Eclipse Theatre and Summerhall today announce the recipients of the third annual Eclipse Award – Faizal Abdullah, Subira Joy, Lula Mebrahtu, Mwansa Phiri, Blink Dance Theatre and Jian Yi.
In an amplified return of the Eclipse Award, the six new productions, which have been supported by Eclipse Theatre, will be presented at Summerhall during this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
For the first time the Eclipse Award – now in its third year – will be going to multiple Black and Global Majority artists or companies, providing the recipients with a nurturing artistic community whilst performing in Edinburgh, opportunities to network, and over £50,000 worth of support.
The productions from this year’s winners are the live art protest piece Kill The Cop Inside Your Head by spoken word and performance artist Subira Joy; OommoO by vocal artist Lula Mebrahtu; Faizal Abdullah’s love letter to Singapore, Siapa Yang Bawa Melayu Aku Pergi? (Who Took My Malay Away?); Mwansa Phiri’s spoken-word theatre with Zambian oral traditions, waiting for a train at the bus stop; Elvis Died of Burgers from Blink Dance Theatre; and performance installation Weathervanes by Jian Yi, in association with Summerhall and Tramway.
One of the UK’s most innovative, Black-led touring and production companies, Eclipse Theatre seeks to support Black and Global Majority artists making boundary-pushing performance work through its Eclipse Award. This year’s winners are part of a programme curated by Eclipse and hosted at Summerhall.
Artistic Director Lekan Lawal said: “We are delighted that we are able to champion and empower such an incredible array of Black & Global Majority artists for this third iteration of the Eclipse Award. We hope this model of support also gifts them an additional community of peers whilst performing at the festival. It’s great to be partnering with Summerhall again with this opportunity and we can’t wait to see their stories take audiences across the UK and around the world.”
2022 saw exciting developments for Eclipse including the appointment of award-winning director and theatre maker Lekan Lawal as Artistic Director and Jane Anderson as Executive Director, as well as developing a new slate of commissions, strengthening the Board, and receiving increased investment from Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation.
Based in Leeds, Eclipse Theatre is one of the UK’s most innovative, Black-led touring and production companies. Over the last five years, their critically acclaimed and award-winning work has reached new and diverse audiences of 23,000+, touring to 40 venues in 30 different locations across the UK. The Eclipse Award aims to develop UK-based Black and Global Majority trailblazing artists by supporting them to undertake a run of work at the Edinburgh Fringe.
More information can be found here
