About FREE THEATRE CHRISTCHURCH

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Free Theatre Christchurch (est. 1979) is a professional theatre collective based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Peter Falkenberg is the founder and Artistic Director of the company. As the country’s longest running producer of experimental theatre, the company offers a unique experience for artists and audiences not catered for by local commercial theatres or the amateur theatres that imitate them. The Free Theatre works as an ensemble, conceiving work from an initial idea and developing it over a longer period of time. This work often takes place in spaces that are not conventional in terms of theatre. As a professional art theatre, Free Theatre is closer in creative process to contemporary dance companies or international experimental art theatre groups such as Ex Machina or The Wooster Group that create exciting new work by pushing beyond generic boundaries. The company works with artistic collaborators from diverse disciplines and with diverse and unusual texts (literary, filmic, musical, social and cultural) to produce completely new and original work that engages directly with time and place. Core ensemble members undertake years of professional training in different performance techniques and traditions and conduct ongoing company training. Free Theatre ensemble members also regularly participate in and lead professional theatre classes locally, nationally and internationally.
“The rigorous testing out of ideas, of stretching the borders of the genre, a strong commitment to engaging the audience's mind and senses make the
Free Theatre an important player in the international landscape of independent theatre companies."
Professor Dr Thea Brejzek (University of Technology Sydney)