Brexit Stage Left: The theatre festival that lets audiences guess the playwright's nationality

A new writing festival is hoping to challenge audience expectations of European theatre by keeping the identity of the playwrights secret.

Brexit Stage Left festival at the Yard Theatre in January will present eight plays by playwrights from across Europe, asking the audience afterwards if they can identify the nationality of the writer.

In the festival, the playwrights will address the challenges Europe is currently facing. Shows include a mockumentary about the resurgence of the far-right, and an exploration of our anxieties towards newcomers.

The writers of the provocative works include Benjamin M. Bukowski (Poland), Eve Leigh (UK), Fausto Paravidino (Italy), Gianina Carbunariu (Romania), Saara Turunen (Finland), Aleksa Okanovic (Denmark), Maria Milisavljevic (Germany) and Frederic Sonntag (France).

The five-day festival is part of a British Academy funded initiative looking at the lack of contemporary European theatre in the UK. It is accompanied by a free discussion at the Yard Theatre on January 9 entitled “What are we going to do about keeping European theatre alive on British stages?”

Brexit Stage Left runs at the Yard Theatre from January 7-11. For more information, including tickets, visit yardtheatre.co.uk