FORCED ENTERTAINMENT is an ensemble of artists who have been working together since 1984 producing new works in theatre and performance as well as projects in digital media, video and installation. Widely acclaimed in the UK and Europe, the group's recent work explores ideas of identity, language, theatricality, love, cities and memory. Innovative in form and subversive in content, recent projects include theatre performances, CD-ROMs, video installations and durational performances lasting between six and twenty four hours. Forced Entertainment is regularly funded by Arts Council England and Sheffield City Council.

ARTISTIC POLICY

We make art which explores the highs, lows and complexities of modern life.

Our aim is to make vital interventions in the form of culture, reflecting on the world that surrounds us, asking necessary questions, engaging broad and diverse communities in compelling and provocative ways. Our work spans theatre and performance through digital media, video installation and publication. It is original, contemporary work which develops new forms and old to find the most effective articulation of ideas. Work is shown in a variety of contexts, appropriate to the individual projects, ranging from theatres to public sites and art galleries.

We are committed to a collective practice, to building and maintaining a group which shares a history, skills and an equal involvement in the creative process. Alongside this we involve collaborators from diverse disciplines, introducing fresh approaches and ideas, invigorating our practice.

PHOTO BY: Hugo Glendinning

ARTIST WEBSITE:

www.forcedentertainment.com

PRESS QUOTES:

‘One of the greatest British theatrical exports of the past 20 years... It is [their] ability to smash through the pretences of theatre that has kept the company ahead of the game.’-- The Guardian

‘The best group of stage actors in Britain.’ -- Financial Times

‘With its new definitions of contemporary political theatre, Sheffield based Forced Entertainment has over the years become one of the most important performance groups in Europe.’ -- Der Tagesspiegel

‘One of the most influential new British theatre companies of the last 20 years.’ -- The Guardian

‘Forced Entertainment are probably the most influential performance group working in Britain today.’ -- City Life

‘Their particular style of theatre is almost impossible to categorise, with each piece linked only to a profound sense of poetic melancholy and a desperate desire to make sense of modern life." -- The Big Issue

‘An enormously influential creative force.’ -- Time Out

‘Fearless purveyors of the best in radical theatre and urban mythologies.’ -- The Guardian

‘Loaded with charm and integrity… At the sharp end of the nation’s cultural selfexpression.’ -- Financial Times