´óÏó´«Ã½

We meet the writers, playwrights and performers who are changing the face of theatre.

He is the fearless playwright whose productions have been met with protests and even banned. Abhishek Majumdar tells The Cultural Frontline what drives him to explore some of the world’s most volatile political conflicts on stage.

What do you want from your local theatre? How about productions that not only tell dramatic stories but also confront economic inequality, racism, and social injustice. We hear how New York’s Theatre of the Oppressed is speaking up for its audience and its community.

East Asian characters are amongst the most underrepresented on the stages of Australia, the US and the UK. In recent years, major theatres have continued to cast white actors in East Asian roles but now a new generation of actors and playwrights are working to change that. We speak to Anchuli Felicia King and Tuyen Do about creating stories for East Asian characters on stage.

What happens when a performance turns a traditional African folk-tale on its head? Ghanaian artist and theatre director Elisabeth Sutherland explains how her piece ‘Anansi’s Wife/Akua’s Daughter’ re-imagines the classic story of Anansi The Spider through a feminist lens to challenge individual and national attitudes.

Presented by Nawal al-Maghafi

Image: Pah-La being performed onstage. Credit: Helen Murray