Genesis Foundation Podcast Series

Stephanie Bain, Literary Manager at the Almeida Theatre, talks to Iman Qureshi, Amy Ng, and Sami Ibrahim about their writing practices, how they developed as playwrights throughout and beyond lockdown, and the process of writing stories for big stages. The three playwrights, who were part of the inaugural cohort for the 'Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme', discuss a play they developed within the programme, and reflect on the creation of new work in the post-pandemic theatre industry.

Jim Fortune, songwriter and composer, and Marc Tritschler, Creative Director of Music at the National Theatre, delve into how they developed the music of Hex, the National Theatre’s latest musical based on the Sleeping Beauty folk tale, which Jim began developing within the Genesis Music Theatre Programme. The pair break down all the components that go into developing a new musical, highlight key songs from Hex, exploring the evolution from motif to song, and discuss the additional challenges that arise from music theatre development in a pandemic. This episode features musical interludes from the Hex soundtrack.

George Turvey, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Papatango Theatre Company and winner of the 2022 Genesis Foundation Prize, and Playwright Samuel Bailey discuss the impact of both formal and informal mentors, as well as the mentoring aspect of their own multi-faceted relationship that stemmed from producing Samuel’s play Shook through the Papatango New Writing Prize. The pair also look ahead at their next collaboration, as part of the Papatango Theatre’s new scheme, the Playwright-Player Commission, which is supported by George’s Genesis Foundation Prize fund.

As part of a 3-part series featuring participants in the inaugural Genesis Jewish Book Week Emerging Writers’ Programme, George Prochnik, author of New York Times "Editor's Choice” and Wingate Prize short-listed Stranger in a Strange Land: Searching for Gershom Scholem and Jerusalem and Guy Stagg, author of Edward Stanford Travel Memoir of the Year 2019 The Crossway, explore biographical writing and how one can use it not only as a lens into the subject or period, but also into oneself. They particularly focus on Guy’s second book in development, Triptych, which is a group biography, focusing on Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, French philosopher Simone Weil and Welsh poet and painter David Jones.

Acclaimed novelist Tracy Chevalier, best known for her second novel Girl with a Pearl Earring, which was later adapted into a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth, and Dr Karen Skinazi, Senior Lecturer and the Director of Liberal Arts at the University of Bristol, are participants in the inaugural Genesis Jewish Book Week Emerging Writers' Programme, which champions and supports selected emerging writers in the UK through mentorship and bursaries. The pair discuss their mentor/mentee relationship and how it supports Karen as she writes her latest novel, Ness. They also share why they enjoy writing about the past and the challenges it can bring.

Jennifer Tang, Associate Director & Genesis Fellow at the Young Vic, and Abdul Shayek, Artistic Director/Joint CEO of Tara Theatre & member of the Genesis Kickstart Fund Advisory Council, discuss all things money-related. They particularly focus on freelance artists, how they determine what their work is worth and how society’s view of theatre and art impacts artists’ finances.

Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, Chief Executive of UK Music and member of the Genesis Kickstart Fund Advisory Council, and Ed Vaizey (Lord Vaizey of Didcot), member of the House of Lords, look ahead to a post-Covid cultural sector. They discuss how we can move from the support phase to the recovery phase, the need for protection of freelancers in the arts and why the arts will power both the economic and social recovery of the UK.

Renowned dance figures Farooq Chaudhry (co-founder & Producer of Akram Khan Company and member of the Genesis Kickstart Fund Advisory Council) and Viviana Durante (Artistic Director of the English National Ballet School) discuss the importance of always remaining a student, the wonders of collaboration in dance, and the need to embrace risk when creating a piece of work.

Nina Steiger, Head of Play Development at the National Theatre, joins Artistic Director and member of the Genesis Kickstart Fund Advisory Council Rufus Norris in a lively discussion about this febrile time for theatre. Together, they discuss the crisis the sector is facing and how new work development and programming at the National Theatre is directly affected. They look at the future, at the need to refresh the canon and demistify the process of developing new work, with a focus on music theatre.

Ahead of next year's 10th anniversary for Genesis Sixteen, our young artists scheme for 18-23 year olds in collaboration with The Sixteen, The Sixteen's conductor Harry Christophers speaks to former participants about their evolution from young artist to professional, the digital renovation of the classical music industry, and using digital technology to pioneer new forms of performance and collaboration, like Wright's renowned Stay at Home Choir.

As part of a series of cultural events to celebrate arts and culture in the City of London, hosted by The Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman William Russell and the Genesis Foundation and chaired by James Jolly, Sir Simon Rattle and the Lord Mayor came together for a cultural conversation. They discussed the impact of Covid-19 on the classical music industry, the resilience and proactivity of the London Symphony Orchestra and Berlin Philharmonic, and how the LSO's East London Academy is nurturing a new generation of artistic talent that looks more like London. 

Playwright, producer and writer David Lan launched the Genesis Directors' Network, Future Directors Award and Fellowship while he was Artistic Director of the Young Vic. He speaks to poet and educator Roger Robinson whose collection of poems, A Portable Paradise won the both TS Eliot Poetry Prize in 2019, they speak about a sense of place, positive discrimination and whether or not it is possible to transcend one's own experience of the world.

The seventh podcast in the series features a conversation between Rupert Goold, Artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, and James Graham, playwright. For this second episode recorded mid-lockdown, the pair ask the timely question: "What does it do, a play?" They discuss the importance of theatre as an artform, and the need for artists to be supported in order to write big plays.  The Genesis Podcast Series is being produced in the run-up to the Genesis Foundation’s 20th anniversary, and consists of conversations between artists and thought leaders presented by broadcaster James Jolly.

The sixth podcast in the series features a conversation between Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic director of the Young Vic Theatre, and Sir David Adjaye, architect. For this first episode recorded mid-lockdown, the pair discuss the importance of reinvention to build the art of tomorrow, the importance of knowing where you come from to know where to go next.  The Genesis Podcast Series is being produced in the run-up to the Genesis Foundation’s 20th anniversary, and consists of conversations between artists and thought leaders presented by broadcaster James Jolly.

The fifth podcast in the series features a conversation between Rebecca Salter, President of the Royal Academy of Arts, and Barry Smale, psychotherapist, trauma specialist and lecturer. Focusing on resilience, the pair discuss the programme Salter is starting at the Royal Academy with her Genesis Prize award. The Genesis Podcast Series is being produced in the run-up to the Genesis Foundation’s 20th anniversary, and consists of conversations between artists and thought leaders presented by broadcaster James Jolly.

One of the musicians who has been supported by the Genesis Foundation is the conductor Harry Christophers, whose choir The Sixteen he founded in 1977 and which he has built into one of the UK’s finest choirs performing and recording music commissioned by the Genesis Foundation. In this Genesis Foundation podcast, Harry was joined by the actor, broadcaster and singer Alexander Armstrong, and they discovered they were both choristers in their youth. They go on to discuss the benefits and joys of singing choral music, especially from a young age, and the necessity to nurture the next generation of choral singers and composers. The Genesis Podcast Series is being produced in the run-up to the Genesis Foundation’s 20th anniversary, and consists of conversations between artists and thought leaders presented by broadcaster James Jolly.

In this Genesis 20 podcast the artist Grayson Perry is in conversation with Hadrian Garrard, who received the Genesis Foundation’s Genesis Prize in 2016 for his work as Director of Create London, the award-winning organisation that roots artists in their communities, drawing a sustainable model for artistic creation and funding within local groups. Grayson Perry is working with the architectural practice APPARATA on an affordable housing scheme with integrated studios for artists in Barking in East London, a scheme being driven by Create London, of which Perry is an associate. For more information on the Genesis Foundation, click here.

Sir James MacMillan and Cardinal Vincent Nichols discuss the Holy Spirit and MacMillan's Fifth Symphony. Presented by James Jolly.  For more information on Sir James MacMillan's work with the Genesis Foundation, click here.  www.genesisfoundation.org.uk

John Studzinski, Founder and Chairman of the Genesis Foundation and Jan Dalley, Arts Editor of the Financial Times discuss philanthropy. https://genesisfoundation.org.uk/