New Earth Theatre Celebrates 30th Anniversary With Inaugural Season

As New Earth Theatre celebrates their 30th anniversary, new Artistic Director Ailin Conant and Executive Director Lian Wilkinson has announced their 2025 season of work. Highlights of the season include a Climate Justice Festival, a Twisted Roots Festival of new BESEA work, and a yearlong Living Archive Project to document the company’s history and highlight its impact on the wider sector.

Ailin Conant said today, “In 2025 we will celebrate the legacy of the past 30 years, while planting the seeds for the best BESEA theatre work of the next 30. I’m so excited by the breadth and calibre of the artists and organisations who we are partnering with to deliver this milestone season.”

Lian Wilkinson added, “We’re thrilled to announce a programme that shines a spotlight on the many artists and communities we’ve had the privilege to meet and collaborate with over the years. We cannot wait to showcase the amazing stories, talent and love in our cohorts.”

Conant’s tenure begins with a daylong Climate Justice Festival, co-produced with Kali Theatre and Tara Theatre. It aims to raise awareness of the impact of climate change in the Global South, in which all three companies are rooted, manifesting urgency, action and resilience through art and conversation. The festival includes devised performances, script readings and workshops and takes place on Saturday 29 March at Tara Theatre.

To celebrate 30 years of New Earth Theatre, the company opens a callout today to British East and Southeast Asian (BESEA) artists interested in exploring traditional ESEA artforms updated for a contemporary British theatre context. It is an invitation for artists to explore their unique performance heritage, moving away from archaic or fetishised ideas of authenticity, and embracing ESEA and British performance culture in the here-and-now. New Earth have partnered with six venues to offer six residencies for BESEA artists and companies as part of their Artist Incubator programme in 2025. The successful applicants will receive a £2000 seed commission each, mentoring support and a residency at either Camden People’s Theatre, Contact Manchester, New Diorama, The Pleasance, Sheffield Theatres or Theatre in the Mill. Additional artists selected from New Earth’s Midlands and North-based Academy Plus programme will be supported through the Artist Incubator. The aim of the programme is to aid artists with the skills and knowledge to create their own work, supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The incubator will culminate into a showcase as part of New Earth’s 30th anniversary festival, Twisted Roots. Alongside the Artists Incubator projects, the festival will feature extracts of New Earth’s work-in-development for 2026 and beyond, including The Body Fisher, a new play by Amy Ng co-commissioned with dance company Feng Ling Productions; Olivier-nominated writer and director AJ Yi and Emily Ling Wiliams, whose new play based on The Ballad of Mulan has been co-commissioned by New Earth Theatre and Headlong Theatre; and an exploration of Shakespeare’s text developed with Taiko drummer and composer Nao Masuda. The festival will take place in London and Leeds in September 2025.

 Over the course of this year, New Earth Theatre will also mark their milestone year by spearheading a brand-new Living Archive Project, made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project will be the first comprehensive resource to capture and reflect a BESEA perspective to the changing UK arts landscape, by chronicling the company’s 30 years of history through oral testimonies, scriptwriting and performance. 

Continuing their outreach programmes, New Earth Theatre will offer nine Academy courses across the country in partnership with venues including the Lowry, HOME Manchester, Factory International, Birmingham Hippodrome, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Leeds Playhouse, New Vic Theatre and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. The courses offer BESEAs an insight into theatre and an opportunity to hone their skills in areas such as performing, devising, writing and technical theatre. This flagship academy programme is generously supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Idlewild Trust. New Earth Theatre will also once again be awarding their Creative Constellations Bursary, provided by actor Orion Lee. The bursary will be awarded to a drama school graduate who best demonstrates that they have the talent, skills and commitment to succeed in the industry.

Alongside this, New Earth Theatre will continue to offer workshops, digital installations and character performances including their James Robson Character Encounter, an interactive, promenade experience which takes place at the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum on various dates throughout the year. Other works in development include a new co-commissioned play by Jude Christian with Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse as part of New Earth Theatre’s associateship, and an NHS-funded project with curious directive.

For more information or to apply visit www.newearththeatre.org.uk

To post a comment, you must register and login.