Improbable's Monthly Devoted and Disgruntled

At Southwark Playhouse

3rd December 2008, 8p.m. (full details below)

Hosted by David Jubb

In an exciting experiment with the D&D form, the monthly D&Ds currently have a different theme and guest host. December’s D&D will be hosted by David Jubb, Joint-Artistic Director of Battersea Arts Centre. As always the response to this theme, and the conversations we have, will be decided by you at the start of the evening. Phelim McDermott will be opening the space.

NOTE: 3 other important changes to D&D this month:

1. It will be at Southwark Playhouse (Shunt is closed, full address below)
2. It will start at 8p.m. not 7.30p.m.
3. There will be mince pies!

HOW CAN THEATRE BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO NOW?

Dear All

How can theatre be more responsive to now?

I think my brain is speeding up as I get older. It’s because of the internet. I spent twenty-five years without it. Then fourteen years plugged in to the network. “Excuse me, do you have Wi-Fi?” I can’t stop asking people. I’m hungry to stay-in-touch. Find a context. Google it. This may not be a good thing…but it’s too late to worry about that! I want to know about here and now. I want to feel the present. I’ve struggled to like theatre sometimes because a lot of it can feel dated, stuffy and disconnected. My daughter feels similarly. I hope she’ll come along with me to this Open Space session.

So my question again…how can theatre play a more responsive and dynamic part of 21st Century life?

International theatre can sometimes feel more responsive: Brazil has the most exciting performance space I’ve ever seen which was created by a partnership of artist & architect; in Chinese cities huge young new theatre audiences are hungry for new work and social change; in Belgium there is an explosion of radical theatre practice totally disproportionate to the size of the

In the UK, does the answer lie in opening more meaningful opportunities to young artists? If it takes a long time to become a great artist, how is it possible for young artists to make a profound impact? Is the current spate of shows with entire casts made up of children an articulation of hope?...some of this work (Once and for all… and That Night Follows Day) certainly feels terrifically responsive to the here and now.

Could theatre play a role in the forthcoming recession and global financial meltdown? Or is theatre too much of an oil tanker to modernise quickly enough? Take the night off and join me for some wild and wildly pragmatic speculation. I’d love to see what comes up and think together about how we collaborate to make theatre a more relevant and responsive art form. Because when it is, it's capable of beginning big and important and fun conversations, face to face, for an increasingly Google-eyed nation.

David Jubb
Artistic Director, Battersea Arts Centre

DETAILS:

The evening runs using Open Space technology which gives anyone the chance to propose a starting point for discussion, then take part in one of these conversations, flit between them all, or head to the bar.

This month we will not be at Shunt and instead will be taking a Christmas vacation to Southwark Playhouse. It is free to get in, and there is no need to book.

Southwark Playhouse: Southwark Playhouse, Shipwright Yard, (Corner of Tooley St. & Bermondsey St.), London, SE1 2TF
Map at: http://www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/yourvisit.php

For further information or to discuss access requirements get in touch with Lucy at lucy@improbable.co.uk or at the office on 0207 240 4556.

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