The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust

Promoting innovation in theatre

The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2016

The winner:

Collectif and then… for "The Machine", staged 27 September 2016 - 8 October as part of the Barbican 2016 season.

When you clock in and are allocated your task, this interactive show begins – but who is in charge: the machinery, the artists or you?

Enter an enigmatic space where your physical actions set mechanisms into motion, from crank-operated conveyor belts to an overhead transporter and control desk. Three performers put their acrobatic skills to the test, their choreography merging bodies with industrial installations.

As award winners, Collectif and then…’s Francesca Hyde and Lucie N’Duhirahe bring their distinctive style of contemporary circus to a collaboration with Serbian collective Karkatag, makers of specially devised machines for participatory performance. There are surprises in store from this intimate production, in which glitter lights up the air and audience members might just work up a sweat.

Research and Development grants were awarded to:

The finalists were: