Greenwich+Docklands International Festival Appeals To Public To Help Verify Names of Windrush Passengers

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF), London's leading festival of outdoor theatre and performing arts, is asking members of the public to help verify the names of the 492 migrant passengers aboard the Empire Windrush as part of Windrush: 492.

The durational installation will see the names of the individuals who arrived on that ship transcribed in photoluminescent powder onto the ground around Cutty Sark Gardens accompanied by a soundscape written by Greenwich playwright Roy Williams on 22 June 2018, 70 years to the day that the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Dock from the Caribbean.

GDIF have carefully compiled the names of the 492 migrant passengers aboard the Empire Windrush, which have been cross-referenced against the ship's original passenger lists from the National Archives maritime records. To ensure that the entries are as accurate as possible the Festival are appealing to members of the public, families and descendants of the migrant passengers aboard the ship to verify the list for the GDIF production. The full list is published on the GDIF website here:

https://festival.org/whats-on/windrush-492/

Windrush: 492 is one of two specially commissioned events commemorating the men and women who have come to stand as a powerful symbol for the generation who transformed Britain into a contemporary, multi-cultural society. The other event is a sound installation, created and produced by sound artist Xana, which is experienced high above the Thames in the cabins of the Emirates Air Line. Other elements of the festival programme take inspiration from global stories of mass movement and migration, including Never Set Eyes on the Land, a new installation from Nutkhut recalling the experience and legacy of Partition in 1947, and the French hip-hop company Dyptik, who explore the struggles associated with contemporary border crossings in D-Construction, an emotional production that takes place on and around a symbolic fence structure.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Roy Williams and Gijs van Bon (UK/Netherlands)

Windrush: 492

Friday 22 June, time TBC
Cutty Sark Gardens, Greenwich
Free

70 years to the day that the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Dock from the Caribbean, this durational installation will see the names of the 492 individuals who arrived on that ship transcribed in photoluminescent powder onto the ground around the Cutty Sark, commemorating in light-emitting text the men and women who have come to stand as a powerful symbol for the generation who transformed Britain into a contemporary, multi-cultural society. Accompanied by a soundscape written by Greenwich playwright Roy Williams, this reflective performance celebrates the contribution of black and Asian communities to British life.

Xana (UK)

Soundscape

Friday 22 - Sunday 24 June, 10am-10pm

Emirates Air Line
Ticket purchase required for the Emirates Air Line

A soundscape focusing on the colonial history of the Docklands, with archive samples and voices of the Caribbean diaspora speaking on movement and belonging. This sound installation has been created by poet, composer and sound designer Xana.

Nutkhut (UK)
Never Set Eyes On The Land

Friday 22 June 12pm, 3pm & 5.45pm

Saturday 23 June 1.30pm, 4.30pm & 7.30pm

Sunday 24 June 4.30pm & 7.30pm

Royal Docks

Free

Never Set Eyes on the Land focuses on the largest mass migration in the history of the world and its impact on the heritage of people and communities in the UK. The installation will bring to life a hidden community of Partition survivors who made this part of London their home over 50 years ago. Featuring 70 items and interpretations, this immersive experience will include poetry, letters, visual art, film, spoken word responses, evocative smells, sounds and music. The installation will be presented inside a newly adapted and designed shipping container with eye-catching external décor.

The installation is open at the times above for 90 minutes - feel free to visit at any time. It takes approximately 15 minutes to go through.

Dyptik (France)

D-Construction
Friday 22 June, Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, 5pm & 7.45pm
Saturday 23, Royal Docks, 3pm & 7.30pm

Sunday 24, Royal Docks, 6.30pm

Free

This high-energy, hip hop dance piece is performed around and on a large, chain-link fence and explores the timely issues of identity, borders and the bonds that connect us with one another. The audience is at the centre of the action, watching up close from all sides of the fence.

Duke Riley

FLY BY NIGHT

Thursday 21 - Saturday 23 June 2018, 9.15pm

East Thamesmead, SE2

XANA

Soundscape

Friday 22 - Sunday 24 June, 10am-10pm

Emirates Air Line

Ticket purchase required for the Emirates Air Line

Dyptik

D-CONSTRUCTION

Friday 22 June, Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, 5pm & 7.45pm
Saturday 23, Royal Docks, 3pm & 7.30pm

Sunday 24, Royal Docks, 6.30pm

Free

Nutkhut
NEVER SET EYES ON THE LAND
Friday 22 - Sunday 24 June, various times
Royal Docks

Free

Various Artists

GREENWICH FAIR
Saturday 23 - Sunday 24 June, various times
Cutty Sark Gardens and Old Royal Naval College

Free

L'Homme debout

RISE!
Saturday 23 June, 9.30pm
Royal Arsenal Riverside and Woolwich Town Centre

Free

Various artists

ELTHAM UNPACKED
Thursday 28 - Saturday 30 June, various times

Passey Place, Eltham Town Centre

Free

Various Artists

DANCING CITY
Saturday 30 June, 1pm-5pm

Canary Wharf
Free

Compagnie Remue Ménage

LA PARADE AMOUREUSE
Saturday 30 June, 10pm

Roman Road, Tower Hamlets

Free

Graeae Theatre Company

THIS IS NOT FOR YOU

Saturday 30 June - Sunday 1 July, 3pm & 7.30pm

Artillery Square, Royal Arsenal Riverside, Woolwich

Free

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival

BEAUTIFUL THING
Tuesday 3 - Saturday 7 July, 9.45pm
South Thamesmead, SE2
Premium seats £10
Free standing tickets

About Greenwich+Docklands International Festival

Founded in 1996, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) is London's leading festival of free outdoor theatre and performing arts, making an "unrivalled contribution to the happiness of the people of London" (The Guardian). GDIF 2017 featured over 300 performances by dozens of national and international companies with more than 105,000 people attending shows in a range of public spaces in Royal Greenwich and East London. GDIF forms part of the Royal Greenwich Festivals, an annual series of high-quality events organised by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to celebrate cultural vibrancy.

GDIF 2018 is supported by Arts Council England, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Tower Hamlets Council, Without Walls, Canary Wharf Arts + Events and Peabody.

The GDIF Festival Hub for outdoor arts professionals will be presented in partnership with the Independent Street Arts Network.

GDIF is produced by FESTIVAL.ORG.

www.festival.org

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