EdFringe 2018: Total Theatre Awards Announce Shortlist for 2018 Awards

The Total Theatre Awards have announced their shortlist for 2018.

From the shortlist announced today, a total of seven awards will be awarded across five categories: “Physical & Visual Theatre”; “Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form”; “Emerging”; “Circus”; and “Dance”.

Speaking about the awards, Awards Co-Directors Jo Crowley and Becki Haines said,

‘This year’s shortlist highlights the power theatre and performance have as vehicles for communicating lived experience. Including exploration of political protest, consent, disability and power, this list celebrates the vital space theatre offers. These independent artists are navigating complex and personal conversations with exceptional care and rigour, and their process-led practices plant the seeds for how the sector can grow and develop to be more inclusive and accessible.’

The Total Theatre Awards are a peer-to-peer assessment process of dialogue and debate to recognise excellence and artists pushing the boundaries of independent performance.  In order to produce this shortlist, a total of 461 eligible shows have been assessed over the first 11 days of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  These shows have been viewed between two and four times by a curated panel of 29 peer assessors from 9 countries, comprising artists, producers, programmers, curators, critics and academics, alongside a number of senior industry supporters and advisors.  Meeting every two days, the Total Theatre Awards Producing and Assessment team have engaged in 35 hours of collective discussion of all eligible productions in depth, across specialism and across discipline.

Following a Shortlisting meeting on 15 August, a total of 22 productions from 11 countries have been selected as the 2018 Shortlist for the Awards across five categories.

Following the Shortlisting process, the shortlisted shows will now move to a judging panel where shows are seen by leading arts industry figures from seven countries including critics, academics, artists and programmers. Seven awards will be given across five categories and the judging panel will announce their decisions at an awards ceremony on Thursday 23rd August. The judges for the Total Theatre Awards reserve the right to award further productions that open at the festival after the shortlisting has taken place.

The full shortlist for the 2018 awards is below:

Shows by an Emerging Company / Artist

This Award is supported by Theatre Deli

Cock, Cock… Who’s There?
Samira Elagoz in association with From Start to Finnish (Finland)
Summerhall

dressed.
ThisEgg in collaboration with Made My Wardrobe (England)
Underbelly

Katie & Pip
Tin Can People (England)
Summerhall

Can’t Stop Can’t Stop
Sam Does Theatre (England)
C Venues

Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Award for Circus

Casting Off
Sharon Burgess Productions and A Good Catch (Australia)
Assembly

My Land
Recirquel Company (Hungary)
Assembly

Casus: You & I
Casus Circus (Australia)
Assembly

Sediment
Company 2 (Australia)
Assembly

Total Theatre & The Place Award for Dance

Brocade
Roberta Jean (Scotland)
dancebase

Gibbon
Gandini Juggling (England)
Assembly

Void
V / DA and MHz, in association with Feral (Scotland)
Summerhall

The Spinners
Limosani Projekts and Al Seed Productions (Australia & Scotland)
dancebase

Taiwan Season: Varhung – Heart to Heart
Tjimur Dance Theatre (Taiwan)
dancebase

Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form

Pussy Riot: Riot Days
One Inch Badge (England/Russia)
Summerhall

Natalie Palamides: NATE
Soho Theatre (United States)
Pleasance

Underground Railroad Game
Soho Theatre presents the Ars Nova production (United States)
Traverse Theatre

Drive-By Shooting
Dumbworld (Northern Ireland)
Summerhall

The Flop
A Hijinx production in association with Spymonkey (Wales)
Summerhall

Physical / Visual Theatre

Another One
Vooruit, Arenbergschouwburg, Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan Productions, TRP, Summerhall (Belgium)
Summerhall

Backup
Chaliwaté Company and Focus Company (Belgium)
Summerhall

The Artist
Circo Aereo and Thom Monckton (Finland)
Assembly

Century Song
Volcano (Canada), Richard Jordan Productions in association with CanadaHub (Canada)
ZOO

Author: Tom Bailey

Tom is a theatre maker and writer based in London, England. He covers news and interviews for Theatre Bubble.

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