Border Crossings Celebrates 30 Years with New Plays

To commemorate 30 years of intercultural performance, Border Crossings hosts an unmissable  extravaganza at London’s Hoxton Hall that offers a look back in time. Rethinking what it means to archive, CHECKPOINT: 30 Years of Border Crossings brings together cultures and generations  to create thought-provoking and electric performance pieces. The evening will pay homage to  Artistic Director Michael Walling’s foundational concept to create an intercultural theatre company,  working with international artists from a huge variety of backgrounds. Thirty years on,  CHECKPOINT: 30 Years of Border Crossings will both look back on previous work and forward  towards emerging theatres of tomorrow.

A highlight of the evening will be a new short play Bravely Fights the Queen that revisits two  central characters from a much-loved performance piece Bravely Fought the Queen, that first  debuted in 1996. Written by Mahesh Dattani, this kaleidoscopic play explored a dysfunctional  Indian family’s dark secrets. Now 30 years later, Dattani and the original cast including Siddiqua  Akhtar (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, BBC/Netflix; Tartuffe, Birmingham Rep) and Harvey Virdi  (Bend It Like Beckham, Brick Lane, Hollyoaks) will revisit these themes and reignite their roles in  a full-circle moment for Border Crossings.

A new play from Brian Woolland will also pull the past into the present as Cultural Exchange is  set in 21st century and responds to the previous hit Double Tongue, which followed a tale of  sexual obsession, political intrigue and the tumultuous art world. Starring Hungarian film actor

Dorka Gryllus playing the protagonist and Andrew French (Winter’s Tale, RSC; Great  Expectations, Manchester Royal Exchange; A Very English Scandal, BBC), Cultural Exchange  presents a dramatic production that continues 30 years on from Double Tongue!

CHECKPOINT: 30 Years of Border Crossings will also showcase an exuberant array of original  performances from students working in response to the Border Crossings archive. Influenced by  their theatrical predecessors, this cohort of young talent will present original short plays. Artistic  Director Michael Walling will also be contributing his own monologue for Prospero’s daughter in  The Death of Prospero, who will be played by Mauritian actor Nisha Dassyne.

Artistic Director Micheal Walling comments, It’s a rare privilege to be able to look back over  three decades of theatre-making. Working on CHECKPOINT has of course shown us how far the  company has come in its own journey of intercultural theatre-making and production; but it has  also shown us how very much the world has changed, and I don’t feel that every change has  been a positive one. At a time when racism and prejudice are on the march again, a theatre of  intercultural exchange and collaboration is more needed than ever. Using our past work to  provoke and galvanise young people’s creativity is our way of offering some kind of hope for the  future.

Celebrating multiple voices, collaborations and dialogues and funded by National Lottery  Heritage Fund, CHECKPOINT: 30 Years of Border Crossings marks the powerful penchant they  have built over 3 decades for piloting theatre performances that respond to real world events.  In true Border Crossings style, this event will present both a past and future perspective of performance – blending archival material, new writing, and intergenerational collaboration.

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