THIS WEEK Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (GDIF) announced their itinerary for the 2023 programme of free outdoor theatre, performance and installations across iconic London sites, set to kick off in August.

The first events announced include the world premiere of ‘The Architect’, which marks 30 years since the murder of Stephen Lawrence, co-produced with the Actors Touring Company.

Commissioned by GDIF, ‘The Architect’ is an uplifting and hopeful new production that invites audiences to board a London bus and take a life-affirming theatrical journey infused with the experiences of Black Londoners across the three decades since the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993.

Conceived by leading theatre-makers Matthew Xia, Roy Williams and Alfred Fagon award-winner Mojisola Adebayo and created with leading Black artists including Bola Agbaje, Dexter Flanders, Vanessa Macauley and XANA, this landmark co-production is presented in support of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation.

Jessica Neil, Chief Executive of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundationsaid: “Stories have the power to inspire ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things.

“The deeply personal individual experiences of people from marginalised communities, paint a picture of our remarkable collective contributions to British society, and also of how far we still have to travel.

“‘The Architect’ is a powerful example of how storytelling can create empathy, understanding and hope in communities, and we are so proud that Stephen’s legacy is being supported by GDIF, Matthew Xia and the Actors Touring Company as they bring this important production to life.”

Matthew Xia, Artistic Director of Actors Touring Company added: “Thirty years ago, the UK was rocked to its core by the unprovoked racist murder of South London teenager Stephen Lawrence.

“The ensuing decades became a fight for justice and revealed the extent of institutional racism across the nation.

“I have gathered a collective of the most brilliant Black theatre artists to respond to this commemorative moment, and as is often the way with such painful events and memories, we want to try to move through the trauma, and the profound loss towards something uplifting and hopeful.

“We come together in our collective power to imagine an alternative city, designed and inhabited by ‘The Architect’.”

Greenwich + Docklands International Festival
Date: August 25 – September 10, 2023

Check out other highlights announced at this years GDIF here.

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