45north Announces First Seed Commission Scheme Artists For 2021

45North today announces artists for the first of two Seed Commission Schemes in 2021. The first initiative supports trans and gender non-conforming artists, across a variety of disciplines, who are looking to develop an idea for live performance.

The selected artists are Anna Clock, Chiyo and Gayathiri Kamalakanthan. Each receives a fee of £1000, access to rehearsal or office space for a week and £750 towards collaborator fees. In addition, they will benefit from 15 hours of mentorship and one-to-one support from Tabby Lamb, the scheme's director, as they develop a partial, or what the scheme refers to as a '0.5', draft of their work across 6-week period in March and April 2021.

Further information on the second initiative, supporting theatre-makers from another underrepresented group, will be announced shortly.

Tabby Lamb, said today, "We were overwhelmed by the vast amount of Trans folk who applied for this commission, and then once again overwhelmed by the talent and skill of each application but after passionate discussion we ended up with 3 of the most exciting artists I've ever had the pleasure to work with; a luminary of the cabaret world, a technical wizard and a passionate sex educator. I can't wait to help them develop their skills and put them on the path towards creating their first full length piece of theatre."

Anna Clock (they/them) is developing an intimate, binaural audio experience exploring a fraught encounter over a barbershop chair. It's a conversation between two people, reunited after ten years with new names, and different genders - for the purpose of a haircut. Exploring a power dynamic, and how it is coloured by history, class, age and physical intimacy, within a genderqueer space.

Clock is a composer, sound designer and cellist working across theatre, film, radio and installation. Their theatre credits include Crave (Chichester Festival Theatre), Wild (Unicorn Theatre), Earthquakes in London (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), Not F**ckin' Sorry, Shuck 'n' Jive, Soft Animals (Soho Theatre), I Wanna Be Yours (Paines Plough and Tamasha, UK tour/Bush Theatre), Easy (Blue Elephant Theatre), Groove (Outbox Theatre), Admin, Miss Fortunate (Vault Festival), Anguis (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Summer Fest (Bunker Theatre), Armadillo (Yard Theatre), Fatty Fat Fat (Canada Water Theatre/Camden Roundhouse/Edinburgh Fringe & Tour), The Love of the Nightingale, The Lower Depths (Fourth Monkey Studio Theatre), Fighter (Stratford Circus), Twelfth Night (Southwark Playhouse) and Punk Rock, Pomona (New Diorama).

Chiyo (he/they) is developing a work aimed at exploring the parallels of misogyny through a generation, confronting his own experiences as a mixed-race, gender non-conforming Trans man, and sitting with what discussions come forth in correlation to societies brutal hatred of women.

Chiyo is London's Prinx of Provocation: a performance Artist who blurs the boundaries between Drag, Burlesque, and Sex Work. Chiyo is a model, a mover, and a solid force among the UK's national cabaret pioneers.

Gayathiri Kamalakanthan (they/she) is developing the story of a Tamil non-binary child, who doesn't yet have the language to put their queerness into words. Reimagining a period party - a rite of passage into 'womanhood' in Tamil culture - where the intersection of Tamil-ness and queerness is celebrated and held, not as a contradiction but as an inheritance.

Kamalakanthan is a Tamil writer and sex and relationships educator, working with Inclusive Tamil Arts and School of Sexuality Education. Kamalakanthan loves to queer up spaces through making visible the stories of those who have been erased throughout history.

Tabby Lamb is a non-binary writer and performer based in East London and a graduate of the Theatre Directing course at Dartington College of Arts. Similarly inspired by Carly Rae Jepson and Tennessee Williams, she strives to tell stories that explore the intersections between popular culture and politics. Their credits include SINCE U BEEN GONE (Gate Theatre/HighTide Festival). Tabby is an associate writer with Middle Child, she's on attachment at the Oxford Playhouse via their Playhouse Playmaker scheme 2021 and she's developing new work on the Wild Child's Oli Lansley mentor scheme, mentored by Sarah Solemani. She has previously been part of the Soho Theatre Writers Lab and the LGBTQ Arts Review #RaisingOurVoices scheme for queer and trans writers and is currently working with BFI Flare x BAFTA Crew. Tabby is also a facilitator, founding and running @TheatreQueers, which offers networking and creative arts projects for people from the LGBTQ+ community.