Tobacco Factory Theatres Break Down Borders With New International Production Of THE WALL

Bristol's Tobacco Factory Theatres have joined forces with Madrid's Fundación Teatro de La Abadia to produce a new theatre experience that brings together performers from all over the world.

Working with artists across five continents, The Wall is a real-time, unscripted conversation between performers who cannot travel to Bristol due to borders, laws and other barriers.

The Wall will run at Tobacco Factory Theatres in Bristol from Wednesday 22nd to Friday 24th of February following its world-premiere in Madrid, It will feature two performers from different countries who will meet live on screen from their homes. While in Bristol, live on stage, two further performers will be interpreting their encounter and stories, which aim to shed a light on the issues which are keeping them apart.

Each night different international performers will experience a fresh encounter with the live actors on stage in Bristol, sparking a new relationship and a new adventure at each performance.

The brainchild of Spanish theatre-maker Juan Ayala, The Wall will be an exploration of how intimacy and solidarity can be nurtured across thousands of miles of distance, defying the forces and the discourses that divide us.

A co-production between Tobacco Factory Theatres and Fundación Teatro de La Abadia Madrid and funded by The British Council, Juan Ayala says of his new production:

"This is a very ambitious project working with a creative and production team situated across the globe. We have 7 collaborators working remotely from Palestine, Iraq, Morocco, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Lebanon and Poland. The Madrid cast includes performers based in Guinea Ecuatorial and Lebanon and our cast for Bristol are from Iraq, France, Moldova and the UK."

Speaking about the performances itself, Ayala says: "The Wall is a conversation, it's an attempt to create a collective understanding of how to co-exist in the same space, and the same territories. We're navigating the fact that we haven't been in the same room together and we've discovered that being vulnerable doesn't always mean being fragile."

Executive Director of Tobacco Factory Theatres, David Dewhurst says: "This is an incredibly timely and topical production as we explore the many and conflicting reasons why borders and barriers are keeping people apart. We're particularly excited to be collaborating with international partners Teatro Abadia in Madrid and artists across the globe on this project. We are also very grateful to the British Council for their kind support in helping to make this production happen."