PRESS RELEASE
ARIADNE: female theatremakers in (post/)conflict zones
led by Susannah Tresilian and Georgie Weedon
Ariadne gave the thread that led out of the maze.
London, Kigali and Bujumbura, 14th March 2014 - Women across the world are making theatre either because of the wars they have lived through, or in spite of those wars. We want to find out their stories.
Theatre director and BBC radio producer Susannah Tresilian joined together with filmmaker Georgie Weedon of Gingerwink Films, and In Place of War, to launch ARIADNE, with a first mission to Rwanda and Burundi. Whilst there they will be meeting with Hope Azeda - theatre director based in Kigali, Rwanda - and Frédérique leComte - Belgian theatre director based in Bujumbura, Burundi. Tresilian and Weedon will be allowed unprecedented access to their work and their theatrical process. They will conduct in-depth interviews to find out how they work, where they work, why they work, and what their work means to them.
Around the world, some hidden in remote corners, some creating high-profile waves, around the world there are women who have chosen theatre (or theatre has chosen them) as their medium with which to engage with the environment they live in in a post or current conflict zone. Who are these women? What theatre are they making?
Highlights of this first project will include:
• a performance of Amakuba (in Kirundi and French) in a public garden in Bujumbura (directed by Frédérique leComte)
• a rehearsal of the stadium performance being prepared for the 20th anniversary commemoration of the Rwandan genocide (directed by Hope Azeda)
• a performance of Bridges of Roses (directed by Hope Azeda)
• a workshop Susannah will give with the actors of Bridges of Roses
Tresilian and Weedon are working in collaboration with In Place of War to create an online digital resource - films, interviews, blogs and photos - profiling each of these amazing women. Supported by the Arts Council England, they plan to develop it to include female theatremakers in Colombia, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Palestine and Serbia, and then on. Future plans include a festival bringing together these extraordinary women and their work in one place, and to create a network between them.
For more information follow:
www.inplaceofwar.net/ariadne
or on Twitter at @ProjectAriadne
Interviews available on request.
Susannah Tresilian
UK Mobile: +44 (0)7786 637 981
BIOGRAPHIES
SUSANNAH TRESILIAN is a theatre director and radio producer. She has directed at theatres in the UK, Italy, Cyprus, Norway, France and Croatia. As Associate Director of Nottingham European Arts and Theatre Festival 2011 and 2014 she worked with artists from Kosovo, Serbia, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Bulgaria. She is a freelance producer on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, and is currently producing a documentary for BBC Radio 4 on feminist theatre called Theatre of the Abused. www.susannahtresilian.com
GEORGIE WEEDON is a filmmaker and author. She was the third member of the launch team of Al Jazeera English, where she developed the daily documentary show, Witness. She has made films in various countries including Somalia, Palestine and Kosovo and previously co -authored the book, Offscreen: Four Young Artists in the Middle East. She currently runs Gingerwink Films (www.gingerwinkfilms.com).
IN PLACE OF WAR is developing a new living archive and social media space. It is a project based within the University of Manchester that researches creativity in sites of armed conflict and has, over the past 7 years, developed extensive international networks of artists and creatives making theatre, street art, music, spoken word and more in response to war. www.inplaceofwar.net