+3 Interview: Plan B for Utopia

Posted in EdFestivals 2017, Plus 3 2017 - Features, Written Interviews by

“Our goal is to reach new audiences, those who usually don’t see dance but enjoy theatre or comedy.”

WHO: Joan Clevillé, Artistic Director

WHAT: “‘You have a plan, and then you don’t. You have a dream, and then you wake up. You fall in love, and your heart gets broken. The question is: do you pick up the pieces and try again?’ Mixing dance, theatre and storytelling with a good dose of humour, Plan B for Utopia is a show about how we choose to live our lives: about having a dream, giving it up and trying again, but, above all, it’s a story about friendship.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) ​

WHEN: 10:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I’ve been coming to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the last eight years. It was the first place I performed in Scotland when I joined Scottish Dance Theatre in 2009. I couldn’t believe what was going on around me! In 2015 we premiered the first-full length work with my own company at the Festival, Plan B for Utopia. After more than 50 performances around the UK and abroad, it is very special to bring it back to Edinburgh, this time in a theatre venue like Pleasance Courtyard!

Tell us about your show.

The creation of Plan B for Utopia emerged from the need to reconcile my artistic practice as a choreographer (which can sometimes feel a bit removed from everyday reality) with personal questions around how to live my life in the most sustainable way. I wanted to find a choreographic language that could render the gravity and complexity of the global challenges that we face to something manageable, less overwhelming, closer to human-scale. Plan B for Utopia talks about the role that creativity and imagination can play as a catalyst for change. About the impact of our decisions on others and the environment around us, about what happens when things don’t go according to plan…

Since 2015, we have presented the show in venues across the length and breadth of the UK, from village halls in the Highlands to contemporary arts centres in London. We were invited to British Dance Edition and internationale tanzmesse in Düsseldorf which are two of the most prestigious international showcases for dance. This year, we are incredibly proud to present the work as part of the Made in Scotland and British Council Showcases at the Edinburgh Fringe. Our goal is to reach new audiences, those who usually don’t see dance but enjoy theatre or comedy. For that reason, we are delighted to be working with independent theatre producers China Plate.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

Stay at Pleasance Courtyard to discover the very talented Urielle Klein-Mekongo with her debut show, Yvette. Then head to Dance Base to watch Oona Dohererty’s amazing solo Hope & The Ascension to Lazarus. Round it all off at Summerhall with On Ice and Power Ballad.

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