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CASA Festival returns for 2017 as it joins forces with two of London’s leading off-West End theatres Southwark Playhouse and Arcola Theatre. This exciting festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary, is back bigger than last year with an incredible eight-week programme of Latin American theatre and culture running from 3rd September – 29th October 2017.
The festival kicks off at the Arcola with Sergio Blanco’s highly-acclaimed Thebes Land returning for a five-week run, ahead of a five-week season of four acclaimed international shows and three exciting new works by UK-based Latin American artists at Southwark Playhouse.
We spoke to CASA Artistic Director Daniel Goldman to find out more.
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Tell us what the CASA Latin American Theatre Festival is all about?
CASA Latin American Theatre Festival is about presenting exceptional Latin American theatre to UK audiences and celebrating Latin American artists here in this country. We achieve these two goals by bringing brilliant Latin American theatre companies to perform here like ViajeInmovil, Los Colochos, Movicena and Vaca35 AND producing home-grown UK productions of incredible Latin American plays in translation like Thebes Land and supporting and developing UK artists of Latin American heritage who live here. For example, at CASA this year we have five brand new works by UK-based artists from Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Peru in our UK week and across the eight weeks that CASA is on.
What inspired you to start CASA?
I was at Cambridge University studying Spanish and Portuguese Literature and I had to spend a year abroad as part of my course. I went to Argentina, to a theatre school in Buenos Aires because I thought that would be a good place to use my Spanish. The year that I was there was the year Argentina’s economy collapsed, with devastating effect for 90% of the country, and I witnessed a huge amount of socially- and politically-engaged theatre that was not only trying to come to terms with what was happening but was also trying to inspire change. I was profoundly marked by that experience. I gave up my plan to go into investment banking and decided to become a theatre maker. Having seen such exceptional theatre while living in Argentina, I was shocked to come back to the UK and discover that that Latin American theatre had pretty much zero presence here. I wanted to change that, share my experience, bring some of the incredible shows I’d seen, share the different theatre culture I’d come into contact with, and so I started CASA.
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This year it kicks off with Thebes Land, which won critical acclaim last year, what can you tell us about it?
When I saw the original Uruguayan production of Thebes Land in an international theatre festival in Colombia, my mind and heart were blown. I couldn’t stop smiling at the brilliance of the writing and performances as I was watching and when I came out of the show, I was literally physically shaking with joy. It is one of the best bits of theatre writing I’ve ever come into contact with. It blows almost every other play out of the water. As soon as I came out of the theatre, I knew that this show had to come to London and I wanted to direct it. I got in touch with Sergio Blanco, the writer, and asked him if I could translate and direct it, and he said yes. My friend Roberto Cavazos whipped out an excellent literal translation for me, I sent to Mehmet Ergen at the Arcola because he’d asked me if I wanted a slot in the main house, he read it, loved it, and he also said yes. And so I started working on the adaptation, all the time checking in with Sergio, then cast two brilliant actors, and then had an incredible rehearsal process. It’s a huge play, very demanding, very intricate, and so we needed every second of rehearsals to get it to a good place, but it all went smoothly, we had a huge amount of fun making the show, and then we put in front of audiences who really got it and critics who liked it. My dream was to give audiences a similar experience to the one I had felt. I hope we got close.
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What else can people expect from CASA this year?
World-class puppetry theatre, nudity both male and female, a live chicken, serial killers and maids, revolutionaries and jealous lovers, Whitney Houston and Oedipus, multi-award winning shows from across the continent, fast and furious takes on Shakespeare and Genet, brand new physical theatre pieces about home and the cocaine trade, brand new work about what goes on behind closed doors, powerful meditations on exile and memory, an interactive search for identity, delicious Peruvian food, hip-hop reggaeton from Cuba, electro-funk from Venezuela, workshops and talks, post-show Q&As and masterclasses, play readings and special one-offs and obviously, an incredible team of lovely people, because the CASA family is the best!
The festival will be staged at The Arcola Theatre and The Southwark Playhouse, how did those venues become involved?
As a director, I’ve had a relationship with both the Arcola and Southwark Playhouse for some time. After the huge success of CASA and Arcola coproduction of Thebes Land last year, it was obvious that being back at the Arcola would be a wonderful thing to do and it’s been a delight to be back working with their team. In terms of being at Southwark Playhouse, I’ve long dreamed of CASA taking place there. It’s a brilliant theatre in the heart of Elephant and Castle which is where the UK’s biggest Latin American community lives. It feels like coming home. Overall, it’s really great to be doing two five-week seasons at two of London’s leading off-West End theatres – it feels like a huge jump up for the festival and we look forward to sharing what we do with a wider and bigger audience than ever before.
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It’s been ten years since you founded CASA, did you expect it to do so well? And why do you think it’s been so popular?
I never thought that it would grow like it has done and yet what’s most exciting for me is to see just how much more we can and very possibly will do. As for the secret of our growth, it’s simple. Year on year, there’s always lots of brilliant wonderful people who get involved and make CASA their home. They inspire me and on we go!
And that reminds me, I should probably finish by saying that we’re always keen to hear from anyone who wants to get involved as a volunteer or ambassador for the festival. It’s a huge festival this year and there’s space for everyone. Just give us a shout at info@casafestival.org.uk
CASA Latin American Festival 2017 runs from 3rd September to 28th October at Arcola Theatre and Southwark Playhouse. The Festival opens with Thebes Land at Arcola Theatre from Wednesday 6th September to Saturday 8th October 2017. To find out more, visit http://casafestival.org.uk/
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