Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Abi Zakarian's POWER SHARE is Coming to The Bunker

What would you do with a little taste of power? Would you share it, the way we always say we'll do? Or would you keep it for yourself?

In an industry that often feels inaccessible, where opportunities are out of reach for so many, playwrights Morgan Lloyd Malcolm and Abi Zakarian knew when they were offered a week at Bunker Theatre they wanted to share the power.

Both writers will be in residence at the theatre from 16 - 21 March and will be joined by a different co-curator every day. There will be workshops from 10am, play readings at 3pm and four short pieces programmed by that day's co-curator at 8pm each evening. There will also be time and space during the day for people to come and talk about writing, working and navigating this industry.

The whole team behind the Power Share want to find ways to make positive changes to the theatre industry; this week is intended to be the beginnings of something that will hopefully do just that.

LINE UP:

MONDAY:

Direct Action, curated by Francesca Murray-Fuentes

Workshop: What Are You? A Mixed-Heritage Assembly

Hurricane People host a Rally Cry for each and every creative with mixed-heritage.

Through this open conversation and celebration of our diverse community we want to connect, empower and work out how best to take up space. Let's talk about how our unique perspectives can drive our art. Let's explore what narratives around mixed-heritage currently exist. Let's recognise each other, in all our glorious difference, and strategise on how our voices can grow to be powerful in this industry. We are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the UK. Let's get to know each other.

Reading: Child of '68 by Kyo Choi

Acclaimed writer Zephryn's home has been ransacked. The boiler doesn't work. Snow is piling up outside. His only means of contact is a landline. And a letter has just been published that could destroy his prized reputation. How much worse can this day get? Child of '68delves into the dark matter of serial abuse and why taking justice into your own hands is sometimes the only option.

Evening performances:
Meghanby Atiha Sen Gupta

Music and storytelling from Anoushka Lucas

D Minorby Lea Sellers

Dance Protest About Women Being Killed For Being Womenby Francesca Murray-Fuentes and Patricia Verity Suarez

TUESDAY:

Transcendent Theatre, curated by Teddy Lamb

Workshop: Trans inclusive practice, from first draft to first night

A workshop exploring an overview of best practices for trans inclusivity across the entire creative process. From character bios and pronouns, to casting, toilets in rehearsals rooms, and dealing with transphobic audience members. This workshop would be ideal for Directors and Producers keen to expand their inclusive practice.

Reading: The Yard by Emma Dennis-Edwards

(Yard: 1.Hanging ground. Chilling ground, home, area where you live 2. Colloquialism for the country of Jamaica)

The Yardis the story of Sharon, Rochelle and Toyah: 3 generations of Jamaican women living in Romford, East London. The 3 women's lives are turned upside when out of the blue Sharon (the matriarch of the family)'s ex-husband Enoch turns up penniless to live within the family home after 25 years of separation. The Yard exploresthe impact of families 'forced' to live together in an economic and housing crisis and how that effects families living in Britain today.

Evening performances:

T4T [4onTheBeach] by Teddy Lamb

Mad Womxn In The Attic by Camilla 'Milly' Harding

Monster Under The Bed by Liv Wynter
Plus one more performance to be announced

WEDNESDAY:

Horrifying Womxn, curated by Sammy Willbourne

Workshop: Horrifying Womxn

Horror has been the backbone of entertainment since the inception of cinema. It provides space for us to face our cultural, societal and personal fears in a safe, displaced and transformative space. In this workshop, we will interrogate the bones of the horror environment and why it holds so much power. We will analyse and respond to some of the most iconic horror scenes and iconographs and interrogate what we can gain from the history of true crime. We will discuss and explore the notions of creating directly from trauma, performance and devising ethics and the ramifications of directly sourcing terror as an audience response.

Reading: Hidden by Things by Laura Horton

Covet, collect, cherish, repeat! Martha lives in a fantasy world where her dreams and ambitions thrive. When reality pushes through and threatens to unsettle everything she has so lovingly built, decisions have to be made. Transformation or oblivion? Life is on a knife-edge and there isn't anywhere to hide. Based on the writer's experience of hoarding, Hidden by Thingsis a dark, magical story about trying to escape a world you've spent a lifetime carefully building.

Evening performances:

The Passengerby Morgan Lloyd Malcolm

I Am Karyan Ophidian by Abi Zakarian

More performances to be announced

THURSDAY:

Poetry & Spoken Word, curated by Salma El Wardany & Lilly Driscoll

Workshop: This Skin - Ways to Make Poetry; for practice and performance

Lilly Driscoll will host a practical poetry workshop using various methods of creating poetry, which you will take home with you that day. Writing a poem a day, Lilly will talk you through her process and how creating something each day can help take the pressure off of trying to write the "perfect" poem. Using music and imagery this will be a fun way to get creative with the potential to perform a piece you have written at the end.

Reading - V.I.E.Victim. Impact. Evidence.by Kat Woods

Based on real events, V.I.E. Victim.Impact.Evidencetells the story of She. She has had to return home. The man who murdered her brother is up for parole and she has been asked to give a victim impact statement - a document to outline the physical, psychological, financial, emotional impact of the crime. She struggles with her feelings of being let down by the state, and by her artist friends - who have worked with the perpetrator in prison outreach work. How can she resolve her anger with her need to heal?

Evening performances:

Poetry from Salma El-Wardany, Megan Mckie Smith, Amani Saeed

Other poets to be announced

FRIDAY:

Theatre of Resistance: Eastern European Migrants in Britain, curated by Nastazja Somers

Workshop: There is war - Eastern European theatre of resistance and its relevance in contemporary Britain.

'Two things are necessary for development. Food and war. Food I have. I am glad there is war' Jan Klata

For anyone who comes from a former Iron Curtain country theatre is an inherently political space. It is a space for protest and rage; a space in which we hold those above us to account. Due to vast differences in both historical and societal context, the majority of British theatre never underwent the change it needed to speak for the people rather than for the elites. How can we as theatre makers dismantle the system and embrace the truly radical notion that everything we create is and must remain political. Join us for a workshop led by Nastazja Somers and guest speakers as they analyse the works and practices of many including Biljana Srbljanović, Jan Klata and Maja Kleczewska.

Reading - Cerberus by Chris Bush

Cerberus is the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the underworld. Head one: government. Head two: finance. Head three: media. Power, money and influence. Between them, they reach into every corner of our existence. But this isn't about the moguls and millionaires, this is about the compromised millennials who commute in from zone 4 and guard the gates of Hell for £9 an hour. This is about London in 2020. This is about the human cost of systems that cannot be sustained. This is a breaking point.

Evening performances:

Nascendoby Alina Nalega (directed by Ula Moroz)

Welcome To Bulgariaby Zdrava Kamenova and Gergana Dimitrova (directed by Antonia Georgieva)

Stellaby Danaja Wass (directed by Júlia Levai)

This Kind of Airby Vera Ion (directed by Nastazja Somers)

SATURDAY:

Morgan & Abi's Pot Luck Power Share, curated by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm & Abi Zakarian

Workshop: Open Forum
Abi and Morgan will facilitate an open forum discussion and feedback session on what we've learnt during the week and what needs to happen going forward. We want to use this session to invite people from every part of the industry to come and discuss what can be done. We hope to come out of the workshop with some action points on how we can continue the Power Share but also with some exciting new ideas for those who took part to use as they see fit. This workshop will be good for anyone who has been feeling frustrated with the way the industry works (or doesn't work!) for them and their colleagues. Let's try and find some solutions...

Reading: Mountain Warfare by Abi Zakarian

Hugh & Liv Bryce have found their perfect (second) home - The Blue House sits on a hillside, isolated and beautiful. It's a place to escape their busy lives and plan for a future family. But the house is haunted by the past; a past that refuses to leave without a fight. Examining the horrific legacy of the Armenian genocide and exploring what drives the cycles of mass ethnic cleansing, the destruction of borders, and how blood can bind you to a place, Mountain Warfareasks what you'd be prepared to do to keep your home and history alive.

Evening performances: Pot Luck Power Share

Work from Katie Lyons, Laura Mugridge, Dr Jessi Parrott & Sophie Stone

Morgan & Abi's Power Share is part of the Bunker Theatre's Takeover Season which will feature over 80 artists, 70 performances and a host of workshops, lectures and events, before The Bunker closes due to proposed redevelopment at the end of March 2020.

Join the revolution and share the power!

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm:"I'm so excited to share this week with so many incredible artists all with such exciting disciplines and expertise. I can't wait to see what conversations and action springs up from it all. Above all I'm looking forward to having a really fun and happy week meeting and working with as many makers in the industry as we can fit in!"

Abi Zakarian: "Working with Morgan I'm just so thrilled to get the chance to not only celebrate the incredible legacy of The Bunker, but to attempt to make a real and radical change to this industry. By bringing on board loads of wildly talented and diverse creatives and sharing this opportunity with them; asking them to share it further still; and inviting as many people as possible to join in as we run our week, hopefully we can start conversations, show brilliant new work, and ultimately open up the opportunity to make change."

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