A partnership between De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) and Curve will see students helping curate the DMU Pride Festival at the prestigious theatre, enabling them to experience what it takes to bring together a major arts event.
The third DMU Pride Festival at Curve runs from 24 February to 4 March to coincide with LGBT History Month and DMU’s own month-long Pride event.
Curve Theatre, which works with DMU in a partnership bringing huge benefits to students
Arts and Festivals Management students and Drama students from DMU are helping to curate the shows, with the full line-up unveiled by Curve last week. The festival will not only feature top-class theatre, but include exhibitions, talks and workshops.
The festival begins with ‘First Time’ by award-winning HIV+ theatre-maker Nathaniel Hall. Fresh from his critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe debut, Nathaniel brings this autobiographical solo show, about growing up positive in a negative world, to Curve on Monday 24 February.
‘B’ on Tuesday 25 February is by former DMU student Gerrard Martin. The dance explores what it means to be both black and gay, fusing original club-influenced music and dance with audio clips of personal testimonials.
On Wednesday 26 February, Soho Theatre presents Hotter. Following a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018, Hotter sees two best friends and former girlfriends talk about what gets us hot and sweaty.
Then on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 March, Rob Ward, who has previously been a part of DMU Pride with his production of Gypsy Queen, returns to DMU Pride with his new play ‘The MP, Aunty Mandy and Me’, a provocative story of coercion, politics, power and manipulation.
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The play tells the story of Dom, living his best life in a small Brexit-voting town, who meets a closeted MP, wrestling with conscience vs constituents. The unusual new friendship has its benefits, but how much give and take can one friendship withstand, when give just becomes take?
Kate Chapman, senior lecturer in Drama at DMU, runs a module for third year students which gets them working on placements within the creative industries to gain essential hands-on experience.
Kate said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the students on that module. It is all about them being in a professional environment and gaining professional experience.
“The students have the opportunity to work within the theatre and be part of a team which creates, plans and markets a real festival, working with very senior members of Curve who take them through this whole process.
“It also involves the students carrying out research to understand the kind of performances and artists they want for the festival. This helps them not only understand the theatre’s priorities but also the expectations of the artist.
“The experience the students are gaining is pretty special.”
The DMU Pride festival with Curve is part of an ongoing partnership between the university and the award-winning venue.
Tickets for the festival shows are on sale now and priced at £10 each. To book tickets go to tickets@curvetheatre.co.uk
Posted on Thursday 16 January 2020