CANVAS is excited to announce a new Collaboration with TALAWA the UK’s Primary Black-led Touring Theatre Company

WHEN CANVAS MEETS TALAWA

Adam lives with his nana. He’s her carer. But when she announces she’s moving to Tenerife he has to work out who he is without her. “I’m a first generation light brown could be wanna be drag queen Mancunian who’s never been to Jamaica, Africa, Brazil Or Cuba.”

Talawa Theatre Company is the UK’s primary Black-led touring theatre company. Their work is informed by the wealth and diversity of the Black British experience, and through that, they create outstanding work by cultivating the best in emerging and established Black artists. They invest in talent, develop audiences and inspire dialogue with and within communities across the UK and internationally. By doing so, they aim to enrich the cultural life of all.

You will know David Judge, but perhaps not like this. A dual heritage poet, playwright and performer from Manchester, David first brought his visceral and sometimes controversial style to the stage with 'Skipping Rope', developed with Talawa Theatre Company and Box of Tricks. 'Skipping Rope' and 'Spark Plug' were both shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award. David was invited onto the Channel 4 Screenwriting Course. His Talawa Writers' Programme commission 'Pan Lid' was developed with the Royal Exchange Theatre and presented by Talawa Theatre Company at HOME, spawning this spin-off short film, 'In 500 Characters'.

Canvas is an Arts Council-funded initiative bringing together arts organisations across England with a series of wide-ranging objectives - making arts content more discoverable and engaging; increasing the number of people engaging with the arts; increasing the volume and quality of creative media; and supporting the skills and digital capacity of the arts sector.

It consists of two interrelated projects; the Canvas channel and the Canvas network. The Canvas channel publishes, curates and promotes video across YouTube, Facebook and Twitter with the aim of inspiring 18-35 year olds to explore the world of art. The Canvas network helps arts organisations develop their online video strategy and output through advice, support, training and collaborative projects.

Keep up-to-date with CANVAS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @canvasartsofficial and YouTube.