Resuscitation and Beyond 2 theatre companies, 4 plays, 4 directors, multiple actors and even more characters.
After a couple of years of discussing joining forces for a project, Resuscitation Theatre and Beyond the Veil are pleased to announce their first collaborative project, Resuscitation and Beyond (or ReBe for short). This is not a merger – both theatre companies are separate entities and will remain so, retaining their individual identities for future productions – but rather a coming together to create an exciting evening of theatre. As the two preeminent theatre companies in Abu Dhabi, both Resuscitation Theatre and Beyond the Veil have a fine collection of work. The companies have very different objectives when it comes to staging shows – Resuscitation Theatre‘s primary objective is to breathe life into the classics, while Beyond the Veil has as its main objective, the staging of Arab plays, in particular those written by Emiratis. But these two objectives are not seen as mutually exclusive by the two companies. Quite the contrary in fact. “Faisal and I have always wanted to stage a production together, one which highlights the talent of company members,” says Zakaia Cvitanovich, founder and Artistic Director of Beyond the Veil. “My personal belief is that collaboration is the heart and soul of theatre. It’s the way I direct and how I see Beyond the Veil. There’s always opportunities for ‘Veilers’ (our name for company members) to write and direct if they so wish. Beyond the Veil was never intended to be a vehicle for me, rather a place for people to ply their talent or to develop a new one,” she adds. “Resuscitation Theatre and Beyond the Veil have different aesthetics but our passion for Theatre is the same.” For Faisal Al-Jadir this opportunity to collaborate with Beyond the Veil comes after his acting debut with the company: “I think it’s important for theatregoers to realise that neither of us are in competition and that we are doing this for our love of the medium.” According to Al-Jadir, “the collaboration is a blessing and doing short plays is always a welcoming challenge.” During Short+Sweet Abu Dhabi, Cvitanovich suggested staging a combined one-act play festival along the same lines as last year’s Doorways, staged by Beyond the Veil. “Last year, I wanted to stage something that highlighted the writing talents of company members and a one-act play festival was the perfect showcase.” And that’s what inspired this first combined production. Resuscitation and Beyond are intending to stage four plays in April. Two written by Resuscitation Theatre company members, Faisal Al-Jadir and Al-Hurr Al-Dali, and two written by Beyond the Veil company members, Craig Kelly and Zakaia Cvitanovich. In addition, Al-Jadir and Cvitanovich are writing a prologue and epilogue to ‘bookend’ the production. The one-act play festival will be staged at The Emirates Writer’s Union in The National Theatre with the proposed performance dates Wednesday 18th – Saturday 21st of April. Performance dates will be confirmed in two weeks. However, on Wednesday, 28th February, Resuscitation and Beyond will be holding auditions at the Emirates Writer’s Union at 8:00 pm. All are welcome.
