Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch is very proud to have received an invitation to perform two of its productions at the 'Maas International Theatre Festival' in Lahore, Pakistan, 7th – 12th of May 2024. The productions are 'Pavement / Pasture' ('Palmant / Pridd') and 'Where The Leaves Blow' ('Ble mae’r Dail yn Hedfan'.)
The director of the festival, Aamir Nawaz, and the Artistic Director of Arad Goch, Jeremy Turner, have been discussing different ways of sharing the cultures of the two countries since they met several years ago at another festival in Europe. Aamir Nawaz visited Wales in 2019 to attend the Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch’s international festival, 'Agor Drysau - Opening Doors', in Aberystwyth. However, Covid-19 came and defeated the plans, until now. We are very pleased that the connection has continued and that the trip will finally be realised.
Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch was also very fortunate to receive a grant for travel to Pakistan from Wales International Arts - and the company is very grateful that WAI was able to ensure that the trip could take place.
The Maas International Theatre Festival is a theatre festival for children and adults, with the theme "Let's Move Together". Maas Foundation is a leading theatre company that has existed in Lahore since 2003. The Maas Festival shares many principles with the Opening Doors Festival. It focuses on intercultural exchange between Pakistan and the rest of the world - in terms of sharing productions, practices and methods by theatre practitioners. This is done through performances, seminars, workshops, panel discussions and other opportunities for reflection, discussion, learning and sharing experiences.
Arad Goch has never performed in Pakistan or the rest of the Indian subcontinent before. The Maas Festival is attended by many representatives of other countries, so this will be a way of extending our international market, and of drawing attention to the richness of the arts in Wales.
The two productions travelling to the festival are:
'Palmant/Soil' - one of the outputs of our 6x1 project, which enables and supports freelance performers to create new individual work. Osian Meilir is the performer who originally created this work in 2018. It is a dance performance that discusses the personal tension and experience of a young gay man between his habitat in the Welsh countryside and his life in the city. On a wider level, it discusses a young person's identity, and the pressure to conform to expectations. There is no language in the performance.
'Where The Leaves Blow' - one of Arad Goch's most successful productions for small children. It was created as part of a practical research project to develop alternative creative processes. It takes place in external and internal spaces, using natural materials collected by visiting farms and carpenters in the specific areas of the performances, creating a link with the local community as well as a professional link. The production has had over 300 performances in Wales, and has been translated into several languages and performed in several foreign countries.
The productions will raise Pakistan's awareness of Wales, and of the existence of the Welsh language within our culture. The members of the company will attend the seminars and other events and have opportunities to discuss the arts of Wales and its role within the situation of multilingual culture - a situation that is not foreign to the people of Pakistan.
For more details – contact post@aradgoch.org