Neworld Theatre

Neworld Theatre creates, produces, and tours new plays, performance events and digital works. Our activities occur primarily on the unceded, traditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, extending across Turtle Island and beyond. Over our 25-year history, we have produced, presented and toured 5-8 works annually at festivals and theatres in over 40 cities and 10 countries worldwide. Our motto is ‘plays well with others’. Collaboration and working across perceptions of difference are central to our ethic and the way we work. Our programming responds to the creative interests of Neworld’s core artists and opportunities that emerge in relationship to other artists and organizations. This commitment to collaboration also drives the community-engaged programs we deliver and the multiple ways we work with peers in the creative sector to develop cultural infrastructure and sectoral capacity both in the city of Vancouver, and across the country. We are committed to centering stories and perspectives that seek to dismantle systems of oppression. Vital to this is an interrogation of whose stories are being told and who does the telling. We embrace the conflict we believe is inherent in any authentic consideration of power, privilege and access. We believe the creative tools and artistic processes of theatre are powerful ways of exploring who we are, our lived experiences, and offer practical modes for enacting change. This leads to intersectional collaboration, broadening access and deepening engagement. Our work is provoked by curiosity, asking difficult unanswerable questions and carries with it a real, true potential of failure. With this commitment to risk/failure comes a commitment to care. Humour, vulnerability and invention are key strategies we use to engage audiences.