How Transform festival brings creative adventure to Yorkshire

With a new lockdown upon us, Nick Ahad continues his virtual tour of Yorkshire theatre with a profile of Transform festival.
The Darkest Corners by RashDash at Transform festival. Picture: The Other RichardThe Darkest Corners by RashDash at Transform festival. Picture: The Other Richard
The Darkest Corners by RashDash at Transform festival. Picture: The Other Richard

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t supposed to be writing this. We were supposed to be back in the theatres by now.

Looking for silver in the clouds, I find one in the news that lockdown means I can continue my odyssey – and there are plenty more Yorkshire companies whose stories I am yet to tell.

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There will be more profiles of companies and buildings to come, but today I want to tell you about possibly the only festival that will appear in this series.

When It Breaks It Burns, about high school occupations in Brazil, Transform festival. Picture: JM PhotograPhWhen It Breaks It Burns, about high school occupations in Brazil, Transform festival. Picture: JM PhotograPh
When It Breaks It Burns, about high school occupations in Brazil, Transform festival. Picture: JM PhotograPh

Transform festival is an extraordinary story that demonstrates exactly what this series of articles was meant to show: that Yorkshire is a place of wildly contrasting culture where everything can grow and flourish.

Seriously, find another county where a theatre correspondent would have been able to take you from a West End behemoth who makes plays beside the sea to an international festival from the heart of the city.

Amy Letman is the powerhouse who arrived in Yorkshire to take up a role as associate producer at the then West Yorkshire Playhouse a decade ago.

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Letman has always been something of a radical thinker when it comes to producing theatre. It was little surprise that she grew the Transform festival into such an eclectic, globe-spanning beast of a project.

“I set up Transform as a company in 2014 following a stint of a few years working at Leeds Playhouse, where the festival was initially kick-started.

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“I was attracted to developing the festival more widely because I wanted to work with the many different creative partners across the city who are now involved.

“I was also passionate about growing the festival to reach more audience across Leeds and to have even more impact for artists. As a major international city, I felt like Leeds didn’t get to experience as much international performance as it should have access to – so that was a key factor in developing the festival to encompass theatre, dance and performance created in different parts of the world,” she says.

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With an internationally touring ballet company, opera company and with Leeds Playhouse productions transferring around the world, there was an international relationship between Leeds culture and the world, but Transform has definitely brought the kind of boundary-testing work you might see on smaller stages to the city.

“Transform is defined by adventure and curiosity. We work with artists from across the Leeds City Region and wider North to create bold new performances for all kinds of contexts. We also reach out to the world by collaborating with artists across Europe and beyond and bringing extraordinary international performances to the city.

“Our festivals invite audiences to travel to iconic venues, old school halls, car parks, community centres and clubs across Leeds to take part in different performances and experiences.”

It is always an exciting moment when the Transform festival is announced. When I receive theatre brochures I have a good idea what I might get to see, with Transform I predict nothing.

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“In recent editions, you could have just as easily ended up being guided on an adventure though the city, protesting on the streets alongside performers, creating a pop-up music video together with other audience members, or getting lost in an epic installation, as you could sitting in a theatre watching a show.

“The festival aims to connect with people in lots of different ways and redefine any preconceived ideas we might have about what theatre can be or how it can happen.”

Letman admits that to plan and create shows sometimes takes months and sometimes years, despite the festival happening over just a week or two.

Audiences who visit the Transform festival have the special pleasure of seeing shows that will often then go on to be seen by audiences nationally and internationally.

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Success stories of recent years include The Believers Are But Brothers by Javaad Alipoor which has been seen in Canada and Australia and was developed into a docu-drama for BBC.

Idol by Jamal Gerald enjoyed performances in London, Derby and Manchester and was set to tour more widely before the pandemic.

“Both of these artists are from the Leeds City Region and both productions are Transform commissions. The onward trajectory of festival shows is something we are especially proud of,” says Letman.

“Nationally, Transform has become one of the most important moments in the festival calendar to engage with a new generation of creatives and the next array of exciting performances. We increasingly welcome audiences from across the UK and international visitors to the festival.”

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As you might expect, the festival for 2021 has been postponed, but Letman is staying positive that it gives the team ‘plenty of time to start dreaming up future projects’.

“Some of our defining shows include When It Breaks It Burns, which saw those involved in Brazil’s high school occupations tell their real life stories in an explosive and awe-inspiring production,” she says. “Theatre company RashDash created The Darkest Corners, an epic outdoor performance in a Holbeck car park.”

When it does return, Transform will continue to push the envelope for theatre audiences in Yorkshire.

www.transformfestival.org

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