Cross Channel Theatre Reading Group
British theatre professionals select French-language plays which are then translated and given staged readings in London.
The Cross Channel Theatre Reading Group was founded in 2014 by the Institut Français du Royaume-Uni, with support from the SACD, and in partnership with the Centre National du Théâtre, IPR Limited, the Théâtre du Rond-Point and Théâtre Ouvert. Its objective is to promote French-language plays in the U.K. through translations and staged readings of the plays chosen.
The reading committee for the Cross Channel Theatre Reading Group is composed of fifteen French-speaking British theatre professionals. Every year they select three to five plays from among a hundred proposed by its partners. The plays chosen are then translated into English and given staged readings, providing a platform for British producers to assess the potential of the French plays and be inspired to produce them.
Following the success of the first two years, and the growing visibility of the Cross-Channel Theatre Reading Group, the Institut français du Royaume-Uni has joined forces with the well-known Southbank Centre cultural complex for the 2016 events. Through this new partnership the readings will continue to be presented to British producers, with the ultimate goal of being turned into theatrical productions and made available to wider audiences.
Translating the plays, in addition to potential productions in the U.K. and other English-speaking countries, also gives the work broader exposure among English-speaking theatre professionals.
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