In Good Company presents Departure Lounge

A summer festival of fresh and exciting performance …now in its sixth year! Locations in and around Derby Theatre Thursday 19 – Sunday 22 July

Departure Lounge is celebrating its 6thanniversary, on this summer from Thursday 19 until Sunday 22 July, a fantastic summer festival of fresh and thrilling theatre with a bumper line-up of shows, workshops and talks, and a hub for fresh and innovative performance. Kicking off the Festival on Thursday 19 July will be East Meets West - The Human Search Engine, a FREE peer support session facilitated by Little Earthquake, a network that aims to reduce barriers and encourage collaboration between, and within the East and West Midlands’ independent theatre-making communities. This session guarantees to generate rapid answers to any burning questions and to offer valuable advice, an event which promises to leave artists, companies, practitioners and programmers inspired, provoked and nurtured...and ready for the rest of the Festival ahead!

Performance highlights of the Festival for 2018 includes: A Self Help Guide To Being In Love With Jeremy Corbyn by Jess Green and the Mischief Thieves, an award-winning theatre company with a lyrical, powerful and humorous look at modern politics; Major Labia’s Vulva the Revolution, a frank frolic about love, life and labia from East Midlands’ theatre company who delight audiences with their ‘fanny funnies’; Town Choir by Canadian theatre company, Theatre Replacement, a site specific musical piece that will be performed in intu Derby where writers type out observations of the world unfolding around them, and in that same moment, a town choir receives these observations via a large screen and sings them out to the public; Dante or Die’s User Not Found, an In Good Company mid-career commission where audience members are handed a smartphone and a pair of headphones to become a fly-on-the-wall and peer into the life of a man facing the dilemma on whether he should delete his online legacy, a funny story of contemporary grief which gently interrogates our need for connection; Open Wound by Cheeky Chin, a London-based Collective of Theatre Makers from East Asian Origin; I’m Sticking with You by Pebble Gorge, a 15-minute, table-top performance which puts you at the centre and which delivers an experience of some of the feelings that have been running high in the UK since Brexit, a miniature play for ages 7+ written by Tim Crouch; Stuart Bowden’s When our Molecules Meet Again * Let’s Hope They Remember What to Do, a new show from the internationally acclaimed master of lo-fi, off-beat, music-infused solo storytelling; STARS by Mojisola Abedeyo, where one woman and a live DJ tell the moving, sensitive and funny story of a very…very old lady who goes into outer space… in search of her own orgasm!; The Eulogy of Toby Peach (Winner of the 2015 IdeasTap Underbelly Award), a discovery of self-mortality in an original piece which explores a true story and the important and difficult subject of being diagnosed with cancer in a refreshing, insightful and humorous way; We Are Ian by In Bed With My Brother, a mad ‘fer it show which transports audiences back to 1989 and into the frenzied world of drugs, beats, bucket hats, acid parties….and throwing two fingers up to Thatcher!; Fever Dream’s Wrecked, a gripping piece of site-specific theatre (in the Derby Theatre car park) where audience members are invited into a stolen car seconds after it has crashed, a powerful, intense and individual show experiencing the aftermath of a car accident.

On the Friday of the Festival there will be Represent, a Women of Colour showcase which includes: Priya Mystery’s Tropical Awkward Bastard, a bold provocative rant about being misrepresented in the world, while ticking all the right boxes, which involves a pineapple, a bunch of bananas, a tropical juice carton, one sharp cleaver and a tutu; MENTAL by Lauren Whitter, a physical piece of theatre with elements of puppetry and spoken word exploring real issues, such as suicide and race and where the artist wants to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health; Mia Johnson’s Pink Lemonade, a partly autobiographical multi-disciplinary piece of theatre which explores female masculinity and lesbianism inspired by the rebellious butches of the early 20th century and beyond; and Michelle Vacciana, Nottingham-based theatre and film maker with She Came from Inner Space, an extract of new writing that has been inspired by dreams, clairvoyance, hearing things and traversing the physical realm with an ethereal mind.

Workshop, discussion and participatory highlights for Departure Lounge 2018 include: On the Friday of the Festival, we will see the return of the ever-popular panel discussion which, for this year, will focus on Leadership in the Arts. Practitioners, artists and audiences come together for a fascinating and insightful discussion with leaders from a range of inspirational arts organisations in the UK. Chairing the discussion will be British freelance theatre critic, journalist and blogger, Matt Trueman.


The panel of provocateurs will include: Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director of London’s Young Vic, British actor, playwright, director, singer and broadcaster; Sarah Brigham, Derby Theatre’s Artistic Director and Chief Executive; Jenny Sealey, Artistic Director of highly acclaimed theatre company Graeae, a force for change in world-class theatre, who boldly place D/deaf and disabled actors centre stage and challenge preconceptions; and Natalie Ibu, Artistic Director of British African theatre company, Tiata Fahodzi, whose aim is to generate a richer, more multiple mainstream theatre culture by championing stories that illuminate the mixed, multiple experience of what it is to be of African heritage in Britain today.

Other workshops, discussion and participatory events include: a Networking Lunch, an opportunity for artists and Festival-goers to chat and connect over food; Beth Shouler’s I Dare You rehearsed reading, a piece about family, trauma, suitcases of worms and a sofa that has seen everything; an Open Mic session, a Dante or Die Workshop, a 90-minute introduction to site-based theatre-making for professional theatre-makers or non-professionals with theatre experience to experience some of Dante or Die’s methods for creating site-based work, including improvisation exercises, devising techniques and relationship to audience; Eat, Meet & Greet, 1-2-1 sessions with key staff from Arts Council England and In Good Company partner venues; LaPelles The Night Shift, a very special creative 12-hour all-nighter theatrical lock-in for anyone interested in rapid-response theatre-making and staying up really, really late. Part workshop, part performance-making free-for-all, LaPelle’s Factory will work with attenders via twilight, starlight and the witching hour to explore the creative creepies which lurk in the dark; Stacy Makishi: Killing Time Workshop, a physical workshop that welcomes anyone who is curious about live art and performance which will galvanizes participants to: create faster than critique, resist resistance and pulverize procrastination; and as the Festival comes to an end on the Sunday, it’s important to take a moment to check-in with new found friends and take a moment to improve your sense of wellbeing, restore your energy levels and be kind to yourself with Look After Yourself, a wellness through movement workshop!

Ben Anderson (Creative Producer, In Good Company) said: “Departure Lounge continues to challenge, inspire and entertain audiences and artists alike. We have a hugely diverse programme on offer once again this year which will animate every corner of Derby Theatre and beyond, as we branch out into the Intu Centre for the first time. Derbados is being put on the map globally with international company Theatre Replacement's Town Choir. We've also got our regular mix of the best of the East Midlands blended with the UK’s most exciting artists, sharing works-in-progress, performances in cafés and cars, immersive and intimate performances, touring work and Edinburgh previews.
Departure Lounge exists to present theatre of the most radical nature right in the heart of the country; proving that the Midlands is a vibrant place to shape the future of theatre.”

PRICES
Weekend Festival Pass (Thu – Sun) £80 (saving £50 per person)
Includes all performances and events during this period
Festival Full Day Pass (Fri and Sat only) £35 (saving £13 per person)
Includes all performances and events during this period
Individual performances and events Range from FREE - £9

Earlybird (on Weekend Pass only) £60 (with payment required by 14 May).

For more press information please contact Heidi McKenzie – Press & Marketing Manager Direct Line: (01332 593955) Mobile: 07527 839019 Email: h.mckenzie@derby.ac.uk Derby Theatre, 15 Theatre Walk, St Peter’s Quarter, Derby, DE1 2NF

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