New work, Transform, takes over Playhouse in June

A SERIES of performances are setting up camp in the West Yorkshire Playhouse in June as part of a new show, Transform, curated by Alan Lane and Kully Thiarai.

Transform will take place throughout the building from June 6 – 18. Working with Artistic Director Ian Brown and the Playhouse’s new associate producer Amy Letman, Transform curators Alan Lane and Kully Thiarai have created a season of work that includes a new durational piece by internationally renowned artist Chris Goode; Geraldine Pilgrim’s 15-minute performance; Lemn Sissay’s one man show and The Red Room’s installation and performance.

All the works are intended to explore how theatre can be Transformative and the changing ways it engages with audiences.

“It's about building a menu of work, the type of which you wouldn't have seen here before. It's about starting a conversation - well specifically it's the first line in a conversation."

To celebrate the beginning of this new strand of programming for West Yorkshire Playhouse, the cafe and bar will be Transformed into, Somke and Mirrors, a Cabaret on Saturday 18 June. Designed by installation artist Shanaz Gulzar, the event will include performances from The Wau Wau Sisters, Bourgeois & Maurice (pictured), Company FZ and close-up magic from Tim Sutton.

Transform promises an eclectic mix of artists who will bring new practices and perspectives to bear on what the Playhouse does. It will also be a voyage of discovery for the Playhouse, the artists and the audience.

 Kully Thiarai, one of the curators of the new show, said: “Transform is about looking at things differently. It's about change, exploring ways of Transforming - Transforming the way you approach the building, the idea of what you might experience here and what we imagine a ‘Playhouse’ to be.

“It's about building a menu of work, the type of which you wouldn't have seen here before. It's about starting a conversation - well specifically it's the first line in a conversation."

Over a two week period Transform will include:

THE SOLDIERS SONG by Quarantine
THE IONIAN ENCHANTMENT by Peepolykus
MAD ABOUT THE BOY by Gbolahan Obisesan & directed by Ria Parry in association with National Theatre Studio
21 WRITERS from So You Want To Be A Writer?
SIMPLE GIRL by Melanie Wilson produced by Fuel
SOMETHING DARK by Lemn Sissay & directed by John E McGrath
THE BOOK OF POLITICS by The Red Room
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S STREAM by Marcus Romer/Pilot Theatre
THE TIN RING performed by Jane Arnfield & directed by Mike Alfreds
STORY MAP: WHAT I HEARD ABOUT THE WORLD by Third Angel & Mala Voadora
THE MAMBA dramatised by Kevin Fegan & directed by Kully Thiarai
THE TAGORE PROJECT created by Alan Lane and Maya Chowdhry
FROM WHERE I’M STOOD – A SYMPOSIUM
HANDBAG by Geraldine Pilgrim; OPEN HOUSE by Chris Goode & Company
TALES FROM THE RAUN TREE written and directed by Dom Coyote & designed and directed by Michael Vale
6 DEGREES BELOW THE HORIZON by Imitating the Dog
SHELLEY by Helen Edmundson & Shared Experience
FOLK IN A BOX; THE WAU WAU SISTERS LAST SUPPER; BOURGEOUIS & MAURICE; HORSE by COMPANY FZ; Hope And Social and magician TIM SUTTON.

All of the above artists were asked to respond to a series of questions related to Transformation, issued by Lane and Thiarai.

Chris Goode said the show was ‘an unmissable opportunity’ in looking at how the Playhouse and regional theatre could work in the future.

“How organisations like the Playhouse think about and talk about theatre changes the scope of what we as artists are able to imagine making,” he said. “It's terrific to see WYP taking such a dynamic lead on this, and we're thrilled to be part of such a rich and provocative programme of work.”

Tickets for Transform can be booked by calling West Yorkshire Playhouse Box Office on 0113 213 7700 or by visiting www.wyp.org.uk