Songs of Neighbours and Strangers

Partners: Das Clarks (Newport, Wales) and Cargo-Theater (Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg)

Image © Jennifer Rohrbacher

"Das Clarks and Cargo have much in common in terms of our participatory social arts practices, love of music, shared values around inclusion and empowerment, and our desire to make work that encourages contemplation and action. We are excited to have this opportunity to explore ways to support and learn from one another, especially in relation to working with local neighbourhoods and people with experience of the prison system."

Das Clarks and Cargo-Theater

About the partners

Based in the post-industrial city of Newport, Das Clarks have been making its own brand of theatre, performance art and music for more than 20 years. Our work is playful and interactive, favouring a DIY approach that makes the most of locally available spaces, materials and people!

We have extensive experience of bringing people together to acknowledge and discuss social issues, challenge preconceived notions and inspire change using a range of methods. These include creating and producing original work and site-specific events, empowering non-performers to tell their stories, and delivering participatory arts in unusual settings such as the streets of Newport and the residential wings of a local prison.

We hope that our work has the power to enable people to see themselves, their environment and their futures in unexpected and exciting ways.

Cargo-Theatre was founded in Freiburg in 1992. For over 30 years, our work has been intertwined with exchanges between citizens and civil society on a local and international level, including those living in close proximity to our venue in the Haslach neighbourhood.

We utilise a range of established and innovative methods to encourage participation in the arts and empower people to engage with issues such as interculture, climate justice and biodiversity.

‘Cargo’ stands for movement. We are concerned with a constantly changing concept of theatre in a constantly changing society. In our productions, we use different forms of expression and play with objects, bodies, materials, expectations, boundaries and the audience.

The starting point for all our productions are not prefabricated theatre texts, but topics that are close to our hearts as theatre makers and that are ‘burning under our nails’.