Oxford International Youth Arts Festival

20 - 30 July 2011

at Pegasus and North Wall Arts Centreproduced by Pegasus

Welcome to Mesh –Oxford International Youth Arts Festival 2011

Pegasus is proud to launch Oxford’s newest arts festival and one of the

first to be co-planned, run and hosted with, by and for young people!

Mesh combines the unique and fresh flavour of young people’s energy

and ideas alongside the professional expertise of the staff and artists

who have worked together to present it.

Come and see international shows from a new generation of

performers, each with their own individual interpretation and voice.

From the words of young people from Gaza, to reinventions of classic

works by Molière and Ionesco, to an epic adaptation of the oldest

written story ever discovered there is something for everyone. We

would love to see you at Pegasus Theatre or the North Wall Arts Centre,

in the city centre or the Oxford Town Hall celebrating the immense

talent of around 120 young people from across Europe and beyond.

We look forward to your support in making this a landmark event in the

Oxford calendar!

Thanks to our partners The North Wall Arts Centre and the supporters

of Mesh, especially Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council,

Oxford Inspires and MINI Plant Oxford who have made this 10 day

festival possible.

Yasmin Sidhwa Jamie Halliday

Festival Director Mesh Planning Committee

What’s on

Thursday 21 July 4.30pm & 8.30pm

After Gilgamesh (Oxford, UK)

Friday 22 July 4.30pm & 8.30pm

Gaza Mono-Logues (Gaza, Palestine)

Saturday 23 July 1.30pm – 3.30pm

The Grand Debate – Human Rights and

Young People

Saturday 23 July 4.30pm & 8.30pm

One more time about... love (Perm,

Russia) PLUS Dutch Moods (Leiden,

Holland)

Monday 25 July 4.30pm & 8.30pm

The Doctor Despite Himself (Grenoble,

France)

Tuesday 26 July 4.30pm & 8.30pm

And You? How Are You? (Sisak,

Croatia)

Wednesday 27 July 4.30pm & 8.30pm

Spaces Outside and Inside of Me

(Bonn, Germany)

Thursday 28 July 4-6pm

Free Street Theatre (all performers)

Friday 29 July 4.30-6pm

Free Street Theatre & Costume Parade

(all performers)

Friday 29 July 7-9pm

The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt (all

performers)

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United Kingdom

The tale of Gilgamesh, demi-god and king of Uruk,

is filled with fantastic characters. This new verse

drama with dance and song features ancient gods,

barbers and weavers alongside soldiers, citizens

and generals in the last Iraq war.

War, leaders, life and death. What has changed in

4,000 years?

Performed, designed and crewed by Pegasus

Youth Theatre Companies.

After GilgameshPegasusDATE: Thursday 21 JulyTIME: 4.30pm & 8.30pm VENUE: Pegasus, Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RECOST: £7 full price, £5 concessions

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Theatre can transform lives. Pegasus wholeheartedly believes this. Pegasus is a

place where children, young people, professional artists and local people meet,

share stories and make theatre.

We have the responsibility to give young people the tools to explore who they

are, what power they have and what their responsibilities are in a rapidly

changing global world. Our aim is to encourage young people to be confident

creative risk-takers who will be more likely to come up with new ideas, lead

business or drive social change. Pegasus sees its role to prepare young people

for the challenges of citizenship.

Alongside our Pegasus Youth Theatre Courses there are also three Pegasus Youth

Companies, one specialising in Theatre, one in Dance and one in Production –

Design/Technical Theatre. The Companies are open to 14-19 year olds and each

company looks to develop young cultural leadership qualities in its members.

This is the ability to shape art practices for young people in the future, in

terms of leading their own creative projects, mentoring younger groups and

developing tutoring skills.

Palestine

ASHTAR TheatreASHTAR is a dynamic Palestinian theatre with a

progressive global perspective. It aims to promote

creativity and commitment for change through

a novel combination of specific training, acting

programmes and services with professional theatre

performances.

At ASHTAR we offer intensive theatre training

courses for local students throughout the year,

often resulting in performances on stage but

also equipping young Palestinians with essential

skills that go beyond acting. Apart from an increased

level of self-awareness and confidence, leadership,

communication and teamwork skills can be

achieved through our training.

The Gaza Mono-Logues

These are the personal stories of 33 young people from Gaza who

witnessed the war on Gaza in 2008/2009. They have written about their

fears, dreams, aspirations and frustrations before, during and after the

war.

The Gaza Mono-Logues was a global project when it was performed in

more than 60 cities in 33 countries at 7pm on 17th October 2010.

The performances involved more than 1,500 young people around the

world (including the Pegasus Youth Theatre Companies in Oxford).

They all came together to raise the voice of the voiceless youth in Gaza

to join their demand for freedom and a just peace.

Now they speak their own words.

DATE: Friday 22 JulyTIME: 4.30pm & 8.30pm VENUE: The North Wall Arts Centre, South Parade, Oxford OX2 7NNCOST: £7 full price, £5 concessions

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The Grand Debate‘Human Rights and Young People’

MINI Plant Oxford, the main sponsor for Mesh will be hosting

the festival’s Grand Debate in the T Building. A panel of

invited guests, including stand-up comic and performer

Mark Thomas, Iman Aoun (Artistic Director of ASHTAR

Theatre, Ramallah), Fernand Garnier (Artistic Director of the

Rencontre International Youth Theatre Festival) plus young

speakers, will discuss Human Rights and Young People with

the international delegates and members of the public.

DATE: Saturday 23 JulyTIME: 1.30pm - 3.30pm VENUE: T-Building, MINI Plant OxfordCOST: Free (bookable in advance)

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Russia

We are all different, all of us have our own dreams

and wishes, our own personalities... but we have

one common idea: only LOVE (love of life, of each

other, of our country) can save and sustain the

world. We express this in the language of dance.

Performed by Perm Contemporary Dance and

Drive Dance Company.

Perm Contemporary Dance CompanyDrive Dance CompanyPerm Contemporary Dance Company were

established in 2006 and its members are students

from Perm Universities. They perform mostly at

Higher educational institutions in Perm and the

surrounding region often working with Drive Dance

Company.

Drive Dance Company was founded in 2002. It has

about 25 participants, aged 16-25. Young people

learn different styles of modern dance and stage

their own performances. The group takes part in

different city events and concerts as well as touring

to other countries. The group has previously

performed in Oxford in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

“One more time about... love”

DATE: Saturday 23 JulyTIME: 4.30pm & 8.30pmVENUE: Pegasus, Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RECOST: £7 full price, £5 concessions

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Part of double bill with The Netherlands

The Netherlands

Created especially for this festival, Dutch Moods

incorporates material created by the dancers. Its theme

refers to the nature of Dutch people who are full of

contradictions. They are individualistic but also love

mass celebrations. They are cranky and short tempered

but also warm and spontaneous. They are focused on

the international world yet concerned about foreign

influences on Dutch society. In short, the Dutch are

complicated!

This group of dance students come

from the BplusC centre for arts and

culture in Leiden. Some of the students

aspire to a (semi) professional dance

career but most dance for fun.

The group contains mostly students of

‘Talentclass’ but for the festival they are

joined by other students aged 13-18 from

other dance classes.

The aim of dance education from BplusC

is to pass on the love of dance and theatre

to young students.

Dutch MoodsBplusC

DATE: Saturday 23 JulyTIME: 4.30pm & 8.30pmVENUE: PegasusCOST: £7 full price, £5 concessions

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Part of double bill with Russia

France

Le médecin malgré luiThe Doctor Despite Himself

This classic Molière play sees a downtrodden wife trick her

wicked and lazy woodcutter husband into becoming a doctor

to avoid being beaten. In his new guise he is asked to cure a

neighbour’s daughter who has a rare condition and can no

longer speak. On examining her he quickly diagnoses the

condition – she is in love!

DATE: Monday 25 JulyTIME: 4.30pm & 8.30pm VENUE: The North Wall Arts Centre, South Parade, Oxford OX2 7NNCOST: £7 full price, £5 concessions

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CréarcCréarc runs its activities locally (Grenoble) and

internationally in four areas:

The Rencontres du Jeune Théâtre Européen (an annual

international youth arts festival) and running the Jeune

Théâtre Européen network of organisations; producing

theatrical shows; presenting theatre companies,

residencies and performances at our venue the Petit

Théâtre and creating cultural development projects.

The performing group has a range of experience: some

of them are novices while others have basic theatre

skills. All of them use this opportunity to make the most

of themselves through theatre.

Croatia

Sisak has a rich history dating from the days of the Roman Empire when it

was known as Siscia. The modern town is built on its foundations and the

Drama Youth Studio was established as part of Sisak’s theatre and cultural

centre in the 1950s.

The Drama Youth Studio members (now numbering 60) were

introduced to the Theatre of the Absurd by their directors while

working on ‘The Bald Prima Donna by Ionesco. What seemed absurd

to them in the beginning, has now become entirely normal after the

number of rehearsals and performances they have had.

The play highlights the response and attitude of

Sisak’s youth towards life in their town. Based on

Ionesco’s “Greetings”, the actors extend the story to

all of us. With different languages, including Croatian,

using masks and movement, the performance is

universal and especially aimed at the young people.

Ionesco´s words reflect the present day.

The absurdities of life, as never before, affect us all.

Dramski studio mladih Gradskog kazališta SisakDrama Youth Studio - Sisak’s Theatre DATE: Tuesday 26 July

TIME: 4.30pm & 8.30pm VENUE: Pegasus, Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RECOST: £7 full price, £5 concessions

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A vi? Kako ste vi? And you? How are you?/Et vous? Comment allez-vous?

Germany

The dancers, using their bodies, will build the architecture

and forms of a city. The surroundings will feature less and

less until the dancers are alone, each one inside his own very

personal space bringing the audience into an atmosphere of

heart and soul.

The Bertolt Brecht Comprehensive School Dance Group involves

young people between the ages of fourteen and seventeen years who

have had previous dance and theatre experience. All of them have

strong personalities and enjoy moving and developing ideas together

with their choreographer. They principally work by improvising

from initial ideas then put scenes together in an order to create the

performance piece.

Spaces outside and inside of meDATE: Wednesday 27 JulyTIME: 4.30pm & 8.30pm VENUE: The North Wall Arts Centre, South Parade, Oxford OX2 7NNCOST: £7 full price, £5 concessions

Bertolt-Brecht Gesamtschule

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Street theatre

Thursday 28 – Friday 29 July

Between 4pm and 6pm

Visitors to the city centre will be able to enjoy 24 groups

of young performers presenting 5 minute mini-shows

created during their week-long stay in Oxford. Find them

at Oxford Castle & Bonn Square (12 groups at each

venue around one hour and then swap!).

Friday only

After the street theatre performances follow the

costume parade through Oxford City Centre, from

Cornmarket to the Town Hall, before the grand finale

performance.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s The Visit is a

tragi-comic play about the power of money to corrupt.

A former resident of a poverty-stricken town returns but with

a sinister motive. Since leaving she has acquired vast wealth

and seeks revenge against the town’s shopkeeper who avoided

a paternity suit by bribery. She offers the townspeople half a

billion pounds if the shopkeeper is killed. After an outright

rejection of the scheme, the townspeople begin to have second

thoughts.

Created during the festival by all the young people from

Oxford and visiting countries. This finale performance marks

the end of the Mesh International Youth Arts Festival for

2011.

Sponsored by MINI Plant Oxford

The Visit

DATE: Friday 29 JulyTIME: 7-9.30pm VENUE: Oxford Town Hall, Main Hall COST: £5

LOOK OUT FORMESH 2012!

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PegasusMagdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1REwww.pegasustheatre.org.ukBooking line 01865 812 15

Pegasus is in the east of Oxford city centre and can be reached by crossing the Magdalen Bridge over the river and taking the Iffley Road turning off the clock adorned The Plain roundabout. The theatre is only one and a half miles from the city on a one way street, Magdalen Road just off the Iffley Road. There is limited on street parking but buses 3 and 4 from the city centre take you practically to the door (ask for the Magdalen Road stop).

The distinctive copper facade hides the Pullman Stage a 135 seat auditorium, a cafe serving meals and light refreshments through the day and wines and beers in the evenings and a friendly staff team ready to welcome you.

Opening hours Mon – Wed 10am to 8pm, Thu – Sat 10am – 10pm, Sun 10am – 3pm

Booking & venue information

Bonn Square, Oxford Castle Centre

All the street theatre venues are in the city centre and are pedestrian only areas.

Main Hall, Oxford Town Hall

St. Aldate’s Oxford OX1 1BX

The Oxford Town Hall is on the south facing road of the city centre crossroads Carfax.

The Main Hall of the Oxford Town Hall is in a Grade II listed Victorian building featuring ornate plaster mouldings, pillars, balcony, a tiered stage with pipe organ and holds up to 400 seats. The Town Hall is open daily and welcomes visitors to its cafe, exhibitions and displays.

You can book tickets for all events at both

Pegasus and The North Wall Arts Centre

Street Theatre Venues

The North Wall Arts CentreSouth Parade, Oxford OX2 7NNwww.thenorthwall.comBooking line 01865 319 450

The North Wall Arts Centre is north of the city centre and can be reached by heading along the Banbury Road from Martyrs Memorial then taking a left turn before the BBC Oxford studios. About 2 miles from the city centre, South Parade is a street of quality shops and restaurants and has limited parking. Buses to the venue from the city centre are numbers 2 and 7 which take you to within 2 minutes walk of the venue (ask for the South Parade stop).

This relaxed venue has a 200 seat theatre space and a bar open before and after shows. Artists regularly exhibit in the foyer and theatre staff are happy to show you around.

Opening hours Mon – Fri 10am – 4pm

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The Visit Venue

D Bonn SquareE Oxford Castle CentreF Oxford Town Hall

D FE

A Pegasus B North Wall Arts CentreC MINI Plant Oxford T-Building

B

C

A

Produced by Pegasus www.pegasustheatre.org.uk

Festival TeamCathryn Baker Acting Workshop TutorGrey Burdick Film & Video TutorPaula Clark Festival TeamEuton Daley Festival TeamNomi Everall Design & Making TutorAllan Hutson Dance Workshop TutorGill Jaggers Publicity & PressJenny Lewis Creative Writing TutorLucy Maycock Festival TeamNicola Moses Dance Workshop TutorAngharad Phillips Acting Workshop TutorYasmin Sidhwa Festival DirectorTaryn Storey Creative Writing TutorKarl Sullivan Finale DirectorDave Thwaites Technical ManagerEmily Winfield Festival ProducerMay Wylie Festival TeamClive Stevenson Technical Manager (North Wall Arts

Centre)Natalie Grant Stage Manager/Technician (North Wall

Arts Centre)Dave Thwaites Head of Technical (Pegasus)Pegasus Youth Theatre Production Company

Festival Planning GroupSelorm Amoako, Maddison Ball, Goose Charlton, Kema Daley, Claudia Day, Chantelle Dunn, Shulamit El Baz, Tom Eyre, Manon Franklin-Fraiture, Jamie Halliday, Thea Isom, Sade Marcelle, Maria Marinari, Raymond Pelekamoyo, Chloe Robinson, James Roberts, Bethany Taylor

Advisory Steering groupRebecca Baxter MINI Plant, OxfordMartyn Brown Oxfordshire County CouncilRachel Capell Oxford City CouncilFernand Garnier Rencontre Festival, GrenobleJacqui Ibbotson Oxford InspiresBob Price Oxford City CouncilTony Stratton Oxford InspiresLaura Worsfold Oxford City Council

Gaza Fundraising thanks to:The Hoping Foundation, Keith & Christine Hill, Roz Yuvall, Samia Shibli, Palestinian Solidarity Campaign Oxford, Hugh Jaegar, Bette Jones, Kathy Van Praag, Jane Alexander, Andrew Reekie, The Bishop of Oxford, Belinda Allen & Ramallah Friendship Association, Claire Read, Deana Rankin, H.Williams, Heather James, Rachel Martin, John Pritchard, Ebonny Lay, Paul Godden & Rina Melendez, E.M Spivey, C.A. Fenton, Barbara Vellacott, Sandham, L.C.Mynheer, Patricia Baker-Cassidy, Arts Week Artists, Elizabeth Liddell, Richard Molineux.

Credits

Mesh Oxford International Youth Arts Festival has been supported by:

Exeter College

and contributions from Sainsbury, Asda, and Lidl