EUTOPIA
In January 2018 Dash Arts embarked on a journey: EUTOPIA - our investigation into what it means to be European. EUTOPIA emerged as a direct response to the 2016 EU Referendum; as the UK voted to leave the EU, we felt the need to ask what Europe means. Through a cross-arts approach that integrates research, development, participation, presentation and production over several years, we explored how Europe came into being, how the UK got to the point of leaving the EU and what that means for the future.
Dash Arts sought to highlight and celebrate Europe’s diversity and hidden marvels; confronting generalisation and encourage new insights and fierce debate. Eutopia embraced our Podcasts, Cafés, Gigs, Residences, Special Events and Productions, and culminated in our music theatre production, Dido’s Bar.
PRODUCTIONS
Dido’s Bar
Autumn 2022
An immersive site-specific gig theatre production that reimagined Virgil's Aeneid, exploring this timeless tale of migration through the lens of Europe today.
Set in a cabaret bar on the borders of Europe, frequented by outcasts and travellers, artists and bohemians, gods and mortals, Dido's Bar explored challenging questions about contemporary European identity.
Songs for Babyn Yar
TOURING
September, 1941. Nazi occupying forces murder more than 33,000 Jews in the ravine of Babyn Yar in the suburbs of Kyiv, Ukraine, over just two days.
November, 2021. 80 years later, three Ukrainian musicians journey deep into their shared history, drawing on survivors' testimonies, traditional Yiddish and Ukrainian folk songs, poetry and storytelling.
Directed by Josephine Burton, this music theatre performance explores the complex history and legacy of a tragedy that has never been fully commemorated.
