Andrea Ling Announced as 2023 Genesis Future Directors Award Recipient

The Young Vic Theatre and Genesis Foundation is excited to announce Andrea Ling as the 2023 Genesis Future Directors Award recipient.

An interdisciplinary artist within theatre, installation, film and visual arts, Andrea will direct The Earthworks written by Olivier Award winner Tom Morton-Smith (My Neighbour Totoro, Oppenheimer at the RSC) in the Young Vic’s Clare Theatre from 26 March to 6 April 2024 with tickets on sale at noon today (19 October).

The universe doesn’t care if we know how it works.  

A hotel bar in Geneva, the night before the Large Hadron Collider is switched on. A woman walks up to a man. She's a journalist, trying to write a career-defining article, and he is a scientist, still reeling from a recent loss. What could have an obvious ending, turns into a story of two people’s worlds colliding for a brief, yet life-changing moment. The Earthworks is a moving and hilarious exploration into carrying the weight of grief and knowing when it’s time to let go. 

Andrea Ling, 2023 Genesis Future Directors Award recipient, said: “I am incredibly excited to be the next recipient of the Genesis Future Directors Award. Through the Creators Program, the Young Vic has been my artistic playground and a holding space for community, so I am thrilled to be directing The Earthworks for Young Vic audiences. It explores existentialism, grief and awe in a funny yet honest way.” 

John Studzinski, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said: “Supporting creatives in the early stages of their professional lives is central to our work. The Genesis Future Directors Award has been running for over ten years and is one of the finest training opportunities in the UK. It enables an up-and-coming director to be mentored by the outstanding Young Vic creative team, in an environment that provides both freedom and firm professional support. It also gives early-career creatives an opportunity to put on a play in a safe studio space, shielded from critical review. We believe the freedom to fail safely is crucial to the development of an artist’s craft and to their self-esteem. We very much look forward to seeing Andrea’s work and wish her every success.” 

 

Sue Emmas, Associate Artistic Director at the Young Vic, said: “Andrea is innately curious and instinctively pushes creative boundaries. She has been an active and generous member of our Genesis Network and strives to deepen her own and others’ artistic practice. With the valued and continued support of the Genesis Foundation, we’re excited to realise her vision for this new production of The Earthworks and to continue deepening our relationship with such an exceptional artist.” 

Andrea trained through East 15’s Acting and Contemporary Theatre course and various theatre-making programmes including the Young Vic’s Creators Program and New Earth’s Professional Writers Programme. Her work advocates for social change and connection as well as examining the intersection of culture, capitalism, colonialism and ecology, which is influenced by her Bolivian and Chinese heritage. In 2021, Andrea founded arts company, Pacha People, creating immersive and original artworks co-made with communities. Andrea’s previous Young Vic credits include endings written and directed for Five Shorts and Trainee Assistant Director on A Season in the Congo by Aimé Césaire directed by Joe Wright. 

Made possible by the Genesis Foundation, the Genesis Future Directors Award provides early-career directors with the opportunity to explore and develop their craft by creating their first fully resourced production at the Young Vic, with mentoring and support from the theatre’s core artistic team including Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah and Taio Lawson, Genesis Fellow / Associate Director. 

Since its inception in 2012, the Genesis Future Directors Award has supported 16 emerging directors and theatre-makers. Among them are Diyan Zora, who directed Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? this summer at Chichester Festival; Debbie Hannan, Associate Director at The National Theatre of Scotland; NANCY MEDINA, Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic; Matthew Xia, Artistic Director and joint CEO of Actors Touring Company; Lekan Lawal, Artistic Director of Eclipse Theatre; Tinuke Craig, who directed August Wilson’s Jitney in 2022 at Leeds Playhouse and the Old Vic.  

The Earthworks is at Young Vic’s Clare Theatre from 26 March - 6 April 2024

Photo Credit: Yannick Lalardy

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