Over the past few seasons this has broadened into a more comprehensive contention with the central question of human identity, experience and perceptions of difference. Neworld’s founding value since our incorporation in 1994 has been one of diversity and as such we remain committed to providing a platform for multiple artistic voices to wrestle with this notion of difference. Since 1999, Neworld
has won more than 20 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards (from over 50 nominations), the Alcan Performing Arts Award, the Vancouver Sun Innovation Award, the Seattle Times Footlight Award, and the Canada Council Theatre for Young Audiences Award. Our shows have been presented by major festivals including the Magnetic North Theatre Festival (Canada's premiere English‐language theatre festival), the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, and our work has toured locally and to On The Boards in Seattle, WA and the 2008 International Festival of Authors, Brno, Czech Republic. Toured works include include Ali and Ali and the aXes of Evil, Mixie and the Halfbreeds, Adrift, Crime and Punishment and Asylum of the Universe. In 2009, Neworld also co-founded PL 1422 a cultural hub in East Vancouver co-managed with three other indie theatre companies. Our largest collaborative effort (between 11 organizations) is the Obstructions series, which continues from last season. Inspired in part by The Five Obstructions by Jørgen Leth and Lars Von Trier, Obstructions calls for thoughtful discussions of each company’s individual tendencies toward form, place, style, theme, design, period, and story. Based on this conversation, the core artists of each participating company are given a list of obstructions that prompt them to adapt a new approach to making theatre. (http://progresslab.ca/)
In addition to our mainstage productions, Neworld produces a range of events, from cabaret nights to live readings to public lectures and interviews. We also work closely with community groups, pairing professional artists with non-professionals from different communities to help them create performances that address their self-defined aspirations and concerns. Neworld is cited by both the National Post and the Globe and Mail as one of the companies driving the nationally recognized renaissance in independent Vancouver theatre
History
Neworld Theatre was founded by Artistic Producer Camyar Chai, who conceived the company while at the University of British Columbia, with co-conspirators Mara Coward and Tom Scholte. Initially, productions were primarily folk-style adaptations of classical Iranian texts and/or myths, reflecting both Camyar's cultural background and the sizeable population of Persian Canadians in the Lower Mainland of Vancouver. These shows developed a strong following in the Iranian-Canadian community, regularly selling out the 250 seat Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Early productions included Love, Quest and Evening in a Strange Land. Numerous productions of the multiple-award winning plays about Mordecai Vanunu by Camyar Chai and Mara Coward, and a national tour of the show with Rumble Productions (www.rumble.org), marked the company's first foray into non-didactic, politically-engaged productions and national touring, both of which have become company signatures. Devil Box Cabaret (1999), a site-specific collective creation based on the play The Four Boxes by Iranian writer Bahram Beyzaee, marked both a move toward a more hybridized performance style and Neworld's full emergence as a significant company in the independent theatre scene. Winning numerous awards and selling out its run, Devil Box anticipated the move to site-specific work that has dominated recent independent Vancouver theatre. For the next three years (1999 – 2002) the company produced the Leaky Heaven Circus. What was meant to be a 'one-off' millennium project became a four-show phenomenon that culminated in the formation of a new company, The Leaky Heaven Performance Society (www.leakyheaven.com). In 2005, longtime Neworld associate Marcus Youssef became an Artistic Producer, and Adrienne Wong joined as co-artistic producer soon after. In 2007, Camyar took on a new challenge as Executive Director of Leave Out Violence (LOVE) BC, and Marcus and Adrienne engaged Managing Producer Kirsty Munro. Since then, Camyar moved on the position as artistic coordinator of the Richmond Cultural Centre. At Neworld, Marcus is now artistic director with Adrienne Wong as artistic producer and Kirsty as managing producer. The company continues its tradition of collaboration and commitment to exploring difference from multiple perspectives and voices.
