Gate Generations
A digital series by our Young Associates inspired by the Gate’s 40th anniversary. Five plays from our archive have been unearthed. Five pieces follow. Some re-imagined, some newly written, all presented for a new audience, in a new decade.
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DAMNED FOR DESPAIR
A scene from DAMNED FOR DESPAIR by Tirso de Molina
Translated by Laurence Boswell
Performed and directed by Rufus Love
I WENT TO YOUR GRAVE TODAY
A poem written in response to DEATH AND THE PLOUGHMAN by Johannes Von Saaz
Translated by Michael West
Poem written and performed by Lauren Ziebart
GEORGE
An audio play inspired by George Orwell’s DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON by Hosanna Johnson
Directed by Yasmin Hafesji
Performed by Catherine Chalk, Barbara Smith and Lauren Ziebart
SUNSET BABY
A blog post in response to SUNSET BABY by Dominique Morriseau. Read it here.
By Kwame Owusu
PHAEDRA’S LOVE
An excerpt from PHAEDRA’S LOVE by Sarah Kane
Directed by Rohan Gotobed
Performed by Catherine Chalk and Hosanna Johnson
© 2020. This video recording was made by special arrangement with Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and the Sarah Kane Estate [Licensor]. All rights are reserved. This performance is authorised for non-commercial use only. By accepting this video recording, you agree not to authorise or permit the recording to be copied, distributed, broadcast or otherwise exploited in whole or in part in any media now known or hereafter developed.
Artists
Yasmin Hafesji is Associate Director at the Gate. She was a member of the Young Vic Introduction to Directing Programme 2017, led by Natalie Abrahami.
As director, theatre includes: George (Gate Generations, Gate Theatre); LETTERS (Gate Theatre Online, Co-Director), Rhino(s) (Lyric Evolution Festival, Lyric Hammersmith); Rashida (Fresh Direction: Replay project, as part of the Young Vic Directors Program, Young Vic, Maria); Two Heads and a Hand & The Jokers (Shubbak Festival Staged Reading, Gate Theatre); A Little Iraqi (The Upsetters Takeover Festival, Bunker Theatre); Watch Me Dance! (White City Youth Theatre Summer Project, Bush Theatre); Young Writers Group Showcase (Bush Theatre, Studio).
As assistant director, theatre includes: Women Beware Women (Globe Theatre); Fairview (Young Vic Theatre); Dear Elizabeth (Gate Theatre); The Mob Reformers (Lyric Hammersmith).
Kwame is part of Gate Generations
Kwame Owusu is a director, writer and actor. He is currently Resident Assistant Director at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. He recently graduated with First Class Honours in Drama and English Literature from The University of Manchester, and is now studying on an MFA in Theatre Directing at Birkbeck, University of London.
His directing credits include Pomona (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), The Wolf From The Door (John Thaw Studio Theatre), and Whiskey Wednesdays (Kickitdown Productions). He was a Trainee Assistant Director on the world premiere of Rimini Protokoll’s Utopolis at Manchester International Festival 2019.
His assistant directing credits include Running with Lions (Lyric Hammersmith / Talawa Theatre Company).
His acting credits include The Letters Project (Gate Theatre), Dear Elizabeth (Gate Theatre), Lost Boys (Unity Theatre), and Waiting for Godot (Theatre Royal Brighton).
Catherine is part of Gate Generations
Catherine is an actor, writer and producer based in South London. After moving to London from a small horse-racing village she trained with the National Youth Theatre, became a Young Associate at the Gate Theatre and is now studying on the MFA Acting course at LAMDA. Her main ambitions are to develop exciting new writing productions and create a more inclusive and accessible industry for audiences and creatives alike.
Rohan is part of Gate Generations
Rohan Gotobed (he/him) is a director and writer from Poole. He loves to explore historical and political narratives and empower the contemporary Dorset voice onstage. His first visit to the Gate was to see ‘Mephisto [A Rhapsody]’, becoming immediately transfixed by the theatre and its manifesto. After training at Birkbeck and the Unicorn Theatre, he is now the Artistic Director of Dorsetborn, a theatre company creating new work born out of Dorset’s unique landscape and heritage.
His directing credits include Georgia and the Iceberg (Dorsetborn), Out of Nowhere (National Youth Theatre), Play Before Birth (also writer), Last Night in Europe, and About Lester (also writer) (Coast to Coast). As an actor his credits include Slaughterhouse Rulez, Casualty, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. He’s also won £5 on Bargain Hunt.
Roberta is part of Gate Generations
Roberta Livingston (she/her) is an actor and writer of Caribbean descent. Her recent credits include The Snow Dragon at Derby Theatre and Dear Elizabeth at the Gate Theatre. As a writer, her play Precious Little Thing was broadcast on Radio 4 and she was just part of the Almeida Theatre’s Anthem writers group. She is also co-founder of Speaks of Rivers, a collective of black female theatremakers dedicated to making work for young audiences.
Hosanna is part of Gate Generations
Hosanna joined the Gate Young Associates in 2019. She is a theatre creative with an interest in acting and writing who is currently studying on the Foundation Acting course at ALRA. As a writer, Hosanna has written monologues and short plays both independently and through various writers’ workshops and short courses and has performed stand-up comedy. Hosanna also has experience working backstage and enjoys working with props. Previously, Hosanna was Technical Theatre Apprentice at the Royal Opera House (2018-2020) and became a member of Arts Emergency’s first Youth Collective in 2020 (having been a young member of Arts Emergency since 2017).
Theatre credits include: Free Solo (Hen and Chickens Theatre and Tristan Bates Theatre, Assistant Stage Manager [Work Experience]), Annie (Piccadilly Theatre, ATG Work Experience].
Lauren is part of Gate Generations
Lauren is a Brit school trained actor, writer and producer from London. Three of Lauren’s short plays have been performed at London Fringe Theatres, she has performed with the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation funded Bridge Theatre Company with a full run at the Oval House and the Brighton Fringe and spent six months touring children’s theatre in Italy. Alongside her theatre work she runs an Etsy business crocheting bespoke philosophers.
Barbara is part of Gate Generations
Barbara Joan Smith is an actress from South London. She played the leading role of Beth in ‘White Girl’ directed by Nadia Latif which was nominated for Best Short film at the BFI London Film festival. She has also guest starred in BBC’s Call the Midwife, Casualty and Doctors. She performed in a new play called ‘Unburied’ at the Bunker Theatre last year whose run ended the week before the country locked-down for the first time. She is a member of The Gate’s Young Associates and The National Youth Theatre.
Rufus is part of Gate Generations
Rufus is an actor and writer from South East London. He trained on the MA Acting course at Mountview.
(he/she)
Amin is part of Gate Generations
Amin Ali has been a young associate at the Gate theatre since 2017. He’s a screen, stage and voice actor. He has also started directing, writing and producing.