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Jo Mackie is the international touring producer for The Rest of our Lives by Jo Fong and George Orange. She told us about their experience bringing the show to Brighton Dome for caravan assembly 2024.
caravan: What was your experience with international touring or exchange before working with caravan?
Jo: It was a massively mixed bag, and often very unpredictable. I worked in Belgium a lot and had good relationships with venues there, so before Covid I was at a point when I could easily call on friends and friends of friends as part of a network. Otherwise, it often felt like being a tiny fish in a very big ocean - lots was dependent on luck.
c: What changed for you by taking part in caravan assembly?
J: A lot! So many doors have been opened up as both a direct, and indirect result of being at the Assembly, and all the events organised as part of it. We now have a three to six venue North American tour on the table for 2026, and a residency in Indonesia in 2025 followed by performance at Homo Novus in Latvia. And many more indirect ‘beginnings of things’ as a result of conversations that happened at the Assembly.
"It’s a world away from those pitching things you all do as an early career artist or producer, which can often feel impenetrable, unequal and cold."
There is so much to learn and understand about different cultural ways of working and you can’t shortcut that - knowing people personally and having had opportunities to bond over shared values and so on, is priceless. caravan has been infinitely more than just show bookings. As a result of the Assembly, I went to Den Bosch and connected with Sarah Frankland over the weekend, who has been fundamental (often in very non-tangible ways) at helping us shape the North American tour. It’s the informal connections that you can’t really quantify, which come from programmes like caravan. It’s a world away from those pitching things you all do as an early career artist or producer, which can often feel impenetrable, unequal and cold. It’s the informal connections that you can’t really quantify, which come from programmes like caravan.
c: Why is this change important?
"Many practical changes have resulted from our being a part of caravan, but as important are the friendships made and the intangible feeling that you’re part of a mycelium of knowledge, support, kindness, and friendship."
J: It’s the opening up of a whole new network of like-minded people. Not just like-minded in terms of artistic values - in the main my experience of the work presented as part of caravan is that’s it’s boundary pushing and innovative, but also that it challenges in lots of ways (big and small P political). Challenging injustices, playing out acts of radical resistance including of kindness and joy, and lots more. But (and probably not surprisingly) there is something about the ethos of the programmers and performers involved - caring about processes as much as product, trying to do things differently against the backdrop of a world in poly crisis.
We need to listen deeply to each others experiences more than ever before and hold each other up, both practically and in every other way. Many practical changes have resulted from our being a part of caravan, but as important are the friendships made and the intangible feeling that you’re part of a mycelium of knowledge, support, kindness, and friendship.
About caravan assembly
The assembly is a biennial event presented in partnership with Brighton Festival. We bring together the best of England’s contemporary theatre and performance with national and international programmers and producers. Our goal is to foster the development of deeper connections and relationships among all participants, paving the way for a more inclusive and collaborative creative landscape. Featuring performances by the participating artists and companies as well as thought-provoking pitches and presentations, caravan assembly is curated to ignite the imagination and generate lasting impact for artists and delegates.
Applications to take part in cavaran assembly 2026 will open soon. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to find out.
