Greenwich+Docklands International Festival directors get Olympic go-ahead (From East London and West Essex Guardian Series)

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival directors get Olympic go-ahead

12:42pm Friday 24th June 2011 in Highlights By Melanie Dakin

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has announced today, on the opening day of this year’s Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, the appointment of its director, Bradley Hemmings, as joint artistic director for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Bradley will work alongside Graeae Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Jenny Sealey on the creation of the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Paralympic Games.

He says: “I feel incredibly excited and privileged to have the chance to work with artists and Paralympians on a Ceremony, which, perhaps uniquely, has the power to transform perceptions.”

Bradley is the artistic director and chief executive of Greenwich+Docklands Festivals, an organisation with a national and international reputation for creating extraordinary outdoor arts events. Working with a wide range of artists, he has broken new ground in outdoor performance, creating and commissioning new outdoor work reflecting contemporary Britain, reaching out to the widest possible audiences.

At the heart of his work is the annual Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, one of the country’s leading festivals of street theatre and spectacle. This year’s Festival takes place 24 June – 2 July and features a nine day programme of free inclusive outdoor performing arts and a contemporary evocation of the once notorious Greenwich Fair.

He has been particularly interested in the development of a new and emerging body of outdoor work by Deaf and disabled artists, many of which, including Graeae’s The Iron Man by Ted Hughes, directed by Jenny Sealey, will be presented at this year’s GDIF.

Speaking before the London premiere of The Iron Man, which opens today at this year’s GDIF, Jenny Sealey says: "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to work collaboratively with leading Deaf, disabled and non-disabled artists to create a unique, unforgettable spectacle."

Jenny Sealey is the artistic director of Graeae Theatre Company where she has directed all productions and also designed four, including Blasted by Sarah Kane. The work is fuelled by her passion to find a new theatrical voice which explores how the aesthetics of access (sign language and audio description, diverse physicality and differing voices) can be integral to a production. In 2009 Jenny was awarded an MBE for services to disability arts.

Details: www.london2012.com

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival 2011 June 24–July 2, www.festival.org