· International podcast collaboration Where I Belong tells the tale of two cities, Baghdad and Nottingham, both UNESCO cities of literature offering a unique window into the lives of those in two distinct locations
· Angharad will direct her first show as AD at Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The Great Almighty Gill, touring in Autumn
· Announcing her second production, the UK premiere of Kate Hewlett's The Swearing Jar, a play with music that will tour in early 2023
First from our new Artistic Director, Angharad Jones, is an international collaboration between 12 writers across two UNESCO cities of literature: Baghdad, and the company's home city of Nottingham. Where I Belong, to be released this summer, is a 12 track podcast that captures the voices and experiences of artists who have been paired together by the programme, supported by the British Council Arts Digital Collaboration Fund.
Where I Belong aims to start a dialogue between the cities of Bagdad and Nottingham, which will continue to bloom after the podcasts have been recorded. The 12 podcast episodes have developed through online conversations, pairing the writers to reflect and explore themes that connect their pieces. Together they have drawn inspiration through a series of online meetings to create five-minute original extracts, connecting as 6 dramatic duets to be released this summer in English and Arabic.
The first play Angharad directs as Artistic Director of New Perspectives will be an Edinburgh Festival Fringe run of The Great Almighty Gill, East Midlands' writer and actor Daniel Hoffmann-Gill's tribute to his late father. In 2023, New Perspectives will stage the UK premiere of Kate Hewlett's romantic - comedy The Swearing Jar, winner of the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival Award for Outstanding New Play.
Artistic Director Angharad Jones said, "I'm immensely proud to present my first season. From Nottingham-born stage and screen actor, Daniel Hoffman Gill's autobiographical tribute to his father, full of humour, pathos, sharing the foibles and flaws of those closest to us; to Kate Hewlett's award-winning The Swearing Jar, a warm embrace of a play which promises to pull on heart strings of audiences and international podcast Where I Belong which sees six writers, in UNESCO Cities of Literature Nottingham and Baghdad, introduced to each other, making creative connections 2,606 miles apart. We've curated a programme that fosters a spirit of togetherness and heart as we reconnect with audiences in person and at the same time continue to develop international collaborations."