Contacting The World
Since 2002 Contact has hosted Contacting The World, a biannual international project which brings together young people from around the world to create new theatre. Twinning companies so they can collaborate, exchange members and share ideas Contacting The World culminates in a two-week showcase and street festival.
Funded by Arts Council of England, this revolutionary international exchange project is developed and organised by Contact Theatre, one of the UK's leading, award-winning arts organisations working with young people based in Manchester in the North West of England.
The festival which takes place in Manchester, England, will include participants from Iran, Palestine, the United States, South Africa, India, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Jamaica.
More than 150 young people from the 12 young theatre companies selected will be randomly twinned to engage in a seven-month exchange process to create brand new, visionary and truly global theatre/art. Contacting the World 2010 culminates in July when all the participants travel to the UK to participate in a festival of workshops and new performances.
84theater
84theater is a young theater group established in 2006 in Tehran. The group has concentrated on performing plays written by international and Iranian playwrights including Chekhov, Beckett, Pinter, Mamet, and numerous writers from any corner of the world. The group has also had many workshops in Tai Chi Chowan (Chinese martial art), Neutral Mask and Sound Training. Most members of the group are students or graduated from Cinema and Theater College, University of Art, in Tehran. The group is founded by Ali Akbar Alizad (a lecturer in Cinema and Theater College) as the main director and Reza Soroor as the Writer/dramaturge. The texts are often selected for their socio-political themes.