Bristol based Theatre Uncut, one of the world’s leading political theatre companies, and our own new writing theatre, the legendary Traverse, are jointly releasing digital versions of three plays from the Theatre Uncut archive under the title Tools for Change.
Exploring racism, censorship, power and identity, the three play texts written by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, Gbolahan Obisesan and Niellah Arboine, are made available to download from the Theatre Uncut website from Mon 28 September. They are free of charge for interested parties across the world.
Three new filmed versions of each of these scripts will be made available to view on the Traverse Theatre website throughout October, and will be available to the public until Saturday 28 November.
Students and staff at universities, schools, colleges and youth theatres can request to view the films until 28 November 2023, with groups and organisation being invited and encouraged to use both the play texts and films as tools to raise awareness and encourage discussion of the topics they cover.
Executive Producer of the Traverse , Linda Crooks said “Theatre Uncut and the Traverse Theatre have enjoyed a fruitful working partnership for several years, and we are delighted to be working with them on making some of their most important recent plays available in new and exciting formats – and we would like to thank the writers for their generosity in making this possible. We hope that individuals, groups and organisations around the world will use these resources to further understanding of the challenges they cover, and together move towards making their communities, and the world, a more equitable and respectful place where everyone is valued, can fulfil their potential and live without fear.”
The films and release dates are as follows:
Monday 5 October – A Coin in Somebody Else’s Pocket by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan
Monday 12 October – Re: Exhibit by Gbolahan Obisesan
Monday 19 October – Safe by Niellah Arboine
Full details are available on the Traverse website and play texts are available from the Theatre Uncut website.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 