Features

Cutting edge theatre online

Deborah Dignam explains the Gulf Stage project, which is using new technology to bring Arabic theatre to new audiences

Arts Professional
3 min read

In January, a British Council project was launched via Twitter, in an online and offline communications initiative seeking to link the British Council, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Digital Theatre and A Younger Theatre. Since its launch, Gulf Stage has engaged almost 12,000 people globally with Arabic theatre. Developed in partnership with the Qatar Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage (MOCAH), Centre for Cultural Development (CDC) at the Qatar Foundation and Digital Theatre, the project brings Arabic performances to a world stage, online and for free. Digital Theatre worked with the British Council in Qatar to film and digitise theatre productions by companies from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE during the Gulf Co-operation Countries Youth Theatre Festival in October of last year. The project is the first time that Digital Theatre has worked outside the UK to record theatrical productions.

Projects such as Gulf Stage illustrate the lead that the UK has taken in the digital arts field. Cultural content generated by the project can now be shared, developed and distributed between partners, artists and audiences on different social media platforms, opening up rich cultural conversations on a global level. It encourages young people who might never have attended a live performance, but regularly use digital media, to experience the magic of theatre for the first time. For the past few months we have worked with Jake Orr and A Younger Theatre to explore how we might foster and grow communication between young UK theatre audiences and practitioners and their Middle Eastern counterparts.

Social Media is integral to the project and has enabled us to trial new initiatives in creating and sustaining communities of interest around cultural digital content. Bringing Arabic theatre to global audiences is only the first step, the real challenge lies in cultivating conversations around the work and developing cultural understanding – which is what the British Council wants to do.

Working digitally has the capacity to break down geographical and cultural borders, enabling artists and audiences to come together through creativity and co-creation. Social Media is the ‘glue’ in digital arts projects as it facilitates the opportunity to tell the story behind the artistic process and listen and respond to the audience’s comments. We hope to continue to build deeply engaged audiences for this rich content and sustainable relationships which will last well into the future, beyond the direct involvement of the British Council.

This project is the first of its kind. We are committed to exploring its full potential both online and offline. We are currently seeking global screening opportunities for the Gulf Stage collection which will be supported by a strong programme of talks and discussions, curated by the British Council, and digital filmmaking workshops, delivered by Digital Theatre.