OffScript

Dash Arts' production of Dido's Bar was developed and made in Newham. As part of our year-long programme, we were privileged to work with Community Links, an amazing hub which offers young people advice, employment skills, and the chance to develop their audio skills in their top-notch production studio. We've brought some of these young people into the world of Dido's Bar through our podcast. Dash Producer Cristina Catalina and Podcast Producer Rachael Head worked in the studio with our participants, talking through the universal themes of Dido's Bar and exploring how those themes have affected their lives.Music Credits:Intro music: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiArtwork and music made by Community Links participants Script excerpts read out are from Hattie Naylor's Dido's Bar.Hosted by Rachael Head, featuring a short conversation with producer Cristina Catalina.With thanks to Amanda Brown, the whole Community Links team and the Royal Docks TeamDido’s Bar is produced by Dash Arts with imPOSSIBLE Producing.Dido's Bar is co-produced with the Royal Docks Team, OCM (Oxford Contemporary Music), and Journeys Festival International and co-commissioned by OCM, with additional support from Arts Council England, Backstage Trust, The Foyle Foundation, Projekt, Cockayne – Grants for the Arts, The London Community Foundation, Genesis Foundation, Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, The Marchus Trust, TINFO – Theatre Info Finland, Austin and Hope Pilkington, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, The Leche Trust and individual donors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our latest episode: 'Dido's Bar: What Makes a Good Story?' we chat with the Director and Writer of Dido’s Bar about the ingredients of a good story. Listen to hear how they tackled telling the story of a refugee and how music has been weaved into the fabric of the performance. Featuring interviews with Dido’s Bar Director and Dash Arts Artistic Director Josephine Burton, and Playwright Hattie Naylor. Music Credits: Intro music: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiMusic from the Dido’s Bar Rehearsal room: Rivers and Tides, Panic Boats Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our latest episode, 'New Mythology: Reclaiming the Story', we chat with artists about how their work makes space for underrepresented gender identities in ancient myths. Listen to explore how storytelling can reclaim lost stories within our mythological canon and how we’re rebalancing the gender dynamics in our next production, Dido's Bar.Featuring interviews with Dash Arts Artistic director Josephine Burton; stand up storyteller Alys Torrance; drag artist Len Blanco and Dido’s Bar cast member Lola May and some sneaky preview of some of the music from the rehearsal room! Music CreditsIntro music: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiMusic from the Dido’s Bar Rehearsal room: Smokey Nights, 100 Moons, I Know This HeartPlease note this episode is explicit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we explore the epic poems, The Aeneid, The Shanameh and The Odyssey, and their relevance today. Delve into the narrative of these epics as we investigate why and how these stories are compelling in their contemporary renditions, as well as how oral storytelling traditions have shaped how we interpret them. Featuring interviews with Dash Arts artistic director Josephine Burton; Kurdish Iranian musician Marouf Majidi; director and former Dash Arts co-artistic director Tim Supple; writer and lecturer Tajinder Hayer; writer and performer Tristan Bernays; and storyteller Clare Murphy. Music CreditsIntro music: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiMusic from Dido’s Bar Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Protest Songs: Bella Ciao In the final episode of our Protest Songs mini-series, we discuss the history and ongoing significance of the Italian protest song ‘Bella Ciao’.Josephine Burton speaks to Professor Philip Cooke about the origins of the song and how its history has been gendered throughout time. Italian singer and songwriter, Virginia Sirolli, speaks of her personal connection to the song and its adaptations, and Composer Orlando Gough discusses how he used it in a recent production at The Globe and its powerful adaptability across multiple cultures and countries. Music CreditsIntro music: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiBella Ciao Acoustic, Virginia SirolliBella Ciao - Royalty Free Italian Music, Casa De Papel GemafBella Ciao, Grégoire Lourme/abr Título de Música: Bella Ciao (Epic Cover)Bella Ciao in Punjabi, written, performed and produced by Poojan Sahil Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the third and final episode of Making Middlemarch, the cast and crew reflect on their experience of The Great Middlemarch Mystery.Listen to director Josephine Burton chat to actors Aimee Powell and Ryan Van Champion and podcast producer Rachael Head about the realities of modernising Middlemarch, Otherness and much more.   Music CreditsIntro music: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf MajidiWes Finch: https://wesfinch.bandcamp.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second episode of Making Middlemarch brings you conversations straight from the rehearsal room. Listen to cast members Tom Gordon, Amanda Hurwitz and Ryan Van Champion discussing their characters’ fears of change, and how those opinions are realised in the show. Featuring clips of some of the actors reading lines in the rehearsal room and snippets of the show’s sound design. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this first episode of Making Middlemarch, discover how the idea of The Great Middlemarch Mystery was conceived and why the source text’s author, George Eliot, continues to enchant us today.Delve into the inspirations behind this adaptation and the creator’s theatrical visions. Uncover the real life stories from Coventry locals and how they will be woven into the show.Featuring a conversation between creator and director Josephine Burton and co-writer and researcher Ruth Livesey, interspersed with clips from our community workshops in Coventry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Protest Songs: The InternationaleIn the first episode of our Protest Songs series, we explore the history of 'The Internationale' and how it continues to inspire social change.Josephine Burton speaks to singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, who was motivated by the collapse of communism to rewrite the song and devote an album to it in 1990. Other speakers include historian Robert Service who gives an overview of the history of the song and its many adaptations, including its role as the first national anthem for the Soviet Union and Professor John Street, who discusses his new online resource devoted to English protest songs ‘Our Subversive Voice’, and how music can change the world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After its genesis in Berlin and its London premiere, our initial journey of Songs for Babyn Yar culminated in a performance in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 7 December 2021 - the city in which more than 100,000 people were massacred in the ravine of Babyn Yar during Nazi occupation. In this podcast episode, the three artists involved and its director reflect on this climactic performance, and the emotional and creative journey it took to get there. Ukrainian musicians Yuriy Gurzhy, Svetlana Kundish and Mariana Sadovska, alongside director Josephine Burton, discuss their experiences of performing such a raw, personal and emotionally demanding work in their country of origin, to an audience who live in the long shadows of the Babyn Yar massacres. The musicians explore their shared grief, its catharsis, the impact the production has had on audiences worldwide, and the questions it has raised.Songs featured: 'Lullaby for Babyn Yar', 'Mipney Ma', 'Live' and 'Vald' from Songs for Babyn Yar All music was created and recorded in the rehearsal room with Yuriy Gurzhy, Svetlana Kundish and Mariana Sadovska for Dash ArtsIntro music: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.