Birmingham is to host On the Edge, the 2016 World Festival of Theatre for Young Audiences.
The festival is an annual event that takes place in a different international city each year. Taking place in the UK for the first time, On the Edge will feature 16 shows by artists from 14 countries including the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Australia and South Korea. The eight-day festival will include theatre, dance and workshops and will be held in theatres and venues across Birmingham. The REP theatre will be the main festival hub.
Steve Ball, executive producer for On the Edge, said, “the brilliant imaginations of the companies and artists involved in the festival will show just how joyful and enthralling theatre for young people can be.
“We have bold productions about adolescence, playful shows for the very young and more sensory adventures for those with profound and multiple learning difficulties.”
One of the highlights of the festival will be The Hamilton Complex by Belgium’s leading theatre for young people Hetpaleis, which takes audiences inside the chaotic mind of 13 teenage girls, caught between childhood and the adult world.
I Think I Can is a live, interactive public artwork from Australian company Terrapin Puppet Theatre which invites members of the public to become residents in a miniature model railway village.
The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean, a detective story by Scottish artist Shona Reppe, delves back in time into a scrapbook’s history while the delirious excitement of two brothers waiting for Santa to arrive is brought to life in Boing!, a dance and theatre piece by British company Travelling Light.
UK premières include the Burkina Faso tale Why Do Hyenas Have Shorter Back Legs Than Front Legs and Why Do Monkeys Have Bare Bottoms? by Seydou Boro Company, Reinräumraus by Austrian puppeteer and actress Myriam Rossbach and the musical fable A Feast of Bones by Irish company Theatre Lovett.
Surrounding the packed programme of shows is a programme of workshops, events and discussions for those who work in the theatre industry.
The festival is expected to attract about 500 international visitors to discuss and explore how theatre can continue to strive and push boundaries for future young audiences and also to encourage international exchange and collaboration.
The festival runs from 2 until 9 July.