: event
step into new worlds
We’re excited to present six brand new translations developed during the fourth edition of our Theatre Translator Mentorship programme.
Running the programme online this year has truly enriched the experience. We’ve been able to welcome participants and practitioners from outside the UK, making our programme even more international.
The journey of our six translators will culminate in a spectacular digital showcase. We would love you to join us and step into these previously untold worlds.
Over the course of two nights, we’ll showcase plays by acclaimed playwrights from Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Latvia, Spain and Syria. Each night will include three play readings (20-minute extracts) performed by an international ensemble.
Please see schedule below for full details.
: post-show talks
The events will take place over Zoom, and audiences are invited to post questions and comments in the chat box, which will provide a starting point for our post-show discussions.
Involving this year’s six translators and our creative team, these discussions will give audiences an inside glimpse into six brilliant plays that have never before been performed in English.
details
Wed 20 & Thu 21 January
20:00 – 21:30 GMT
Online event
FREE
Wednesday 20th
Black Swans
by Christina Kettering
translated from German by Pauline Wick
Ladies
by Justīne Kļava
translated from Latvian by Ieva Lākute
Speak Quietly, Or I’ll Scream
by Leilah Assumpção
translated from Portuguese by Isobel Foxford
Thursday 21st
The Wetsuitman
by Freek Mariën
translated from Flemish by David McKay
Thirst
by Alejandro Butrón Ibáñez
translated from Spanish by Katherine Walker
Hide & Seek
by Shadi Kiwan
translated from Levantine Arabic by Deema Al-Mohammad
Wednesday 20th
Black Swans
Two sisters, their mother, and a robot. What is the essence of humanity when artificial intelligence acts more human than us? Witty and imaginative, Black Swans explores our responsibilities in the age of individualism.
Ladies
Three generations of women try to assert their independence from each other, all while sharing a small flat in a decrepit district of the post-Soviet city of Riga.
Speak Quietly, Or I’ll Scream
When a stranger breaks into her home, a Brazilian woman undertakes a winding imaginary journey through the city at night, fantasising about a life beyond society’s rules and expectations.
Thursday 21st
The Wetsuitman
A Nordic noir on the surface, The Wetsuitman takes you through a succession of characters and insights to its emotional core: the intimate story of a family and their loss.
Thirst
Thirst explores one couple navigating the stigma of a confession. This play puts the audience face to face with one of society’s biggest taboos.
Hide & Seek
From a dilapidated studio apartment in Damascus, five friends play a game of hide-and-seek as they navigate love, friendship, and the violence of the Syrian civil war that has torn them apart.
: ensemble
Wednesday 20th
Eugenia Low
Krzysia Balińska
Megan Smith
Ian Attard
Thursday 21st
Atilla Akinci
David Djemal
Ian Attard
Irene Panni
Sammy Atallah
: production team
Direction Camila França & Trine Garrett
Marketing support Eugenia Low
: translation team
Charis Ainslie
Paul Russell Garrett
William Gregory
See you in the bar?
After the showcase, we’ll be gathering in our virtual bar so we can catch up with friends, meet new people and have a relaxed chat about all things theatre in translation. It will also be an opportunity to meet the translators and say hello to the team.
We’ll share a separate link to a Zoom meeting (our bar) during the event – we hope to see you there!
Want to know more about our Theatre Translator Mentorship programme?
We’re hosting an informal round-table discussion in the run up to our Theatre Translation Showcase, which will be livestreamed on Facebook on Wednesday 13 January at 13:00 GMT – a perfect lunch-time treat ;)
Joining co-artistic directors Camila França and Trine Garrett around the table will be this year’s translation team, Charis Ainslie, Paul Russell Garrett and William Gregory, who will reflect on the journey of the mentorship since its launch in 2016, and on the highs and lows of this year’s digital edition.
Chairing this round-table chat is none other than our dear friend, Daniel Hahn. Not only an acclaimed writer, editor and translator, Daniel Hahn unwittingly inspired our mentoring programme.
See you there?