World Factory at HomeMcr

Delving into the murky history and contemporary reality of the garment industry

By Lee Isherwood | 1 December 2016

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Delving into the murky history and contemporary reality of the garment industry, World Factory provokes a conversation about consumer capitalism and ethical trade in relation to China. The original production of World Factory was created and produced by METIS Projects in co-production with the New Wolsey Theatre,the Young Vic, and Company of Angels, and first performed at the New Wolsey Theatre and Young Vic in 2015.

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Considering that adults make approximately 35,000 decisions per day, World Factory focuses on concrete, realtime decisions based on realworld stories. Through a scenario-based card game, audience members become managers of a Chinese clothing factory, calling the shots on profits, products and workers – and deciding for themselves what success looks like. Which card will you draw? Will you be an ethical factory owner or will profits always come first? In the rag trade, can anyone ever really win?

Interweaving real-life accounts of mass production both here and abroad with a moving score, video and live performance, World Factory has been consciously created as a show for everyone, which means that while ‘factories’ have to make collective decisions, the level of audience participation is at one’s own discretion.

“World Factory pulls the curtains back on how small decisions contribute to a much bigger picture of exploitation,” says co-creator and director Zoë Svendsen. “This isn’t a show about where you buy your clothes, but rather about the global system in which we all live.”

World Factory has been developed through a collaboration between UK-based theatre company METIS and Shanghai-based Chinese director Zhao Chuan and his company Grass Stage. The set design is by Simon Daw, the lighting design is by Guy Hoare, with sound by Matthias Kispert and additional music by David Paul Jones.

Thu 8 December 2016 19:30
Fri 9 December 2016 19:30
Sat 10 December 2016 14:00, 19:30

TICKETS
£20 (concessions available)
World Factory Team Ticket Deal – Fancy playing World Factory with your friends? Get a team of six people together and save £2 per ticket. Tickets must be purchased together (subject to availability).

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