WWI centenary programme from 14-18 NOW is announced

The UK's official arts programme for the WWI centenary 14-18 NOW has announced its 2016 season.

Katie Mitchell's multimedia show The Forbidden Zone, which will be performed at the Barbican in May, will lead the theatre offerings. It focuses on Clara Immerwahr, the first woman to have been awarded a doctorate in chemistry in Germany. The show includes text by Virginia Woolf and features Berlin's Schaubuhne Theatre ensemble.

Elsewhere in the theatre arm of the season, the National Theatre of Scotland will stage The 306: Dawn in May, which charts the story of the soldiers executed for cowardice in WWI. Mark Anderson's night time open-air performance Furious Folly, which draws on the anti-war sentiment of the Dadaist movement, returns, opening in Oxford on June 17.

Dr Blighty is also being staged within the 14-18 NOW season. The show looks at the story of men who travelled from India to fight for the Allies during WWI and the injured soldiers who were treated in Brighton. The piece is created by Nutkhut and features as part of the Brighton Festival in May.

The rest of the line up includes music from Damon Albarn, a fashion exhibition in Manchester inspired by WWI and a major new work by artist Yinka Shonibare at Turner Contemporary.

The programme of 14-18 NOW is part of the UK's official centenary commemorations and aims to explore the way WWI has impacted on the way we live now. It commissions work that is staged throughout the UK.

For more information head to the 14-18 NOW site.