From Wales to South Africa to Zimbabwe and Back Again, the series will focus on the learnings of a recent scoping trip to Sub-Saharan Africa.
THE British Council will launch a new four-part podcast series for creatives in Wales to learn more about the cultural scene in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The podcast, Breaking Boundaries: From Wales to South Africa to Zimbabwe and Back Again, created by Creative Producer Jafar Iqbal and BBC Content Producer, Hannah Loy, will delve into a recent British Council scoping trip to Zimbabwe and South Africa, which looked at the theatre, literature and writing scenes of the regions.
The series will include interviews with celebrated Welsh creatives that joined them on the journey – and features acclaimed playwright, dramaturg and theatre director, Branwen Davies, who recently adapted Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s award-winning comedic play Fleabag into Welsh; Gethin Evans, Artistic Director at Frân Wen, a Welsh language theatre company based in North West Wales; Patrick McGuiness an academic, critic, novelist, and poet, also Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Oxford; and Cat M’Crystal- Fletcher, Book Marketing Adviser at Rowanvale Books.
Together, they will recount their personal highlights from the trip, the invaluable lessons they’ve learned, and how this experience has transformed their creative practices.
Speaking about the podcast, Jafar and Hannah said: “Getting to go to Sub-Saharan Africa was an unforgettable experience for us, and creating this podcast gave us an opportunity to relive some of those wonderful memories. It was an absolute joy. We want to thank the British Council for their support on the project, and we hope that listeners will enjoy the ride as much as we did.”
The series continues British Council Wales’ work in Sub-Saharan Africa, which in recent years has focused on the importance of the language, culture and shared heritage between Wales and SSA. Projects have included Go Digital: Sub-Saharan Africa – Wales, which began in 2020, and brought together artists for online international collaborations and artistic exchange.
Also commenting, Ruth Cocks, Director, British Council Wales, said: “The British Council is thrilled to launch this exciting four-part podcast series, created by the talented duo of Creative Producer Jafar Iqbal and BBC Content Producer Hannah Loy. Over several years we have grown and nurtured a number of new creative relationships between artists in Wales and those in South Africa and Zimbabwe. As we look to the future and more exciting projects, we hope these conversations will offer an opportunity for reflection and cross-cultural learning, and that the discussions and valuable takeaways from Zimbabwe and South Africa will inspire creatives from Wales to enrich their own artistic practices. We invite all Welsh creatives to join us on this journey of exploration and inspiration.”
This new four-part series will launch today Monday, 11 September on the British Council Wales website: https://wales.britishcouncil.org/en/programmes/arts/breaking-boundaries
The podcast series continues the British Council’s work, building connection, understanding and trust between people in the UK and overseas through arts, education and English language teaching. To find out more about their work in Wales visit https://wales.britishcouncil.org/en or follow on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
