Transform 19
Transform 19 is a festival of powerful, international performance. Igniting Leeds with trailblazing theatre, dance, parties and adventure, the festival assembles some of the boldest and bravest artists from across the city and five continents of the globe. From 26 April - 4 May, Transform 19 travels through some of Leeds’s most iconic venues and hidden spaces, pushing boundaries and borders.
The Transform 19 Festival Centre is an ambitious television studio takeover at Prime Studios, hosting workshops, discussions and parties. The Festival Centre and first weekend opens with a wild and solitary hymn to the freedom of becoming in MDLSX, by Italy’s acclaimed Motus. Idol by Jamal Gerald is a daring and unapologetic examination of religion, pop culture and Black representation and will receive its world premiere. Oh Europa, a new collection of works by Action Hero that span a continent, will be open to audiences throughout the festival and will culminate in a deep listening party, RadiOh Europa.
With the festival unfolding across iconic and unusual spaces in Leeds - Yorkshire Dance hosts Daimon by Luis Garay (Argentina/Colombia), a performance transcending dance and athleticism. Riley Theatre will present the world premiere of bYOB by 70/30 Split (UK), investigating masculinity and mob mentality. coletivA ocupação, an extraordinary and fearless group of young Brazilian artists and activists will reveal the reality and brutal intensity of living inside a political movement in When It Breaks It Burns, performed in a Victorian school hall in the city centre. At Leeds Playhouse, enter an exhibition where reality strikes back in the UK premiere of All Inclusive by Julian Hetzel (Germany/Netherlands). Tianzhuo Chen, one of China’s most exciting and controversial artists, brings immersive spectacle An Atypical Brain Damage to an epic warehouse in Armley, in an experience that’s part club, part performance, part culture clash.
The festival is Transform’s boldest edition yet, and a powerful assembly of uncompromising artists who conjure up new futures. Expect an ambitious programme celebrating freedom, identity and resistance.
26 April - 4 May 2019, Leeds.
Check out more of the Transform programme here:
Categories: Featured Activity
Date Posted: 25 April 2019