In spring 2019, Leeds theatre producing company Transform will stage its most ambitious festival to date, bringing bold performance and events by groundbreaking artists from across the globe to theatres, arts venues, clubs, car parks, and community centres across the city.
On 10th May, a teaser event at Duke Studios, Leeds, offers the chance to meet the artists and team behind Transform 19. Alongside a DJ set by Love Michael Upson and an outdoor BBQ, the party will get started with the UK debut of Brazil’s Noporn.
Normally found chasing the dizzying club scenes of Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro, Noporn’s breath-taking fusion of electro and Brazilian beats symbolises love, pain and fear in the life of a big city. Performing for the first time in the UK, this specially created set for Transform features live visuals and invites you to the dance floor.
Later in June, Transform is staging a major takeover of The Pit at London’s Barbican Centre. Creative director Amy Letman curates Spirit of Change: The Transform Pit Party – a two-day programme of artists united by a fiercely independent spirit that carries an ethos of change. The programme investigates ideas of activism, race and identity, and features genre-defying work offering a platform for exchange.
Transform creative director Amy Letman said: “In the current climate the role of the festival is becoming even more urgent –shining a light on practices that can otherwise be hidden or unsupported, creating a space for new ideas to emerge, and shaping moments for extraordinary and diverse communities to come together. A Transform festival now, more than ever, must be a celebration of our city and our world and a space to imagine and start to invent new possibilities.”
This year, Transform is also inviting audiences in Leeds to engage with two major international projects in the making.
Bristol duo Action Hero will be inviting residents inside their motorhome to record love songs, which will become material for a fully-fledged show that will receive its UK premiere at Transform 19. The motorhome will arrive at Leeds Kirkgate Market on Wednesday 25 April, where passers-by are invited to record a love song and be part of this incredible journey and ode to Europe.
Transform and machina eX are joining forces once more to create a brand new interactive adventure, specially curated for the city of Leeds. A Playtest on Friday 11th May from 4pm-6pm at West Yorkshire Playhouse will offer the chance to explore the city, prototype ideas, and be part of creating Rewire Leeds.
Visit transformfestival.org for full details of the 2018 programme, book tickets and to be kept informed of plans for Transform 19.
