NTS takes launch project international after ten years

Published: 31 July 2016
Reporter: David Chadderton

Home Away from National Theatre of Scotland

National Theatre of Scotland is repeating the project with which it launched ten years ago, in which it invited ten communities across Scotland to express what "home" meant to them, but this time reaching across the world to examine "the challenges faced by people in Scotland and around the world in finding a sense of belonging in the face of global political, social, cultural and technological forces".

The company will host a five-day international festival of participatory arts from 8 to 12 October 2016 at Tramway in Glasgow involving performing groups from Brazil, Jamaica, Australia, India and USA plus four Scottish groups and a transgender global choir, who will all present new work on the theme "home away".

Alongside the event, there will be a five-day conference programme on the future development of participatory arts practice with sessions led by the British Council, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Scottish Ballet, Scottish Refugee Council, Creative Scotland, the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival and National Theatre of Scotland.

National Theatre of Scotland Associate Director Simon Sharkey said, "we have invited some of the most exciting artists and organisations, working with isolated communities from across Scotland and the rest of the world, to tell us their stories, to tell us what Home and Away means to them, to focus us on togetherness, empathy and a new way of experiencing the world.

"At a time of dramatic global change and chaos, we are looking forward to welcoming these artists and groups, to start an urgent conversation with us at a genuinely community level."

British Council Culture and Development Director Stephen Stenning added, "it feels like a particularly important time to be sharing stories and exploring the role of arts and artists in social change from communities across Scotland and across the globe."

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

Are you sure?