Creative Europe
Desk UK
for Culture

“Hunger for Trade” is an international collaboration between nine theatres across four continents. It is an inter-cultural performing arts response to the global food crisis. Overseen by the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg with other partners in France, Belgium, Mali, South Africa, Bangladesh and Brazil. To reflect the UK’s reputation as a world leader in new writing and working with playwrights, the Royal Exchange will be working with multi-award-winning playwright Simon Stephens who has brought together four of the most exciting voices emerging from across the North of England – Miriam Battye, Brad Birch, Alistair McDowall and Kellie Smith – to contribute to this major international collaboration. They will have access to some of the world’s leading academics, researchers and activists working to tackle these issues. We are also working with Cargill, an international producer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services operating across 65 countries. Artists from all partners will share their research and the work will culminate in a simultaneous on-line showing in Spring / Summer 2014. The playwrights will create a theatrical event to explore, uncover and imaginatively express some of the most vital and dangerous issues of our time.