Analogue in association with New Wolsey Theatre present: Stowaway, touring nationally today 18 September - 11 October 2014. Written and directed by Hannah Barker and Lewis Hetherington.
A frozen body falls from the sky, sparking a story about the invisible borders that divide us, in the latest work from critically acclaimed theatre-makers Analogue.
Based on a number of real-life events, this latest work from two-time Fringe First winners Analogue explores the ethics and politics of storytelling itself, as the company depict an important and contemporary narrative about the invisible borders that divide us. With powerful writing, physical performances and striking technical design, Stowaway flies back and forth across the globe, to present a physical and compelling piece of theatre that looks at storytelling as a political act.
When a man from India finds himself trapped in an Emirati labour camp, with his passport and wages withheld from him, he makes a bid for a better life by hiding in the wheel arch of a commercial plane bound for the UK. His frozen body is discovered in a car park of a B&Q in a leafy London suburb, just hours later. Developed through research undertaken in cities across India, Stowaway explores the desperation driving such extraordinary journeys, whilst addressing the ethics of telling the stories of lives from the other side of the world.
Co-Writer/Director Hannah Barker said, "In 2010, we came across a tragic, shocking real-life story about a young man from Pakistan who climbed into the wheel arch of a plane from the Middle East bound for a new life in the UK. This story -- and many others like it that we soon discovered -- made a deep impression, leaving us moved by the extraordinary lengths these stowaways went to in order to change their lives. But we doubted our rights as white British citizens to portray a story so deeply removed from our own experience. We became interested in asking what it means to not tell this story because it belongs to someone else? What is it about this particular story that feels so uncomfortable for us to tell? During our creative process, we have taken this story of desperate hope to artists in India, to second and third generation Pakistanis and Africans in the UK and to refugee organizations nationwide. We have shared work in development along the way, often to complex and conflicting response. Stowaway is our attempt to tell a story like these real-life stories and open a door for vital conversations about the rights we have to tell other people's stories, as well as the responsibility we may have when those directly affected may not be in a position to do so."
Analogue formed in 2007 to make ambitious new theatre inspired by real stories and contemporary ethical questions. They collaborate with a wide network of pioneering thinkers, bringing together research and invention to create performance that fuses the human with the scientific. The company strive to incorporate the most exciting elements of documentary, neuroscience, interactivity and new technologies in their work, embracing audiences and arts organisations locally, nationally and internationally. The company's award-winning work includes Mile End, Beachy Head, 2401 Objects, Lecture Notes on a Death Scene and Re-enactments. The company are associate artists of Farnham Maltings and Shoreditch Town Hall. Stowaway has been developed with the support of British Council, Arts Council England, National Theatre Studio, Traverse Theatre, Shoreditch Town Hall, PULSE Festival and Migrants Research Council.
For more about the show, visit www.analoguetheatre.co.uk. Running Time: 80 minutes. Suitable for ages 14+.
Written and directed by Hannah Barker and Lewis Hetherington, STOWAWAY features Alexandra Maher, Taqi Nazeer, Steven Rae and Balvinder Sopal. Produced by Ric Watts, the show is designed by Rhys Jarman, with movement direction by Vanessa Cook, music and sound Design by Philip Pinsky, and lighting design by Katharine Williams.
Accompanying Exhibition - Alongside the London performances of Stowaway on 9/10 October, Migrants Resource Centre are hosting an interactive exhibition called 'My Journey: Stories of London Migrants', which showcases the work of London migrants from all over the world, who use a range of media to tell their personal stories. 4-10 October, Shoredith Town Hall. www.bit.ly/myjourneyexhibition
TOUR DETAILS:
New Wolsey, Ipswich
18 - 19 September 2014
Civic Drive, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2AS
www.wolseytheatre.co.uk | 01473 295900
£5 - £8.50 | 7.45pm
The Core at Corby Cube, Corby
23 September 2014
George Street, Corby, Northamptonshire NN17 1QG
www.thecorecorby.com | 01536 470470
£8 | 7.30pm
Oliver Theatre, Hampshire
25 September 2014
Bedales, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 2DG
www.bedales.org.uk | 01730 711511
£8 - £10 | 7.30pm
Frensham Heights, Surrey
30 September 2014
Frensham Heights, Farnham, Surrey GU10 4EA
wwww.frensham.org | 01252 792 561
£10 | 7pm
Brighton Dome Studio, Brighton
4 October 2014
Church Street, Brighton BN1 1UE
www.brightondome.org | 01273 709709
£10 - £12 | 7.30pm
South Street, Reading
8 October 2014
21 South Street, Reading RG1 4QU
www.readingarts.com | 0118 960 6060
£10.20 - £11.20 | 8pm
Shoreditch Town Hall, London
9 - 10 October 2014
380 Old Street, London EC1V 9LT.
www.shoreditchtownhall.com | 020 7739 6176
£11 | 7.30pm
The North Wall, Oxford
11 October 2014
South Parade, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7JN
www.www.thenorthwall.com | 01865 319450
£11 - £13 | 8pm
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