Introducing...

Iwan Brioc is director of The Republic of the Imagination, an International Network of Creative Citizens that together are exploring the possibilities of Context Oriented Theatre. Context Oriented Theatre is a new approach to applied theatre that Iwan has developed through 20 years of working in the field. It employs conventional and non-conventional applied theatre methods to invite consciousness of the context rather than the content of experience; that which is experiencing rather than that which is experienced.

Iwan is also Artistic Director of Theatr Cynefin (est. 2000), a UK based platform for community activism through theatre. The activism takes on political, social, psychological or spiritual form, according to circumstance, and is always in the direction of greater awareness and freedom.

Iwan won a Creative Wales Award in 2006 for his work with Sensory Labyrinth Community Theatre, a new methodology which he is developing, inspired by the work of Theatre Anthropologist Enrique Vargas. This is after creating over 20 Labyrinth performances with Cynefin. All of which have had a profound impact on audiences and communities in Wales, Portugal, Ireland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Hungary and Italy.

Cynefin’s 2005 project ‘Caerdroia’, saw the building of the biggest Labyrinth in the world in a forest in North Wales and is the training site for its Rites of Passage training for young people. It is also the site of regular performances by Cynefin with international casts.

Prior to this he was Co-Director of Theatr Fforwm Cymru (1997 – 2004), Wales national Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). Whilst there he developed the project ‘Rehearsal for Reality’, which was the first ‘national’ Legislative Theatre project in the world. Before that he worked as a freelance performer and production manager in Theatre in Education and over his career has had the privilege to study with several teachers including Augusto Boal, Adrian Jackson, Douglas Harding, Tony Parsons, Tony Wiseman and David Bohm.

Iwan is one of the founding members of two European Networks. The first, ‘Drums for Peace’ (est. 1999) is an international network of artists and creative youth workers who bring together disadvantaged young people on youth exchanges with the challenge of creating a performance in 5 days. The second is INFACCT (International Network for Awareness, Creative Citizenship and Transformation) with member organizations in 15 countries, which aims to promote Context Oriented Theatre.

At various times he has sat on the board of Wales Association of Community Artists, Voluntary Arts Wales and the National Youth Theatre of Wales Advisory Panel.

He has qualifications in film, psychology, youth work, dramatherapy and chi kung and is currently studying an MSc in Mindfulness based approaches to healthcare.

When not travelling he lives in Belgrade with Ballerina, Aleksandra Markovic and her two children Ilija and Mina and has three children of his own, Maia, Osian and Daniel, who live in Wales.