Tuesday, January 20, 2015

IOWA CITY, Iowa – For the first time, the University of Iowa will partner with the University of Cape Town, African Arts Institute, and Artscape Theatre Centre to present Book Wings South Africa, a ground-breaking collaborative theatre initiative that uses the latest digital and new media technologies to bring together actors, writers, directors, translators, and stage spaces—in this case, over 8,500 miles apart—to produce one integrated, interactive theatre experience.

Book Wings will stage the following six new plays, which were commissioned for the project on the central theme of “Release.” The theme was chosen to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. However, the theme is not prescriptive. Each play will take on a different aspect and understanding of the idea of release.

  • The Disappointment by Keith Josef Adkins (US)
  • Sicawa Street by Katori Hall (US)
  • Invisible Eden by Mandla Mbothwe (South Africa)
  • Blood Pastoral by Wessel Pretorius (South Africa)
  • Waiting for Marcel by Peter Ullian (US)
  • What We Wish For by Mike van Graan (South Africa)

Both Adkins and Ullian are graduates of the University of Iowa's Playwrights Workshop. The Book Wings South Africa performance is slated for March 10, 2015.

Book Wings started in 2012 as a collaboration between the Moscow Art Theatre (Moscow, Russia) and the University of Iowa. Since then, partners have included Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre (Shanghai, China) and University of Baghdad (Baghdad, Iraq).

Book Wings is made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at U.S. Department of State, the University of Baghdad, and the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program, Department of Theatre Arts, the Virtual Writing University, Information Technology Services, and UITV.

Since 1967, the  IWP has hosted more than 1,400 writers from more than 140 countries, connecting well-established writers from around the globe, introducing American writers to other cultures through reading tours, publishing books and journals, pursuing cultural diplomacy, and organizing tours, conferences, and other events around the world. Learn more at http://iwp.uiowa.edu/