a …
Text by: Ava Davies / 撰文：Ava Davies Translated by: Zhao Kunfang / 翻譯：趙坤芳 Le Patin Libre, which translates as ‘The Free Skate’, are the first company of their kind, coining a new form of performance which they have named ‘contemporary skating’. They completely overturn any notion of a saccharine, ‘Dancing on Ice’ style, and forgo the glitter …
Text by: Struan Robison / 撰文：Struan Robinson Translated by: Harry Liu / 翻譯：劉競晨 Noah Cowan, previously co-director of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) put together the selection of films to be included in the program to reflect this. He writes: “We have aimed to achieve a balance between the canonical and the unjustly neglected, the historically …
Text by: Michelle Yu / 撰文：余小悅 Translated and edited by: Harry Liu / 採訪整理：劉競晨 Founded by the Polish ballet dancer Maria Rambert in 1926, Rambert (previously known as Ballet Rambert before evolving to Rambert Dance Company) is one of the UK’s longest running and well-established dance companies. Whilst initially a purely ballet centred institution, they have …
Text by: Du Xinxi / 撰文：杜昕禧 ‘Produce fresh work for adventurous people by inspiring artists.’ ‘充滿靈感的藝術家為冒險者們所創作的新作品’ Fuel is a London based theatre producing company founded by Louise Blackwell and Kate McGrath in 2004, the company producing works in partnership with a lot of very exciting artists across the UK including Will Adamsdale, Clod Ensemble, not …
Text by: Li Bowen / 撰文：李博文 “By questioning the primacy of the text, in wordless, visual interruptions, the theatre draws on the legacies of the avant-garde attack on the senses. By bridging the visual and the textual in confrontational ways, theatre perhaps appears more readily as a mode of production that reflects the cultural, political, and …
Text by: Joanna Dong / 撰文：董一燃 Translated by: Sherry Luo / 翻譯：羅逸清 After got out of the tube station, the GPS led us to an abandoned biscuits factory. It seemed to be the right place, but we were still not quite sure, as the east London in a winter night looks far lack of security. Someone opened …
In recent years, immersive/site-specific theatre gains incredible popularity. Productions as such offer fresh viewing experiences and high degrees of participation for the audience. To a certain degree, these performances also have managed attracting and developing new audience, have even created buzz on online forums, effectively closing the gap between the production and the audience, going …
Text by 撰文：Ava Davies Translated by 翻譯： Li Ruixue 李瑞雪 Cornwall-based Kneehigh’s humble beginning as a community theatre workshop in 1980 is essentially the key to understanding them as a company. Led by artistic director Emma Rice, who started her career in Kneehigh as an actor before progressing into directing, as many of the company …
Edited by 編輯：Ava Davies Translated by 翻譯：Li Ruixue 李瑞雪 Information Provided by 資料來源：DV8 背離劇團 DV8 are a dance and theatre troupe who look to challenge boundaries and subvert preconceptions, whether in their physical performances or in the intellectually challenging issues they grapple with. Set up in 1986 by Lloyd Newson, who remains their artistic director …
Text by 撰文：Ava Davies Translated by 翻譯：Li Ruixue 李瑞雪 The company that perhaps created and are now synonymous with the concept of contemporary visual theatre are almost certainly Complicite, set up in 1983 by Simon McBurney, Annabel Arden and Marcello Magni. Complicite are probably the most influential experimental theatre establishment in the UK, setting the …
Text by: Joanna Dong 撰文：董一燃 Translated by: Li Bowen 翻譯：李博文 In 2013, on stage was a production that has conquered countless audience with its unmatched darkness and unpredictable magic. It was The Master and Margarita by Complicite. Established in 1983, the Complicite is dedicated to presenting visual effects and the art of design in a …
Modern physical theatre is first and foremost influenced by mime and contemporary dance. Presently, an exact, clear definition of the physical theatre is still called for. To the audience, however, the rich, unconventional body movements bring the physical theatre onto the border between contemporary dance and conventional theatre. It is exactly this unmarked border of …
Text by: Joanna Dong 撰文：董一燃 Translated by: Elaine Yu 翻譯：余寧 Blind Summit was founded in 1997 in an attempt to overturn and reinvent Japanese Bunraku Puppetry. People have always visited their productions with great expectation and the plays have often caused surprise. Blind Summit does not repeat itself merely to please audiences, it …
Blind Summit’s mission is to reinvent the idea of puppetry and bring contemporary puppeteering to a new audience. In their own words, they say that they ‘see puppetry as a radical part of the reinvention of theatre in our time.’ Mark Down acts as Blind Summit’s Artistic Director, and has held the post since founding …
Interview with Slavka Jovanović, Interim Director, Little Angel Theatre 专访小天使剧院临时主任 斯拉夫卡约万诺维奇 The Little Angel Theatre’s modest appearance, tucked away from the London bustle in an old one hundred seater Islington hall, does little to betray its status as the UK’s premier theatrical puppetry company. It is widely seen as being the ‘Home of British Puppetry’, …
Interviewed by: Harry Liu 採訪：劉競晨 Text and edited by: Ava Davies 採訪整理：Ava Davies Translated by: Michelle Yu 翻譯：余小悅 註釋：本文中所提及的木偶並非只是木質偶，只是出於習慣統一使用“木偶”相稱。 Interview with the Co-founder of Puppet Centre, Penny Francis 專訪木偶中心聯合創始人潘妮·弗朗西斯 “If we don’t know the answer to your question, we know someone who does.” As a national development agency for puppetry, Puppet Centre focuses on …
From the moment of its animation, puppet becomes one with its master. Be it small, colossal, realistic or abstract, behind the puppet lies the inexplicable inspiration of the artist. Puppetry may be one of the oldest form of theatrical performance, related closely to religious rituals. Because of its profound history, puppetry is fascinating …
Interviewed by: Joanna Dong 採訪：董一燃 Edited by: Struan Robinson＆ Sarah Pettitt 編輯整理：Struan Robinson＆ Sarah Pettitt Translated by: Chen Ting 翻譯：陳婷 Originally built in 1847 as a railway turntable engine shed, Chalkfarm’s Roundhouse is now better known for serving London’s culture and arts than its railways. Its conversion from a disused locomotive house to a …
Text by: Ava Davies 撰文：Ava Davies Translated by: Chen Ting 翻譯：Chen Ting NoFit State is a circus troupe like no other. Borne as a product of Thatcherite Britain and a creative reaction to the recession surrounding them, they have been part of British culture for twenty-seven years and are a valuable asset to the …
Text by 編輯整理：Struan Robinson Reference 資料來源： John Ellingsworth Translated by 翻譯：Chen Ting 陳婷 For most people the word ‘circus’ will usually call to mind classical images of red and yellow tents, performing animals, painted clowns and long chains of wagons and trailers – whilst circus may have indeed looked like that at one point in …
Text by: Joanna Dong 撰文：董一燃 Translated by: Chen Ting 翻譯：陳婷 Contemporary circus, or Cirque Nouveau, is a term coined mostly to differentiate itself from traditional circus. Yet the difference is not in the innovation of skills. Compared to traditional circus which is a form of entertainment, contemporary circus strives for greater artistic achievement. Today, …
Text by: Honour Bayes 撰文：Honour Bayes Translated by：Li Bowen 翻譯：李博文 “I think in British theatre there’s been an ongoing problem of what to call things that aren’t plays because it doesn’t seem to be enough to just call it theatre. So there’s been a steady trickle of names; alternative theatre, physical theatre, experimental theatre but …
The physical existence of theatre proves the importance of visuality in theatre. In the numerous languages transformed from the text, the verbal is always the first that one can think of; however, undeniably, the carefully choreographed body movements and the meticulously crafted environments on stage also reads and writes the text at the same time. Occasionally, these …
A long time ago, the ancestors of the Zhuang used to live in a place without sunshine. It is said that far beyond the horizon lives a flaming Sun that will bring light and warmth to their homeland. Everyone volunteers for the adventurous journey in search of the Sun… The elders say: “We have the …
Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan have created 1984, originally written by George Orwell, into a new adaptation. Due to unprecedented demand, a 5-week extension is announced for the Headlong, Nottingham Playhouse and Almeida Theatre production of 1984, a critically acclaimed adaptation by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan. The production has been run at the West …
Theatre in the UK integrates a variety of art forms, deserving great attention and meticulous studies through its prosperity. Alongside the rapid development of technology like multimedia and internet, theatre industry and culture in the UK are constantly evolving. As a publication that is attentive to the development of cultural and creative industry, we review one particular ...
06/06-07/06/2014, 20/10-21/10/2014, Sadler’s Wells
01/09/2014-15/01/2015, Noel Coward Theatre
16/09-04/10/2014, The Peacock Theatre
05/06-26/07/2014, Almeida Theatre
21/06-12/07/2014, Everyman, Liverppol; 30/08-28/09/2014, Kneehigh Asylum, Cornwall; 08/10-26/10/2014, Bristol Old Vic
30/10/2014-13/01/2015, National Theatre
03/08-23/08/2014, Murrayfield Ice Rink, Edinburgh
30/01-01-02/2014, ARC.
23/07-19/09/2014, Young Vic Theatre
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