50 Nights: A Festival Of Stories

WHY STORIES?

Imagination is where humanity feels the spark of the divine. It ignites
both the greatest of human endeavors – art, science, discovery – and
the simplest of pleasures – humor, fantasy, hope. And imagination
burns most brightly in the simple act of storytelling. Stories are how
we imagine ourselves – who we are, where we have come from,
and what we wish to become. We wish to honour that brave, bold,
brilliant spark we all possess, and to revel in theatre’s unique ability
to weave stories as a joyful act of engagement with an audience. As
Oscar Wilde put it, “Theatre is the greatest of all art forms, the most
immediate way in which a human being can share with another the
sense of what it is to be a human being.”
- Tanya Dean, Artistic Director

Because not everyone goes to the theatre, but everyone listens to
stories. Because not everyone makes theatre, but everyone tells
stories. Because there is no form of communication as deeply
ingrained in the human existence. Because it requires us to be
generous with others. Because it requires us to be generous with
ourselves. Because it is the closest thing we have to real magic.
-Reynaldi Lolong, Producer