Evolved
Evolved was a festival of new work being showcased over two-weeks at the Arena Theatre, mac and Black Country Touring venues in March 2008. The work ranged from storytelling, black historical drama, poetry and song and a short one-man show.
Danger! Gulaam Fatima
ULFAH ARTS
Danger! Gulaam Fatima was written and performed by Uzma Asghar, Poli Begum and Naz Koser - three developing artists.
They worked with their mentors Shamshad Khan to develop their writing, Carol Pemberton of Black Voices on their singing; Kate Hale on their performance skills, who also pulled the whole production together. Dan Steele worked on the sound design.
The work presented rare female Muslim voices with their take on the world, which included hijab-wearing superheroes giving mild electric shocks to obstinate men along the way.
Audience Quote:
"It's great to see Muslim women especially in the performing arts - allows people to see that Muslims are normal people too."
The Bench
VIMAL KORPAL
The Bench was created and performed by Vimal Korpal, a developing artist. The concept was originally devised by working with Kate Hale. It was later developed and made ready for performance by Michael O'Hara.
The short monologue presented three down-and-out characters that all occupied a park bench.
Audience Quote:
"Excellent - very powerful and thought provoking, by a developing actor. Would like to see more shorter pieces to sample."
Joey Boy
A R:EVOLVE PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION
WITH NU CENTURY ARTS
Joey Boy was written by Garry Morris and directed by Don Kinch. The music was produced by Deirdre Pascall and set and costume by Emma Blundell.
The work tells the story of a merchant seaman who after getting injured at sea, reinvents himself as a street entertainer and is known for wearing a hat fashioned like a ship on his head.
Audience Quote:
"The costumes were great and the cast projected themselves well."
A Story on Every Corner
PETER CHAND & CHRIS LOWE
Peter and Chris collected stories from the communities of Bordesley Green within a square mile of Birmingham. The stories they found came from near and far including many corners of the globe. The end result was an hour's worth of contrasting stories of time-gone tradition and rich tales of princesses in towers, cursed football teams and one country's silliest man.
Audience Quote:
"More storytelling - the kids were enthralled. The performers were very skilled at making the stories come to life.."
If Only The Dead Could Listen
DREAMSCAPE THEATRE COMPANY
Initially presented as an informal sharing at mac in early 2006, If Only The Dead Could Listen, written by Gëzim Alpion and directed by Marcus Fernando was re-scripted and directed for the Evolved festival.
The play is about the plight of a Kosovar Albanian refugee who doesn't understand the rules and bureaucracy of Britain. His destiny spirals out of control after he falls on the wrong side of the law.
Audience Quote:
"Very powerful. Really made me think about refugees and how the media portray them."
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