Border Crossings: The First Twenty-Five Years

Abstract

Michael Walling here looks back over the first twenty-five years of Border Crossings, the company he founded in 1995. The article explores the company’s intercultural remit, placing it within the wider context of multicultural and intercultural performance and policy, and the relationship between intercultural theory and practice. Structural questions around finance and organization are juxtaposed with an assessment of the dynamics of cross-cultural devising and the ethics of these collaborations. This article also explores Border Crossings’ text-based work, its curation of the ORIGINS Festival of First Nations and related ceremonies, and the company’s direct engagement with policy in the European Union. It is accompanied by a comprehensive chronology of the company’s productions. Michael Walling is Artistic Director of Border Crossings and Visiting Professor at Rose Bruford College. He has directed numerous productions across four continents, including opera as well as theatre.