Podcasts: Evolution Festival 2019

The world may be saturated with podcasts but I will always be eager for more – particularly when they concern the world of theatre. This three-episode series, an accompaniment to Lyric Hammersmith's 2019 Evolution festival, is no exception. This year, the festival was all about women – giving them space to conduct their voices, and the series delves right into the nitty gritty.

Without revealing too much about the content – I do believe you should listen to each episode – they are nuanced and balanced. The host, Young Lyric assistant Alisha Artry, is personable and inviting.

The production quality is not fantastic; some dialogue is lost to the background music, and Artry doesn't introduce herself in any of the episodes – she only mentions her name at the end. But these things don't necessarily matter; it is not, after all, supposed to be a streamlined product to rival Apple chart-toppers, but rather an open discussion about something you might not have considered.

The first episode sees Artry joined by writer of Feels T.D. Moyo and actor Cornell S. Johnson, for a conversation about black male representation in theatre. What does theatre need to do to break convention? Johnson responds: writers and directors need to ask what theatre is and whom it's for. With many mainstream productions subsidised by white audiences, plays are then constructed for them – but theatre, as it did in Greece thousands of years ago, should serve as a mirror for society.

In the second episode Artry is joined by Divya Satwani, producer of Cut the Bakwaas and co-founder of The Performance Lab, one of the biggest creative collectives of its kind. She talks through Cut the Bakwaas, and is joined by poet and spoken word artist BananaShama.

In episode three, Artry welcomes Bashiie Baptiste, writer of Memories; director Prime, who is the artistic director of Prime Presents; and Tobi Kyeremateng, producer of theatre, festivals and workshops. In this episode, the panel explore Baptiste's play, which follows three young women in the care system.

Though just three 20-minute episodes, the series offers hope for young professionals who feel theatre is closed to them, or difficult to navigate. Baptiste says: ‘There will always be people out there who will tell you there's no way to do it – but there are people out there [who] want to help you.’

In all, it presents an inviting window into the creative hive behind the Evolution line-up. Simple by design, it would offer a suitable accompaniment to any student looking to explore female and BAME voices within theatre.

The Lyric's Evolution 2019 podcast series is available on Soundcloud: https://tinyurl.com/TDSu2Pod