Zest Theatre Presents *untitled: A Visual EP

Zest Theatre presents *untitled: a visual EP, co-created by young people from across the UK.

In a world of binary choices, young people are beyond the labels and titles that define them. They're tired of asking for permission to be themselves.

"I know I am some kind of wonderful. I will love myself, I am beautiful."

*untitled is a visual EP
It's lo-fi, yet hi-tech.
It's performance, but also real life.
It's individual and universal.
It's about young people, but speaks to everybody.

Between October 2019 and February 2020, Zest Theatre toured Youthquake to venues across the country. Created by a professional creative team and inspired by interviews with 800 young people from 11 cities, each performance put local young people aged 17 - 20 centre stage, and explored what it meant to be young and change the world. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world did change, and new challenges have arisen as young people continue to navigate the urgent issues expressed in the previous year's work.

Zest Theatre founder and director, Toby Ealden and producer Catherine Fowles felt it was important to have a legacy project for the youth casts involved in Youthquake given the enthusiasm and artistic growth of the participants. In spite of the current limitations of a traditional theatre-making and devising process, popular methods of remote working allowed for a unique opportunity to create more accessibility and flexibility in engagement.

Zest has reunited some of these young people with members of the professional team to co-create something new. Made remotely, and filmed entirely on their phones during summer 2020, this 20-minute piece, made up of music videos, monologues, poetry and conversation, explores the experiences of young people from across the country, what they need now and where they're heading next.

Producer Catherine Fowles says: "Our aim with *untitled was to make a piece that was fit for purpose on the digital platforms available to us in a time when touring isn't financially viable. It was exciting to explore a new way of working whilst creating a space for young people already familiar with Zest's process to delve into their own creative practice. Supported by the professional team from Youthquake, it felt like an opportunity for everyone to think differently about what it means to develop and make work."

Director Toby Ealden comments: "Thanks to COVID-19, Zest has faced the collective challenges of the arts industry, and we were forced into furlough, unable to produce, tour, or work with any young people this past spring and summer. Returning to make *untitled, we didn't know what we'd discover about the young people we had previously worked so closely with. We quickly discovered that all the same issues they'd been angry about during Youthquake had been compounded by the conditions of the pandemic. In addition, the majority had important rites of passage robbed from them due to a summer spent in lockdown. They felt completely silenced by the adult world, like their struggles and the stress of living during this time weren't important. But something felt different. They aren't just angry; they are actively ready to take things into their own hands. They've grown older and braver, and are now entering the world in their own right. They're no longer waiting for permission to be themselves."

*untitled will premiere on YouTube on 22nd October 2020 at 7:30pm, followed by a post-premiere Q&A on Zoom Webinar with the co-creators at 8:00pm.

Reservations for the virtual premiere can be made through Eventbrite.

To post a comment, you must register and login.