2025
5 years ago I started to write about my father’s Viennese youth, initially to mark his 35th yahrzeit - during COVID. I wanted to also look at the city and its legacy; in particular the period 1919-1934 - Red Vienna, when my Dad was 3-18. In 2021 I obtained dual Austrian/UK citizenship, so the writing also speaks to that hybridity.
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The Fence network
Two small Fence network meetings will take place in 2025. Sofia in October will focus on theatre and science as part of the Theatre of Wonder Festival; Bradford in November will look at opera, AI and disability.
In March we made 2 Fence-led EU Erasmus+ bids under the Vocational Educational Training (VET) strands. One focusing on dramaturgs, the other on playwrights. Both were unsuccessful, .
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Two Projects directly involving The Fence (also funded via EU Creative Europe):
Drama of Small European Languages (DoSEL) 2024-6 on which The Fence is an Associate Partner, is dedicated to the cultural and linguistic diversity in the European cultural space, and in particular to improving conditions for international collaboration, translation and the staging of European drama written in smaller European languages. The DoSEL project is a continuation of the work that began in 2021 in the frame of the development grant from the European Theatre Convention (ETC) that was awarded to the consortium of Prešeren Theatre Kranj (Slovenia), the National Agency for the Performing Arts (Malta) and the Slovak National Theatre (Slovakia). With the successful application for the Creative Europe tender in 2024, the consortium of the DoSEL project expanded, including Arriaga Theatre (Spain), Sala Beckett (Spain), HNK Zagreb (Croatia), Estonian Theatre Agency (Estonia), National Theatre Kosovo (Kosovo) and Ivan Vazov Theatre (Bulgaria), with the intention of permanent change of the structural condition in the European theatre sector and an increase in the accessibility of drama of smaller European languages to a wider range of European and world audiences.
The Legend of Europa
2024-6 is a collaboration between 5 theatre organisations from 4 countries, employing innovative approaches of collective creation to develop a new play in response to the founding myth of Europe itself. This will directly address the development and promotion of European cultural and linguistic diversity and heritage, questioning narratives that regard these as exclusive, and demonstrating the centrality to Europe of migrant communities and cultural minorities. Three, 9-day devising workshops, one each led by Border Crossings, Teatro Dell’Argine and Theatre du Soleil, will involve the core devising team from each partner organisation. Dramaturgical methodologies developed by The Fence will help bring together the materials generated, culminating in a showcase of the work, at Riksteatern in Stockholm. Riksteatern will also develop a green future touring model for the prototype co-production: attracting invited presenters, theatres and festivals.
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I have continued working as consultant with Robert Silman on The Bard of Pittsburgh Ltd
Vision At the core of the Bard of Pittsburgh African Legacy Theatre (BOP) is the genius of August Wilson, one of the great playwrights of history and deserving of an association that recognises his contribution to global culture.
Mission BOP Champions the genius of all great black playwrights of yesteryear, now and tomorrow. Much like the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) exists to promulgate the works and the genius of William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon - via production of his plays and those of his contemporaries - BOP’s mission is to transform August Wilson into a household name, via the production of his plays, as well as those of his contemporaries
I look forward to continuing this work in 2025 with Robert, and also Indira Etwaroo, CEO at Harlem Stage / BOP Inc.
https://bardofpittsburgh.com/BOPW/
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I am also working to support Robert Silman’s Keep Publishing Independent and Extraordinary Books
Keep Publishing Independent (KPI’)s mission is to keep publishing independent by aiding independent publishers with financial and/or other assistance on:
· Specific publications;
· Infrastructure support;
· Almost anything that helps keep them realising their passion.
KPI’s mission is also to support its own not for profit publishing subsidiary, Extraordinary Books (EB), to explore ways of publishing that challenge the norms, especially by enabling anyone to submit anything directly to EB, without need of an agent/gatekeeper.
Other features of EB include:
· A 50/50 profit share to signal a partnership rather than a supplier/client contract between publisher and author
· All books are treated equally when allocating funds for marketing and PR to signal no favouritism
· An editorial collective which is open for all readers will be used as the assessors for submissions
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I have also been working as consultant with Gabriel Gbadamosi, Founding Editor of WritersMosaic, to examine the model he created, in all its modalities, and to help create a legacy of his work with the Royal Literary Fund
WritersMosaic, a division of the Royal Literary Fund, is an online magazine and developmental resource focused on UK writers of the global majority, reflecting the changing reality of contemporary Britain, from its past and into its future. The platform showcases writer profiles through authored talks, creative exchanges and interviews, using images and illustrations, commissioned by an editorial team of writers who bring their own blend of curiosity, excitement and deep cultural and critical engagement. The informal, multi-voiced, writer-to-writer recordings are complemented by themed Guest editions from leading publishers, writers, editors, thinkers and artists who reflect on their own thematic interests and insights across genres of literature and introduce us to new developments. With new author profiles published regularly online alongside themed Guest editions, we aim to give audiences a unique and in-depth insight into the lives and writing practices of contemporary writers who reflect the UK’s widening literary culture.