Images: AMMA (Tara Theatre), Hansel and Gretel (Opera Ed, Photo: Nick Rutter), Amy Steel and Avril Corroon (Acme)

Theatre 

AMMA | Tara Theatre 

Tara Theatre’s virtual reality experience ‘AMMA’ is currently running in Wimbledon until 17 December. 

‘AMMA’, meaning mother in Bengali, uses 360 VR to transport audiences into one woman’s memory of the War of Independence in Bangladesh, and rebuilding a life in Britain thereafter in the 1970-80s. The piece has been developed by writer Kamal Kaan and director Abdul Shayek, using testimonies from Bangladeshi women in Birmingham, Walsall, Manchester and London.  

Book tickets for AMMA

Best Seat in Your House | Young Vic 

In January 2023, Young Vic’s new musical Mandela will be broadcast live to audiences at home as part of Best Seat in Your House: a series of live-streamed productions filmed through multiple cameras placed throughout the theatre’s auditorium, with audiences able to choose which camera angle they view the show. 

Supported by our Genesis Kickstart Fund, Best Seat in Your House aims to increase access to theatre by delivering a better ‘from home’ experience. 

With book by Laiona Michelle, music and lyrics by Greg Dean Borowsky and Shaun Borowsky, and directed by Schele Williams, Mandela will be streaming live via Best Seat in Your House on 19, 20, 21 and 23 January 2023 at 7.30pm, and 21 January 2023 at 2pm. 

Book tickets for Mandela 

MATCH/PLAY | tiata fahodzi 

tiata fahodzi has announced the 6 artists of its MATCH/PLAY project: a series of commissions, supported by the Genesis Kickstart Fund, where pairs of artists will work in their local area to produce a 15-minute theatre piece. 

The pieces include ‘FINESSE’ by theatre-makers Stephanie Stevens and Jasmine Kahlia, a two-hander musical exploring loneliness, scamming, insecurities and belonging; ‘Black British Yearbook’ by artists Raphael Dada and Karis Beaumont, an intergenerational exploration of the immigrant experience through portraiture, music and food; and a new musical (currently untitled) by musicians and actors Alexander Williams and Lexie Dufficy, which explores race and identity in modern Britain. 

Find out more 

Music 

Opera for Young Hearts | OperaEd 

OperaEd is in the midst of its ‘Hansel and Gretel’ workshops and performances for schools in Haringey and Enfield, as part of Opera for Young Hearts. 

The programme aims to inspire and educate a new generation of opera-lovers, who don’t currently have access to the art form, through the re-imagined story of a classic fairy tale. 

Photos by Nick Rutter.

Read more about Hansel and Gretel 

Visual Arts 

Acme Alternative Pathway Awards | Acme 

Visual arts charity Acme has launched its 50^th anniversary programme of events and artist programmes, which includes the Acme Alternative Pathway Awards.  

Supported by the Genesis Kickstart Fund, these awards aim to support artists that are within their first five years of practice and are from groups currently underrepresented in the arts. 

More information about the awards, as well as other events and announcements, can be found on Acme’s new 50^th anniversary webpage. 

Visit the new webpage 

View all our Genesis Kickstart Fund projects

The Genesis Foundation today announced the full list of panellists taking part in the second of their Genesis Conversations, in partnership with Bristol Old Vic at the theatre’s historic venue on 15 November.

Panellists are Angie Bual (Creative Director and Joint CEO of Trigger), Shami Chakrabarti (human rights lawyer and Chair of The Gate theatre), Sado Jirde (Director of Black South West Network), Vanessa Kisuule (poet), Alan Lane (Artistic Director of Slung Low) and Tom Morris (Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic from 2009-2022) will chair the event.

This conversation takes place in Bristol Old Vic’s award-winning front of house ‘Courtyard’ space. It will explore the theme ARTS IN A TIME OF CRISIS looking at how we build a resilient future for the Arts. This is particularly relevant in the week following Arts Council England announcing their NPO funding for the next three years and the impact this will have on the culture sector in England.

The Genesis Conversations are free events, and those who aren’t able to attend in person can either watch the live-stream or a playback on the Genesis Foundation channels. They are open to anyone working in the arts, audiences, or those who support the sector through business or public support. 

Shami Chakrabarti (Baroness Chakrabarti CBE PC) is a human rights lawyer and campaigner, Labour Peer and was Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from September 2016 to April 2020.

She was the Director of Liberty (the National Council for Civil Liberties), from 2003 to 2016 and its In House Counsel from 2001 to 2003. Prior to that she was at the bar and then a Home Office lawyer (1996-2001).

She was a panellist on the Leveson Inquiry into media culture, ethics and practice after the phone-hacking scandal in 2011/12 and one of an international group who carried the Olympic flag at the opening of the London games in 2012.

She was the Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and the University of Essex and has been an Honorary Professor at the Universities of Bristol and Manchester and the London School of Economics. She served on the Board of the British Film Institute (BFI) for many years and on the Members Council of the Tate. She is a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple. She has written and broadcast widely and is the author of two books, On Liberty (2014) and Of Women (2017). Both are published by Penguin, Allen Lane.

As Director of Black South West Network (BSWN) since 2013, Sado Jirde rebuilt the organisation’s profile and repositioned its role from an infrastructure body to a racial justice incubator, where alternative solutions to systemic racial and socio-economic inequalities issues are developed in collaboration with the Black and Minoritised communities across the City of Bristol and the South West region.

Sado is active on several relevant boards and advisory structures including Bristol’s One City Economy board and Bristol University Court. She is also the Vice-Chair of Bristol Old Vic Board – the oldest continuously working theatre in the English-speaking world.

She was awarded The African Achievers Award in 2015, as well as the Most Inspirational Role Model Award by the West Women of the Year Awards in 2019 and listed as a Women of Inspiration: 100 social enterprise leaders showing Covid who’s boss in 2020. Sado is a fellow of Royal Society of Arts and is proud to have been made a Visiting Fellow to University of Bath Spa in 2020.

Vanessa Kisuule is a writer and performer based in Bristol. She has won over ten slam titles including The Roundhouse Slam 2014, Hammer and Tongue National Slam 2014 and the Nuoryican Poetry Slam. She has been featured on BBC iPlayer, Radio 1, and Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Blue Peter, Don’t Flop and TEDx in Vienna. She has appeared at an array of literary and music festivals and was Glastonbury Festival’s Resident Poet in 2019.

Her poem on the historic toppling of Edward Colston’s statue ‘Hollow’ gained over 600,000 views on Twitter in three days. She has two poetry collections published by Burning Eye Books and her work was Highly Commended in the Forward Poetry Prize Anthology 2019. She has written for publications including The Guardian, NME and Lonely Planet and has publication credits in pending anthologies with Canongate, Orion and Penguin Random House. She has worked extensively in theatre with Bristol Old Vic, Kneehigh Theatre and Pentabus and her Arts Council supported show ‘SEXY’ toured nationally in 2017. She was the Bristol City Poet for 2018 – 2020 and will be co-tutor for Southbank Centre’s first ever Poetry Collective alongside Will Harris. She is currently working on an essay collection and her debut novel.

Alan Lane is Artistic Director of Slung Low directing most of their work over the last decade including projects with the Barbican, the RSC, The Almeida, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Liverpool Everyman, Sheffield Theatres, Singapore Arts Festival and the Lowry. Slung Low make large scale people’s theatre work on stages, trains, castles, swimming pools, fishing boats and town centres.

In 2017 Slung Low headlined Hull UK City of Culture 2017 with Flood by James Phillips: a 4 Part epic performed online, live and on the BBC. Over half a million people saw a part of Flood. It won a Royal Televisual Award Yorkshire for innovation in drama.

In 2018 Slung Low, with support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, will open a new Cultural Community College in Leeds offering a full range of cultural lessons in activities from South Indian Cooking to Blacksmything, star gazing to documentary film making and much in between.

In 2019 Slung Low took over management of the oldest working men’s club in Britain, The Holbeck in South Leeds: they run this venue as a Pay What You Decide creative and community space.
During the Covid crisis of 2020 the company was the ward lead for the city council’s coronavirus helpline with responsibility for 7500 homes. They run a non-means tested self-referral food bank.

Tom Morris was Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic from 2009 -2022 before stepping down this October and has been Associate Director of the National Theatre since 2004. He was the Artistic Director of BAC from 1995 to 2004 and has worked widely as a journalist, broadcaster and freelance writer, producer and director.

At Bristol Old Vic he has directed many shows including Touching the Void and The Grinning Man (both Bristol and West End); Swallows & Amazons (Bristol, West End and UK tour); Handel’s Messiah, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with Handspring Puppet company), and Dr Semmelweis.

Tom also adapted A Christmas Carol for Bristol Old Vic in 2018, co-wrote the lyrics for The Grinning Man, and adapted A Matter of Life and Death with Emma Rice for the National Theatre. For Kneehigh, he wrote Nights at the Circus and The Wooden Frock with Emma Rice. For BAC he wrote Ben Hur, Jason and the Argonauts and World Cup Final 1966, all with Carl Heap.

Other directing credits include: Breaking the Waves (Scottish Opera/ Opera Ventures with Edinburgh International Festival); The Death of Klinghoffer (ENO & Metropolitan Opera); Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (National Theatre); War Horse (as co-director for National Theatre; 2011 Tony Award for Best Director); he also produced Jerry Springer: The Opera (for BAC).

Tom was founding Chair of the JMK Trust, has served on the boards of Complicite & Punchdrunk, has honorary doctorates from UWE and Bristol University, and an OBE for services to Theatre.

Angie Bual is the artistic director and founder of Trigger, an independent arts organisation based in Bristol. She is the Creative Director of The Hatchling – the world’s first flying puppet in the form of a dragon which premiered in Plymouth UK in August 2021 and led the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. Angie is also the Creative Director of PoliNations, a major cultural event celebrating diversity and migration through the UK’s people and plants; and WithYou, a free innovative digital service that enables families to send voice messages and music playlists to loved ones isolated in hospital or care.

Angie is a Clore Fellow (Theatre), and has produced for organisations including Fuel, National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh Art Festival and the Science Museum. She is also on the board for the London Area Council for Arts Council England. Angie won the Creative Producer Arts Foundation Award.

To attend ARTS IN A TIME OF CRISIS live or online, book your free ticket here, or sign up to the Genesis Foundation Newsletter to receive updates about the live-stream.

Image: Emilie Chen 

• Zinnie Harris’ award-winning modern classic, based on real events on the island of Tristan da Cunha, in a visionary revival by Genesis Fellow and Young Vic Associate Director Jennifer Tang, exploring themes of capitalism, colonialism and the climate emergency 
   
• Further than the Furthest Thing runs in the Young Vic Main House from 9 March to 29 April, with opening night on 16 March 
   
• Tickets on priority sale today and on general sale from 14 November via www.youngvic.org  
   
• Applications open today for the 2023 Genesis Fellow/Associate Director, a two-year programme for experienced directors and theatremakers to develop their craft in directing, programming and artistic planning, made possible with support from the Genesis Foundation. Further details via creatorsprogram.youngvic.org

“Surprise is as come from the H‘outside world” 

The Young Vic Theatre today announces a new production of Further than the Furthest Thing, the award-winning play and haunting modern classic by Zinnie Harris (This Restless House, 101 Dalmatians, How To Hold Your Breath), directed by Young Vic Associate Director and Genesis Fellow Jennifer Tang (AI, Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok). It marks the first major London staging in more than 10 years, and will run in the Young Vic Main House from 9 March to 14 April with opening night for press on 16 March. 

Further than the Furthest Thing premiered in 2000, co-produced by the National Theatre and The Tron Glasgow, and won an Edinburgh Fringe First Award, Peggy Ramsay Award and John Whiting Award and was shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Based on real events on the island of Tristan da Cunha, the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, Director Jennifer Tang’s new, visionary interpretation will explore the text through a modern lens of capitalism, colonialism and the climate emergency, as the story follows a community haunted by its past and under threat from a modern world in crisis. 

On a remote volcanic island in the middle of the Atlantic, the islanders of Tristan da Cunha have lived undisturbed for centuries, defying the swirling currents of modernity. Cut off and exposed to the elements, their survival has created a complex bind with their land. But when one of the inhabitants brings an outsider to the island, their way of life is changed forever. 

Following her ground-breaking production AI in 2021, Further than the Furthest Thing will be the final production from Jennifer Tang in her role as Genesis Fellow / Associate Director at the Young Vic. 

Director Jennifer Tang said: “It’s a complete privilege to direct this stunning play for the Young Vic, and to be collaborating with such a brilliant team to bring it to life. The play is beautiful, lyrical and vividly evokes a community that feels both far away and familiar. Although written over 20 years ago, its message about how our choices impact people and our planet feels more urgent than ever. Zinnie’s extraordinary play is both intimate and epic, local and global – it asks us to think about our notion of home, our sense of belonging, and how far we will go in pursuit of our values. I’m just so excited to share it with audiences in the Spring, along with the work of all the brilliant artists involved. 

“Directing this play brings my Genesis Fellow and Associate Directorship at the Young Vic to a close. The past couple of years have been a real adventure, where I have been able to become part of the rich ecology of an incomparable theatre and arts organization creating an artistically ambitious and exceptional programme of work. The ways in which this Fellowship has allowed me to develop as an artist are wide-ranging and deep-seated and I am incredibly grateful to the Genesis Foundation and all at the Young Vic for this opportunity. I’m sad to be leaving but happy to be saying farewell through this gift of a production.” 

Kwame Kwei-Armah, Young Vic Artistic Director, said: “Jen is an exceptional multi-disciplinary artist who has made vital contributions to the Young Vic. From her production of AI, which embraced cutting-edge technology to driving innovative exploratory practices for artists and audiences, she continues to push boundaries and demonstrate her potential as an artistic director of the future. I’m excited to see her interpretation of Zinnie Harris’ Further Than the Furthest Thing in what promises to be a thrilling and compellingly relevant new production that highlights the threat of the climate emergency. It has been a pleasure to be a part of Jen’s journey as Genesis Fellow/Associate Director, she will be missed in the Young Vic team, but no doubt has a burgeoning career ahead.” 

The creative team is completed by Designer Soutra Gilmour, Lighting Designer Prema Mehta, Sound Designer George Dennis, Composer Ruth Chan, Video Designer Nina Dunn, Movement Director Ingrid Mackinnon, Voice and Dialect Coach Emma Woodvine, Illusions Designer John Bulleid, and Casting Director Charlotte Sutton.  

Full casting will be announced in due course. 

Applications for the 2023 Genesis Fellowship/Associate Director are now open until 12pm on 6 December. The Genesis Fellow/Associate Director will be based within the Creators Program department and plays an integral role in the development and delivery of the Young Vic’s artist development program. 

The Young Vic’s longstanding partner, the Genesis Foundation, has provided leadership support for the Genesis Fellow for over ten years investing in exceptional directors, their strategic insight and creative growth. Previous Genesis Fellows include Nadia Latif, Gbolahan Obisesan, Natalie Abrahami, Carrie Cracknell and Joe Hill-Gibbins.  

John Studzinski CBE, Founder & Chairman, Genesis Foundation, said: “The Genesis Fellowship is a cornerstone of our 20-year partnership with the Young Vic. It enables a significant gear-change in the career of a director: a unique opportunity for a theatre artist to grow and learn not only the craft of directing but also the skill of running a theatre, fostering collaboration and inspiring arts makers within a venue. The next Genesis Fellow, mentored by Kwame Kwei-Armah and the outstanding artistic team at the Young Vic, will join a cohort of talented Genesis directors, many of whom are now at the helm of theatre all around the UK. As Jennifer Tang’s successful tenure ends, we look forward to the recruitment of the next Genesis Fellow, in a role that is pivotal to the cultural ecology of this country.” 

The Young Vic is renowned for the Creators Program, that grew from the Directors Program, and has been providing an extensive program of learning activities, traineeships, and opportunities to make work for artists for more than 20 years. Since 2003, the Genesis Foundation’s partnership has been the back bone of artist development at the Young Vic – forging community through the Genesis Network, and igniting careers through invaluable training opportunities such as the Genesis Future Directors Award and Genesis Fellowship. 

The Genesis Fellow/Associate Director will initiate and run projects, provide mentorship for Genesis Future Directors Awards, facilitate discussions, and lead on exploration of new ideas and ways of working. There will also be an opportunity to direct a show at the Young Vic during the tenure of the Fellowship in one of the theatre’s three spaces.  

Find out more about how to apply on the Young Vic website.

Images: Blue Sky Counterpoint (The Cumnock Tryst), All The Ends of the World (The Sixteen), Here Lies (Tala Lee-Turton, Photo: Sara Turton)

Music

All the Ends of the World | The Sixteen

Last week, The Sixteen performed alongside violinist Lizzie Ball in All the Ends of the World, an hour-long concert which explored the impact of climate change on our planet.  

The concert took place at both Southwark Cathedral and Rochester Cathedral across two evenings, and featured artist Luke Jerram’s ‘Gaia’: a slowly rotating, floating art installation reflecting the Earth’s surface, designed to portray the beauty and true nature of our planet. 

Classic FM featured Lizzie playing under the globe installation at Southwark Cathedral on their social channels.

Watch the clip

Blue Sky Counterpoint | The Cumnock Tryst

The Cumnock Tryst’s collaborative project Blue Sky Counterpoint, which allowed pupils at Hillside School in Cumnock, Scotland, to create a new piece with founder and conductor Sir James MacMillan and composer Matilda Brown, has culminated in a performance by the Hillside pupils and singers from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

This project was run by The Cumnock Tryst, founded by James MacMillan, and was designed for pupils with complex additional support needs.

Learn more about The Cumnock Tryst 

Horizon Project | DEBUT

Pianist, composer and DEBUT Horizon Artist Reiko Makita recently premiered her piece Sunflower at Shoreditch Treehouse, with clarinet by fellow DEBUT Horizon Artist Guillermo Ramasasa.   

DEBUT’S Horizon Project is a fully funded development programme for emerging musicians, which bridges the gap between conservatoire training and the professional industry. The project includes filmed live performances, musical showcases and behind-the-scenes insights. Sunflower was made as part of this project. 

Watch the full recording of Sunflower 

Visual Arts

Digital Research Residency | Yinka Shonibare Foundation & Guest Projects Digital 

Artist Chiizii, who is the recipient of the Yinka Shonibare Foundation and Guest Projects Digital’s Digital Research Residency, has created an online research archive and teaching tool designed to educate and encourage conversation around pre and post-colonial Igbo diets. 

The archive, titled Nni Bu Ogwu, was developed throughout Chiizii’s residency, and explores how Igbo Nigerians have used art to exchange food information, whilst simultaneously investigating how art can be used as an accessible tool for educational enrichment. 

Explore the archive  

For Such A Time As This | Young Identity  

Young Identity’s P. A. Bitez has been named Big Syn Festival London’s LGBTQI+ winner, and has been awarded a Laurel by the International ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival, for her short film Mother Messiah,

The film featured a poem written and performed by Bitez. It was directed by CCCompasss and produced by Nicole May.

Selected from over 1,200 entries, Mother Messiah will showcase at the Berlin ZEBRA Film Festival from 3 – 6 November. 

Bitez’s film was made as a result of For Such a Time As This, a two-week R&D, supported by the Genesis Kickstart Fund, which allowed emerging poets to devise and create original work which integrated poetry, film and projection. 

Watch a clip of Mother Messiah 

Dance

Here Lies | Tala Lee-Turton 

Rehearsals are currently taking place for Here Lies, a 10-minute ballet/ physical theatre duet between a dancer and a cellist.  

Produced by dancer and creative producer Tala Lee-Turton, Here Lies is a collaboration with Sheffield General Cemetery, exploring the unrecorded lives of women buried in the cemetery. Tala’s creative team features choreographer Krystal S. Lowe and cellist Roxanna Albayati .

The performance will take place at Sheffield General Cemetery in South Yorkshire later this year.  

View some of the rehearsal footage  

Theatre

Women, Beware the Devil | Lulu Raczka 

Lulu Racza’s Women, Beware the Devil premieres at the Almeida Theatre next February. 

The play, directed by the Almeida’s Artistic Director Rupert Goold, is set in the 17th century, amid the Witch Trials and the beginnings of the Civil War. The Genesis Kickstart Fund supported the play’s research and development.

Booking will open later this month. To be notified when tickets go on sale, sign up to the Almeida’s mailing list. 

Read more on the Almeida’s website 

View all our Genesis Kickstart Fund projects

The Genesis Foundation today announced the second of their Genesis Conversations will take place in partnership with Bristol Old Vic at the theatre’s historic venue this November.

This series of events began in London in September 2022, with the aim to gather cultural leaders around a key issue of the cultural world today and match established well-known figures with emerging talent and mid-career artists. The Genesis Conversations are free events, and those who aren’t able to attend in person can either watch the live-stream or a playback on the Genesis Foundation channels.

They are open to anyone working in the arts, audiences, or those who support the sector through business or public support.

This next conversation takes place on 15 Nov in Bristol Old Vic’s award-winning front of house ‘Courtyard’ space. It will explore the theme ARTS IN A TIME OF CRISIS looking at how we build a resilient future for the Arts.

One of the panellists is former Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic, Tom Morris, who held the position for 12 years, before stepping down this October.

Tom Morris said: 

“In world which is bewildered by change and divided by unprecedented economic, social and environmental challenges, what might we expect or hope for from our artists? Do we want them to charm us, to challenge us or inspire us to build a better world?  Do we want them to shine a light on injustice, call us to arms, or release the creative potential of our children?  Do we want them to bring people together and remind us of precious things and precious people we have lost? Or do we just want them to make us laugh and cry and forget for a moment the struggles of the rest of our lives?”


John Studzinski, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said:

“The Genesis Foundation is delighted to present Genesis Conversations in Bristol. Through this series, our exceptional network of talented artists and visionary arts leaders deliver talks of the highest quality for artists and arts professionals to thrive in a tough climate. This is our first cultural discussion conversation with one of our important Genesis regional partners and audiences, and we are pleased to be partnering with Bristol Old Vic and Tom Morris, a long-time friend and a brilliant creative mind. We look forward to seeing him and his panel tackle such a timely topic as Arts in a Time of Crisis.”

The chair and panellists for this event will be announced later in October.

To attend ARTS IN A TIME OF CRISIS live or online, book your free ticket here, or sign up to the Genesis Foundation Newsletter to receive updates about the live-stream.

The Genesis Foundation previously presented six Cultural Conversations in 2020 and 2021, hosted by William Russell at the Mansion House when he was Lord Mayor of the City of London. Originally conceived as live events, they continued throughout the Covid-19 crisis and were held online enabling audience participation via chat and video. The panel discussions gathered leaders and artists who included Sir Nicholas Serota, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Sharon Ament, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Lemn Sissay, Dame Julia Payton-Jones CBE and many more. Leading arts journalists including Kirsty Lang and Farah Nayeri chaired debates about Cultural Technology and Innovation, Philanthropy, Youth and Access, the Economic impact of the Creative industries.

On 11 October 2022, at the Chapel Royal of Saint Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, the Genesis Foundation presents A Tribute to the Life and Reign of Elizabeth II: A Garland for the Queen. This hour-long choral concert by The Sixteen, conceived and conducted by the group’s founder Harry Christophers, will be attended by an invited audience and live-streamed globally on Classic FM’s Facebook page – the world’s most followed arts & culture page. 

The programme of ‘choral crown jewels’ is built around music, both sacred and secular, from collections assembled for Elizabeth II and for her Tudor predecessor, Elizabeth I: Cantiones Sacrae (1575); The Triumphs of Oriana (1601); A Garland for the Queen (1953), and Choirbook for the Queen (2012).  It includes a new jewel – a work specially commissioned by the Genesis Foundation from Cecilia McDowall, one of today’s leading composers of choral music, She draws on the text of an anthem that William Byrd composed for Elizabeth I in the late 16^th century and which also appears on the programme at Saint Peter ad Vincula.  

Cecilia McDowall’s ‘O Lord, Make Thy Servant, Elizabeth’ is the 30^th new choral work that the Genesis Foundation has commissioned from established composers – such as Sir James MacMillan, Will Todd and Roxanna Panufnik – and emerging composers,  including Ruth Byrchmore, Lisa Robertson and Marco Galvani. The Foundation is now established as the largest commissioner of choral music in the UK. 

The concert is the fifth in a series that the Genesis Foundation has presented since 2016 in historic places of worship. The others, all with The Sixteen and Harry Christophers, have taken place at: the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace; the Sistine Chapel in The Vatican; Eton College Chapel, and Farm Street Church, London.  All the events have been live-streamed by Classic FM, bringing inspiration to a huge global audience. The same will hold true for the concert in St Peter ad Vincula, aptly reflecting the place that Queen Elizabeth II holds in history, and in the hearts and minds of many millions of people all over the world. 

In addition to the concert, Classic FM will webcast a five-minute performance by young professional-level singers from the Genesis Sixteen training programme, which was established in 2011. It will be pre-recorded in the Tower of London’s other Chapel Royal, the intimate St John the Evangelist. This exquisite example of Romanesque architecture, built in the 11^th century as part of the White Tower, served as a private chapel when royalty was in residence.  

Up to 170 people will attend A Tribute to the Life and Reign of Elizabeth II: A Garland for the Queen. Online viewers interested in receiving additional content, including behind-the-scenes footage, the concert programme and extended interviews, can sign up here.  

Commenting on the programme he has conceived, Harry Christophers says: 

“Reflecting on Elizabeth II’s long life and illustrious reign, we could think of no better way to pay her homage than to craft a programme that sets music written in her honour beside works composed for the first Queen Elizabeth. 

“This concert will take place in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, a sacred space in the heart of the historical Tower of London and one of very few places of worship under direct jurisdiction of a monarch.  

“We are pleased that this occasion can be marked with the premiere of ‘O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth’ commissioned from composer Cecilia McDowall by the Genesis Foundation. In paying tribute to Byrd’s serene anthem of the same name, it also pays tribute to the glorious reign of Queen Elizabeth II. McDowall’s new work will be set in a programme alongside pieces from a number of composers, including Tallis, Vaughan Williams and Britten.  

A Garland for the Queen honours the lives and reigns of both Queen Elizabeths, and in association with Classic FM, we are inviting audiences all over the world to join us in this respectful celebration.” 

John Studzinski, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, says:  

“The Genesis Foundation is honoured to pay tribute to Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign and lifetime of service with a choral concert in the Chapel Royal of the Tower of London. While her Majesty brought unity to multi-faith Britain and the Commonwealth, music – like all the arts – has the power to cross boundaries and bring people together, no matter what their faith or beliefs. This concert pays tribute to our late Queen with music spanning five centuries, and I cannot think of a more fitting occasion for the premiere of Cecilia McDowell’s new work for choir and harp. It is the Genesis Foundation’s 30^th commission of sacred choral music, and in this historic venue at this contemplative time it will carry special significance.” 

A Tribute to the Life and Reign of Elizabeth II: A Garland for the Queen – Programme

Thomas Morley                       Hard by a crystal fountain*

Thomas Tallis                          O sacrum convivium*  

William Byrd                           O lux beata Trinitas*  

Sir Michael Tippett                  Dance, Clarion Air**

William Byrd                           O Lord, make thy servant, Elizabeth * 

Charles Villiers Stanford         The Blue Bird**

Benjamin Britten                     Gloriana Dances for tenor, harp and choir**

Ralph Vaughan Williams        Silence and Music**

Cecilia McDowall                   O Lord, make thy servant, Elizabeth†**

Richard Rodney Bennett         These Three**

Thomas Tallis/William Byrd   Miserere nostri* 

William Byrd                           This sweet and merry month of May* 

Thomas Weelkes                     As Vesta was from Latmos hill descending*

† World premiere

* In tribute to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I

** In tribute to the reign of Queen Elizabeth II

New series of debates with cultural leaders and emerging artists launches this month

The Genesis Foundation launches its new series of conversations, in partnership with the Barbican, Bristol Old Vic and the Greater London Authority.

Genesis Conversations gather cultural leaders around a key issue of the cultural world today and match established well-known figures with emerging talent and mid-career artists. The Genesis Conversations are free events, and those who aren’t able to attend in person can either watch the live-stream or a playback on the Genesis Foundation channels.

The new series of Genesis Conversations will start on 21 September (6.30pm) at the Barbican Centre with a debate on NETWORKS: this first conversation will explore the power of creative networks, both from the perspective of those helping to foster new connections, and those artists working within new networks to open doors and create new pathways to success. 

Chaired by Will Gompertz, Artistic Director of the Barbican, the panel for NETWORKS will include Sue Emmas, Associate Artistic Director Young Vic, and Creators Programme lead; Jack Gamble, Theatre Director and Founder of the Public Campaign for the Arts; Pip Jamieson, Founder & CEO of The Dots, Jamie Njoku Goodwin, CEO of UK Music; Shanice Mears, Co-founder and Head of Talent, Elephant Room and Audrey Solvar, Founder of Black Creators Matter.

John Studzinski, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said:

“The Genesis Foundation is delighted to present its new series of Genesis Conversations. Drawing on our exceptional network of talented artists and visionary art leaders, these talks are intended as free resources of the highest quality for artists to thrive in an increasingly tough industry. Providing healthy debates on key issues of our time, an exchange of ideas and practices from emerging artists as well as established, well-known figures, the Genesis Conversations aim to equip audiences with a new perspective and hopefully useful advice to take their practice forward. Who better to chair the first in this new series of Cultural Conversations at the Barbican Centre than Will Gompertz. We have admired Will’s astonishing career for a long time and greatly value his pioneering work to open up the arts to the widest public firstly at Tate, then at the BBC and now with the Barbican.”

Will Gompertz, Artistic Director of the Barbican, said:

“We’re really excited to be part of the next edition of Genesis Conversations. Some of the most significant cultural moments of our time have been made possible due to the power of creative collaborations and networks. This series of discussions feels particularly relevant at a time when our individual resources are limited, and we require better knowledge exchange and new pathways to create value and opportunities for artists and audiences.”

The Genesis Foundation previously sponsored six Cultural Conversations in 2020 and 2021, hosted by William Russell at the Mansion House when he was Lord Mayor of the City of London. Originally conceived as live events, they continued throughout the Covid-19 crisis and were held online enabling audience participation via chat and video. The panel discussions gathered leaders and artists who included Sir Nicholas Serota, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Sharon Ament, Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Lemn Sissay, Dame Julia Payton-Jones CBE and many more. Leading arts journalists including Kirsty Lang and Farah Nayeri chaired debates about Cultural Technology and Innovation, Philanthropy, Youth and Access, the Economic impact of the Creative industries.

Further talks in this new series of Genesis Conversations will be held in 2022 and 2023 at Bristol Old Vic (15 November 2022) and at the Headquarters of the Greater London Authority (2023). Themes, Chairs and Panellists will be announced soon: follow the Genesis Foundation channels for more information.

Register to attend NETWORKS live or online

The Sixteen is pleased to announce the names of the 22 young singers who will join Genesis Sixteen’s 12th cohort this month.

Supported by the Genesis Foundation, Genesis Sixteen is The Sixteen’s free young artists’ scheme for 18-23-year-olds which aims to nurture the next generation of talented ensemble singers. Now entering its 12th year, Genesis Sixteen is the UK’s first ever fully funded programme of its kind. Participants, of which there are now more than 250, have gone on to perform, record and tour with professional groups, including The Sixteen.

The new cohort are:

Each year, Genesis Sixteen also offers a conducting scholarship, which is fully funded and offers young conductors the opportunity to be mentored by conductor Harry Christophers CBE and associate conductor Eamonn Dougan, as well as the chance to work with some of the best young ensemble singers in the country. The scholar is given the chance to observe each course, sing with the choir, lead their own rehearsals, and conduct several pieces throughout the year, including for BBC Radio 3 broadcast. The ninth Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar will be Olivia Shotton, who recently received her MA Choral Conducting from the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied under Patrick Russill.

During the course of a year, a series of week-long and weekend courses are led by key figures from The Sixteen, including founder and conductor Harry Christophers CBE and Associate Conductor Eamonn Dougan, who provide one-to-one coaching to the singers. Participants also receive group tuition, individual mentoring, one-per-part consort training from members of The Sixteen and masterclasses run by some of the world’s top vocal experts. Support from the Genesis Foundation means participants receive free tuition and a bursary to cover all additional costs.

Harry Christophers CBE, Founder & Conductor of The Sixteen and Eamonn Dougan, Associate Conductor of The Sixteen say: “We are now embarking on the twelfth year of Genesis Sixteen and have assembled another excellent group of singers from all over the country. We cannot thank John Studzinski and the Genesis Foundation enough for having the vision and determination to help us make this programme the success story it is. Both Eamonn and I feel a buzz of excitement at each new intake. Allowing personalities to develop and express themselves through their singing and to communicate to everyone around them without inhibition is at the forefront of what we are about – the rewards are plentiful. But above all, singing is fun, it’s collaborative and with Genesis Sixteen lifelong friendships are created. We are so proud of what our young singers have achieved and will continue to achieve. This, our twelfth “cohort”, will be no exception.

John Studzinski CBE, Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation said: “Since its inception in 2011, over 250 singers have now come through this ground-breaking programme. Our initial goal was to identify and nurture young artists with potential and provide them with world-class mentoring. To say the programme has surpassed our expectations is an understatement. Seeing the heights these singers and conductors reach as they come out of Genesis Sixteen is a testament to , their talent and passion and to the quality of the mentorship provided by Harry Christophers. We are so proud to have created and enabled this programme for as long as we have.”

Olivia Shotton, ninth Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar says: “I am really excited to get started as the Genesis Sixteen Conducting Scholar. The chance to work with singers of this calibre whilst being mentored by Harry and Eamonn is an amazing opportunity, made even more valuable by the fact that the courses are spread across a whole year, which will really allow me to develop as a conductor.”

Applications for the 2023-24 choir will open in November 2022, with applications for the conducting scholar opening in April/May 2023.

Images: Our Silence is Your Silence (Tangram), The Glee Club at Theatre by the Lake cr. Chris Payne (Stockroom), The Borrowed Condition Exhibition by Kira Freije (Strange Cargo)

Theatre

Dido’s Bar | Dash Arts

Dash Arts’ new immersive theatre and music production, Dido’s Bar, opens at the Royal Docks London on 23 September. 

Written by Hattie Naylor and performed by a multilingual international cast, Dido’s Bar is a retelling of Virgil’s poem ‘Aeneid’. It brings to life the classic myth of migration, love, and assimilation, through the eyes of refugees today. 

Inspired by director Josephine Burton’s encounter with Kurdish Iranian musician and composer of the work, Marouf Majidi. 
 
Dido’s Bar runs until 15 October in London, with additional dates in Manchester, Leicester, Portsmouth, and Oxford. 

Book tickets 

HAWK | Lewis Doherty 

Actor and Writer Lewis Doherty performed his one-man sci-fi action show HAWK at Nottingham Playhouse on 13 August. 

Armed with just himself and a chair, Doherty played over forty characters, mimed every prop, and created all sound effects. The piece was the third and final instalment of ‘The Beast Trilogy’. 

Stay informed about Lewis Doherty’s work 

Bridge the Gap | Stage One  

The 2022/23 producers for Bridge the Gap, a year-long development programme that supports 10 emerging producers each year, have been announced. 

Run by Stage One, the programme aims to support emerging producers who are under-represented in the theatre industry, giving them the skills they need to transition into commercial producing. Each producer is matched with a mentor and has access to Stage One’s other development programmes.  

After receiving over 80 applications, the successful applicants are Anya Winful, Beth Shouler, Catherine Leen, Gift Onomor, Harris Albar, Jennifer Leigh, Layla Madanat, Madison Parker, Rachel Westhead, Sophie Hack, and Winnie Imara. 

Read more on Stage One’s website 

Stockroom Freelance Producers Fellowship | Stockroom 

Applications are now open for the Stockroom Freelance Producers Fellowship. 

This is a programme for freelance theatre producers from working class and marginalised backgrounds who are passionate about working with new writers.  

Starting in September this year, the Fellowship includes 6 monthly in-person masterclasses and five Q&A networking sessions, in addition to mentoring opportunities and free desk space. 

The deadline to apply is Wednesday 21 September 2022. 

Apply for the Fellowship 

Visual Arts

Acme Alternative Pathway Awards | Acme Artist Studios Ltd. 

Applications for the Acme Alternative Pathway Awards are now open.  

In response to the urgent need to address widening inequalities in the contemporary art field, the award was created by Acme Artist Studios to support artists within their first five years of practice that are from groups currently underrepresented in the arts.  

The three selected artists will share a studio for six months to work towards a public outcome of their art, as well as receiving mentoring and a £3,500 bursary. 

The deadline to apply is Tuesday 30 August, 11 am. 

Apply for the Alternative Pathway Awards 

Something New From Repetition | Kleiner Shames 

The latest work from Kleiner Shames titled Something New From Repetition will be open to the public from 23 – 27 August at the Jupiter Gallery in Newlyn. 

The piece takes reappearing shapes from Kleiner Shames’s practice as a painter and turns them into four three-dimensional, moveable, dismantlable and skateboard-able sculptures.  

Constructed from wood and painted in bold colours, they aim to invite people to explore a new environment, be experimental and playful. 

Keep up to date with Kleiner Shames’s work 

The Resident Platform | Strange Cargo  

The next artist in residence in Strange Cargo’s The Resident Platform programme, Kira Freije, is currently showcasing her exhibition The Borrowed Condition at Strange Cargo’s gallery in Cheriton. 

The Resident Platform programme aims to support an artist in developing a sculpture inspired by Cheriton.  

A new sculpture is made per residency, culminating in a series of 24 sculptures for the Cheriton community. 

The exhibition will run Fridays & Saturdays from 12 – 4pm, until 24 September. 

Find out more about Strange Cargo 

Music

Revoiced | Corvus Consort 

Corvus Consort’s debut album Revoiced, which was released at the beginning of July 2022, has been featured in Apple Music’s Top 10 Classical albums of the month. 

Made in collaboration with the acclaimed Ferio Saxophone Quartet, the disc explores the blend of saxophones and voices, bringing new colours to music from the Baroque and Renaissance. 

Buy the album 

Our Silence Is Your Silence | Tangram 

Our Silence is Your Silence is a new immersive concert experience by London-based, Chinese music collective Tangram, which takes place at LSO St Lukes this month. 

The concert invites audiences to explore the boundaries between silence and sound, and its deep roots in East Asian philosophies. 

Performances will be held on 28 & 29 August, 7.30pm. 

Book tickets 

View all our Genesis Kickstart Fund projects