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World Factory

11 May – 6 Jun 2015
Directed & Designed by Zoe Svendsen and Simon Daw
Game by Zoe Svendsen, Simon Daw, Brian Walters and Kate O’Connor

Made in China.
Sold in Britain.
Worn by you.

From the factory floor to the catwalk, from Shanghai to London, ‘World Factory’ weaves together stories of people connected by the global textile industry.

Riffing on our awareness of mass production and vulture capitalism, Zoë Svendsen and Simon Daw invite you to play a provocative game. Which card will you draw? Will you be an ethical factory owner?  Or will profits always come first? In the rag trade, can anyone ever really win?

Featuring stunning video and a powerful score, ‘World Factory’ is a thought-provoking investigation of fast fashion.

The original production was created and produced by METIS in co-production with the New Wolsey Theatre, Young Vic and Boundless Theatre.

‘World Factory’ is supported using funds from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Cambridge Humanities Research Grants Scheme, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin and the Sino-British Fellowship Trust, as well as with the support of the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich; Young Vic; Company of Angels; Free Word; Centre For Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA); CSV Media Clubhouse, Ipswich; National Theatre Studio; Grass Stage; and the MPhil in Public Policy, Digital Humanities Network, CRASSH, Judith E Wilson Fund and the English Faculty, all University of Cambridge. BICC (the British Inter-University Chinese Centre funded by the AHRC) has supported research for events in Manchester and Shanghai. The University of Leeds has provided expert advice. The digital quilt and app technology is provided by the FusionWorks.

This is a past production

Venues

New Wolsey Theatre
Young Vic

A sharp, ingenious and subtly disturbing piece of political theatre. Financial Times
A smart, complex and genuinely thought-provoking exercise in game theatre. The Stage
It’s a stunningly presented experience. Time Out

Creatives

Kate O’Connor Associate Direction

Kate is a director with a background in new plays, interactive and devised theatre.

From 2013 she has been part of the team on METIS’ ‘World Factory’ (Young Vic/New Wolsey 2015, tour 2016), as Co-Writer and Associate Director. She has directed three shows for nationwide tours with Frozen Light, who create multi-sensory work for audiences with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.

Other directing includes: ‘Beauty and the Beast, Monster in the Hall’ (GLYPT), ‘The Future is Boring’ (CPT), ‘Something Else’ (Ovalhouse), ‘Respect’ (ALRA), ‘The Wake’ (Theatre in the Mill), ‘Pellegrino’s Amazing Lobotomat’ (Bush Bazaar, the Bush), ‘1912’ (Sugarhouse Studios), Africker (Hoxton Hall), ‘Pathological’ (Etcetera Theatre), ‘Anatomy Act’ (Edinburgh Fringe) and ‘The Jetsam’ (CPT).

Assisting/ associate work includes: ‘Travesties’ (Menier Chocolate Factory/Apollo), ‘Minefield’ (LIFT/ Royal Court), ‘Trojan Women’ (Gate) and ‘Tell them that I am young and beautiful’ (Arcola).

She trained with Philippe Gaulier, is a Creative Associate at the Gate Theatre, member of Out of the Wings translation collective at Kings College, and has twice been a finalist in the JMK Award.