caravan 2016 programme announced

caravan, a partnership between Farnham Maltings and Brighton Festival presents a three-day biennial curated showcase of the best new theatre from across England to an international audience of festival organisers and programmers. This press release announces its 2016 programme.

• caravan 2016 will take place on 15-17 May 2016 as part of the 50th Brighton Festival, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in May
  
•  The showcase offers opportunities for England based artists and companies and international commissioners, presenters, festival programmers and potential collaborators to explore new ways of working, share ambitions, reach new audiences and develop new ideas.
  
•  In 2016, caravan will be offering opportunities for twelve artists and companies to showcase full performances of their work, while another six will have the chance to pitch to delegates.
  
•  Eight of the performances within the showcase will be open to the public to attend, as part of the Brighton Festival programme.
  

caravan 2016 follows the success of the showcases in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 building on the ambition of previous years. The showcase aims to strengthen international networks and expand the range of opportunities for performing artists and companies based in England to work abroad.

The 2016 programme will be presenting a selection of the best new English performance, selected by a curatorial group drawn from some of the country’s leading directors and producers. The 2016 curatorial group included Andrew Jones, Fiona Baxter, Gavin Stride, Gabriella Triantafyllis, Jo Verrent, Lorne Campbell, Orla Flanagan and Sally Cowling.

2016 artists
Full performances

Eric MacLennan – A Voyage Around My Bedroom
An interactive journey, in a bedroom, in a glass box, in a field with audience input shaping the narrative

Christopher Brett Bailey – This is how we die
A highly verbose collage of spoken word and storytelling: tales of paranoia, young love and ultra-violence

Lost Dog – Paradise Lost (Lies unopened beside me)
Inspired by Milton, a re-telling of the story of the beginning of everything using words, music and dance

Greg Wohead – Comeback Special
Jam sessions and dance numbers combine in a re-enactment of Elvis Presley's 1968 Comeback Special

Jo Bannon – Alba
Influenced by her albinism, Jo Bannon blends light, proximity, movement and sound into a visual poem

Still House – Of Riders and Running Horses
A stirring and visceral new dance event created as a communal animation of urban spaces

Dickie Beau - Blackouts: Twilight of the Idols
Drag fabulist Dickie Beau conjures the spirits of celebrated Hollywood icons in a bewitching adventure

Sue MacLaine Company - Can I Start Again Please
A play exploring our capacity to process traumatic experiences and language’s ability to represent it

Spymonkey – The Complete Deaths
All 72 onstage deaths of Shakespeare’s plays are performed in 90 minutes

Andy Field – Lookout
A site-sensitive one-on-one encounter between one adult audience member and one child performer

Selina Thompson - Dark and Lovely
A solo piece exploring Black identity, inspired by the cultural and social debate surrounding Black hair

Emma Frankland - Rituals for Change
A performance creating a series of rituals to explore gender transition and the fluid notion of change

Pitches

Brian Lobel, 24 Italian Songs and Arias
Catherine Ireton, The Salon Project (working title)
Action Hero, RV project Europe (working title)
The Other Way Works, Agent in a Box
Sleepdogs, Steady State
Sheila Ghelani, Elemental

Gavin Stride, Director of Farnham Maltings & co-director of caravan, says:
“We had over 200 proposals from every part of the country suggesting that there is a real appetite amongst theatre makers to connect internationally. I think the programme suggests that we have a vibrant, ambitious theatre community keen to find new ways of reaching new audiences”.

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, says:
“We are really looking forward to collaborating again with Farnham Maltings, to present the best of new English performance for the fifth biennial caravan showcase as part of our 50th Brighton Festival celebrations. The showcase has grown substantially since it was launched in 2008, and now encompasses a selection of the most dynamic and innovative theatre and performance from around England. It has become a leading showcase and touchstone for international promoters and programmers to experience a diverse range of new work by our most innovative artists who are prime candidates at this stage in their careers to tour internationally”.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

caravan is delivered by Farnham Maltings and Brighton Festival. It is funded by Arts Council England and British Council.

Farnham Maltings is a creative organisation based in Farnham, Surrey which works with artists and communities across South East England to encourage the greatest number of people to make, see and enjoy the best art possible.Brighton Festival commissions and produces an ambitious programme of local, national and international work across music, theatre, dance, visual art, outdoor performance, literature and debates.

Brighton Festival will take place in venues across the city and beyond from 7 to 29 May 2016.

Full details of caravan 2016 curatorial group:
Andrew Jones, Senior Programme Manager for Drama & Dance – British Council
Fiona Baxter, Deputy Director, Arts – Farnham Maltings
Gabriella Triantafyllis, General Manager –bios, Greece
Gavin Stride, Director – Farnham Maltings
Jo Verrent, Senior Producer – Unlimited
Lorne Campbell, Artistic Director – Northern Stage
Orla Flanagan, Theatre Producer – Brighton Dome & Festival
Sally Cowling, Associate Producer – Brighton Dome & Festival