The International Actors Ensemble is a group of artists who met through the 2015 International Actors’ Fellowship at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. 21 actors from 14 countries participated in a three week residency which culminated in a two-hour multi-lingual and multi-cultural exploration of Shakespeare in the world.
In today’s increasingly polarized world, art has a responsibility to open hearts and minds by crossing borders: national, cultural, and philosophical.
OUR MISSION is to produce classical revivals that integrate international voices and ideas; to show the universality and timelessness of these plays through multi-lingual, multi-ethnic interpretations; and to expand understanding, compassion, and community across international borders.
Our history
In the last few years we have been able to ignite artistic partnerships with people from around the word.
In 2016 Mexico’s creative community is the first to reach out to help start this endeavor, allowing our rehearsal process to begin in the city of Xalapa. We spent one month in residency on a beautiful farm, where we were able to not only work with each other but also with amazing Mexican designers to develop set, lighting and costumes to take on the road. We also encouraged participation in our project through creative and educational workshops. IAE’s innaugural production, Comedy of Errors, premiered in Xalapa and Mexico City in July 2016.
Early 2017 saw IAE actors Fransecsa Savige (Australia) and Natalie Beran (New Zealand) work on the Auckland Outdoor Summer Shakespeare production of As You Like It. Natalie was the producer and Francesca was cast at Rosalind.
A special set of promenade performances then took place at Aucklands Pah Homestead. Read more about Summer Sonnets at the Pah.
In 2017 the International Actors Ensemble was also announced as the designated theatre group for the PyeongChang Cultural Olympiad (Korea), with official selections to the Jeonju International Sori Festival, Goyang Lake Arts Festival and the Seoul Street Arts Festival. Read more about the show Hey No Nonny.
Our future
Future plans for the International Actors Ensemble include a 2018 residency and performance tour in Victoria, Australia (including the cities of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and the Melbourne Fringe Festival).
2019 are in early talks to attend the Bitola Shakespeare Festival in Macedonia and start a European tour and developments are underway for a New Zealand marae performance tour. Reaching into the 2020’s IAE hope to return to Korea for another project and projects in South America and Africa.