Bourgeouis & Maurice Photo Tom Jef
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Transform Season at West Yorkshire Playhouse

The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds will be transformed from 6th – 18th June 2011 from traditional theatre to an innovative arts venue.

Curated by Alan Lane and Kully Thiarai, Transform aims to reflect the changing landscape of public interaction within the cultural arts.

Both curators have collaborated with Artistic Director Ian Brown and West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Associate Producer Amy Letman to produce a programme of performances and events that challenge people’s perception of theatre and venture away from the Playhouse’s usual offerings.

Transform will capture the work of a wide range of artists; from the staged work of the 21 new up-and-coming writers on the Playhouse’s So You Want To Be A Writer’ programme to a new durational piece called Open House by internationally renowned artist Chris Goode.

Not only will audiences be involved through watching and experiencing; The Red Room’s installation and performance will feature physical audience involvement. Performances will vary in length with Geraldine Pilgrim’s 15 minute performance, and in cast-size with Lemn Sissay’s one man show. In short, Transform will alter the way we look at, experience and perceive theatre in every way possible.

This transformative festival will be celebrated with a Cabaret evening on Saturday 18th June entitled Smoke and Mirrors, featuring a magic show from Tim Sutton, stage designs by installation artist Shanaz Gulzar and performances from The Wau Wau Sisters, Bourgeois & Maurice and Company FZ.

Transform aims not only to challenge the perceptions and introduce new perspectives to audiences; this is a process of discovery for the artists and the Playhouse also. Curators Lane and Thiarai commented on this organic, evolving process:

“Transform is about looking at things differently. It's about change, about exploring ways of transforming - transforming the way you approach the building, the idea of what you might experience here and what we imagine a "Playhouse" to be. It's about building a menu of work, the type of which you wouldn't have seen here before. It's about starting a conversation- well specifically it's the first line in a conversation.”

Tickets for Transform can be booked by calling West Yorkshire Playhouse Box Office on 0113 213 7700 or by visiting www.wyp.org.uk 

- by Ruth Kilner

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