International arts promoters head to Cardiff to see City of the Unexpected
A group of international arts promoters, organisers and performers from around the world will travel to Cardiff for City of the Unexpected to see for themselves Wales’ expertise in what is called site specific theatre, where performances appear anywhere except in a traditional theatre.
City of the Unexpected promises to feature a cast of thousands and amazing spectacles inspired by the work of one of Cardiff’s most famous sons, author Roald Dahl. The event will roll out on the weekend of 17-18 September across Cardiff’s streets and public spaces, shops and arcades, buildings and parks.
British Council Wales is bringing the delegates to Cardiff from as far afield as Korea, India, South Africa and Australia.
Head of arts for British Council Wales, Rebecca Gould, explains:
“Wales has an outstanding tradition of world-class, site-specific theatre. In recent years, companies including our two national theatres, National Theatre Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, have produced critically and publicly acclaimed performances such as {150}, which took place in the Royal Opera House stores near Aberdare and Mametz, performed in woodland near Usk. City of the Unexpected is a great chance for our international visitors to see the Welsh creative sector doing what it does best.
“The delegates will take part in a programme of activities that will help them understand how Welsh arts organisations create and manage these special performances, both artistically and practically.”
They will also meet some of the leading practitioners and organisers of the performances, and be able share ideas and questions, as well as making new contacts and developing their networks within Wales’ creative sector.
List of Delegates
Hye Ran Hwang Korea
Founding member and Workshop Leader of Performance Group TUIDA
Festival Director for the British Council Lagos Theatre Festival
Jacob Boehme Australia
Artistic Director of IDJA
Krzysztof Bielaszka Poland
International Projects Coordinator, Artists-in-Residence Programme A-i-R WRO
Jakub Kulasa Poland
Head of Literature Department in Krakow Festival Office: http://en.biurofestiwalowe.pl/
Anurupa Roy India
Puppeteer, puppet designer and director of the puppet theatre Kat Katha
Yo Sup Bae Korea
Director of Performance Group TUIDA
Sudip Chakraborthy Bangladesh
Chairman and Assistant Professor, Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Dhaka
Jake Oorloff Sri Lanka
Founder Floating Space Theatre Company http://www.floatingspace.org/
Ambra Floris Italy
Sardegna Teatro http://www.sardegnateatro.it/
Yusrah Bardien South Africa
Communications and Marketing Manager ASSITEJ South Africa http://www.assitej.org.za/
Anahera Higgins New Zealand
Māori Programmer, Arts and Culture, Matariki Festival http://www.matarikifestival.org.nz/
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.
We work in more than 100 countries and our 8,000 staff – including 2000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the Arts and delivering education and society programmes.
We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publically-funded grant-in-aid provides less than 20 per cent of our turnover which last year was £864m. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.
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