Gulf Stage is a new innovative project which breaks new ground for the theatre industry by bringing Arabic performances to a world stage online for free and is the result of a unique partnership between the British Council, the UK's leading cultural relations organisation, and Digital Theatre.
Digital Theatre worked with the British Council in Qatar to film and digitise theatre productions by companies from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE during the Gulf Co-operation Countries Youth Theatre Festival in October of last year. The six productions, which are subtitled into English, are now available online free of charge on digitaltheatre.com/collections/gulfstage.
Filmed in Arabic, the digital element of the project has enabled the overcoming of geographical barriers, and provided strong cultural learning opportunities for theatre producers in both parts of the world. Gulf Stage reflects the rising trend of theatre companies and venues embracing the digital revolution and is another example of how new digital technologies are opening up the theatrical experience to new audiences both in the UK and internationally.
Brendan Griggs, Head of Drama and Dance at the British Council commented: 'This exciting project highlights how the British Council is responding to the changing landscape of the performing arts. Projects like Gulf Stage illustrate the innovative lead which the UK has taken in the digital arts field. Cultural content generated by Gulf Stage can now be shared, developed and distributed between partners, artists and audiences on different social media platforms, opening up rich cultural conversations on a global level.'
The performances were taken to the Gulf through a unique partnership between the British Council, Qatar Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage (MOCAH), Centre for Cultural Development (CDC) at the Qatar Foundation and Digital Theatre. It followed a study visit to the UK organised by the British Council for its Qatari partners in May 2010 to meet UK theatre companies.
The recordings of a production were screened in Doha last December, during the final month of the prestigious Doha, Arab Capital of Culture programme 2010, and were showcased alongside an existing film of a high profile UK theatre production recorded by Digital Theatre.
Robert Delamere and Tom Shaw of Digital Theatre said: 'Gulf Stage was an incredible opportunity for us to bring theatre from different cultures to an international audience via digitaltheatre.com. Being able to showcase the best of British theatre online was the starting principle behind Digital Theatre. Now, through working with the British Council on this project, Gulf Stage represents a very exciting addition to our work and a significant step towards making Digital Theatre a truly global website.'
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