London’s New Diorama Theatre announce an Autumn 2022 season with no-shows, choosing instead to undertake a programme of bold programme development.
The New Diorama has announced that “Intervention One” will call together the UK’s most exciting independent theatre companies, and begin work on a bold slate of new ideas – aiming to break the current short-term programming and development cycles that are exhausting artists and stifling creative risk.
New Diorama Artistic Director David Byrne said: ‘Post-pandemic, we promised to listen more and do better. The sheer catalytic energy required to ‘bring theatre back’ has left artists on the brink of burn-out and exhaustion. So New Diorama are going to do the most radical thing we can imagine: stop. Marking a once-in-a-generation moment, we’ll work behind the scenes to return in 2023 with a renewed artistic vision, a re-energised artist family, and our boldest-ever slate of work.’
NDT will go dark across social media during this period, allowing us to support risky work without having to ask artists to package their thinking or ideas immediately for public consumption. Outlining the mission and challenges ahead, Artistic Director David Byrne has published a personal statement, including a brief for artists wanting to join.
