Creative Europe
Desk UK
for Culture

One Land, Many Faces

How does one create a European identity among citizens stillquestioning their identities in their own countries’ contexts? Which story will European peoples conceive together in the backdrop of a crisis that has raised tensions? Do they envision a future of fusion, a mosaic federation, or rather independence? Can the echoes of a 100 year-old history of an ancient continent on the brink of disintegration be heard today? Moreover, how does the world view this « small » European territory? Once so dominant, rich and diverse, Europe is now negotiating a new identity between inter and multi-culturalism.

Question the world

Typically debated among political scientists and academics, these questions will literally take the stage, brought to life in scenes by artists and citizens. Theatre as a tool of interactionand of exchange, of confrontation through dialogue, of prose and of creation. Both participants and audiences will be asked to share their feelings of belonging to a people, to a nation, and ultimately to Europe. Which identities have they assembled thus far, and which story or utopia will they tell or dream of?

6 authors will lead in this creative process. 3 European authors and 3 authors from around the globe (South Africa, South Korea, and the United States) each from societies deeply affected by the questions of coexistence and division. They bring a contrasting external perspective on this Europe that intrigues them. Together these authors will lead theater workshops with European youth, encounter academics and exchange dialogue with political scientists, all to draw inspiration for a new written piece.

Cabaret style

With these 6 texts, an artistic team will transform it into a play. Representing Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Hungary, and France, these artists will compose a mosaic cabaret, bring the text to the stage through stories and song. The fragmented nature of these texts could give way to poetic or political expressions, pamphlets, or documentaries. Given its cabaret-style format, this unique scheme should foster stimulating dialogue with the audience.

Through this shared experience, artists and European citizens will together question their identities, unchaining themselves from identity, geographical, historical or even psychological barriers. Through this project, these pioneers will also test the experience of a renewed artistic citizenship in Europe, comparable to an alternative to political militancy, akin to a search for emancipation through creation.