To mark the 70thyear since the ground-breaking Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Kali Theatre presents a festival of compelling new plays inspired by women’s experiences of global conflict spanning Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Tibet, Bangladesh and occupied France.
The two week festival, from 8th – 19th May, features seven staged readings of full-length new plays from some of the most original voices in new theatre writing, accompanied by Speak Out Events, panel discussions with leading female journalists and human rights activists.
Led by the company’s new Artistic Director Helena Bell, War Plays is Kali’s first specially commissioned season of plays. The first in a series of biennial Kali Theatre festivals, it brings together a wealth of female theatre practitioners from playwrights to directors, behind-the-scenes teams, and designer Rajha Shakiry (Nine Night at National Theatre, Misty at Bush).
Helena Bell, Artistic Director, Kali Theatre said,“I was deeply moved when I read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 after taking three years to draft. I was struck by its incredibly progressive, utopian vision with the uplifting message of equality for all. Seventy years on, Kali marks the moment by exploring women’s stories within the war that triggered it and subsequent human rights transgressions in conflicts around the world. It is important that the festival is framed within the hopeful messages of the Declaration: that we all have the right to freedom of expression and to participate in cultural life. I am excited that this festival offers an opportunity for audiences to experience plays by our many superb playwrights.”
