Feel Me Flies to Indonesia
It’s felt like this day would never come, but finally… it’s here and on 01 February 2025 we’re off to Indonesia, taking Feel Me to be performed at Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja (PSBK) who have been a very special collaborator on the show!
The creation of Feel Me was 4 years in the making and followed an extensive research and development process beginning with The School of Hope, (TSoH) a socially engaged, digital arts project which saw young people aged 13-25 from 5 countries, including participants from PSBK, share their ideas. TSoH was followed by another project, Empathy Spaces, which was an innovative theatre research project that focused on the professional development of young emerging artists and investigated how we can create ‘spaces of empathy’ for live and digital audiences. Indonesian artists from PSBK worked with the initial cast of the show in a series of online sessions to support their development, inform the creation of Feel Me and explore how their artistic practise translates internationally. The project culminated with a fifth and final online sharing across the oceans on Saturday 28 January 2023, celebrating our findings and showing a sneak peak of the very first Feel Me trailer!
Two years on, (nearly to the day) and our Feel Me team, plus Jemma, Charlotte and tech whizzes Matt and Fraser will be on Indonesian soil preparing to share Feel Me with PSBK’s audiences in Yogyakarta on Friday 07 and Saturday 08 February.
So, not only are the performances in Indonesia an important milestone in the show’s history because Feel Me reaches an international audience for the first time, but also because the tour creates an opportunity for the young people who were actively involved in the creation process, plus new wider communities, to actively engage in this important conversation again as they witness the final piece and see the special collaboration come to fruition.
Jeannie Park, Executive Director of PSBK said: “We are absolutely thrilled to welcome The Paper Birdsand their inspiring work Feel Me to Yogyakarta. This marks a truly special moment, as it brings to realization an incredible four-year journey that, until now, has been exclusively virtual. Beginning in 2021 with The School of Hope workshop and continuing through the Empathy Spaces project in 2022, this collaboration exemplifies the power of connection across borders.
Now, we are honoured to host the final artistic outcome here at PSBK and look forward to sharing Feel Me with our vibrant communities, who played a very meaningful role in the exploration of empathy. I am confident that the greater Yogyakarta community will not only enjoy this deeply engaging experience but also feel inspired to become changemakers in fostering a more peaceful world.”
Septi Hariana, Fundraising Manager PSBK also added: “We have been truly inspired by the collaboration between PSBK and The Paper Birds over the past few years, particularly in the area of audience development. This has been a key priority for us in 2025 and beyond. We are thrilled that Feel Me will connect with its audiences in Indonesia, touching their hearts with a compelling exploration of empathy through The Paper Birds’ distinctive and innovative approach.”
And our very Jemma said: “Like many people we built new relationships and pushed out digital and virtual capabilities during lockdown. One of our most meaningful and impactful new friendships formed during the Covid pandemic was with PSBK. We met at an online event and began talking, and now, over 4 years later and hundreds of emails and hours spent on Zoom, we are thrilled to finally turn our digital relationship into a face-to-face one. This feels particularly special, as we get to not only meet and share work and conversation with the Arts Centre staff, translators and technicians, but with the diverse range of young people and artists we have worked with over the past four years; the participants of our workshops, the facilitators of our project sessions, the steering group who helped form our show, and the artists who we made work alongside in our studios over 7,000 miles apart. It feels very special to be able to celebrate our digital successes in a tangible space together.”
In an exciting culmination to the project pupils from Plume Academy, our local partner school in Maldon, have been invited to engage is a special viewing of the show – live-streamed directly from PSBK. In this unique event, the pupils will be invited to contribute to a cross-continental discussion on empathy, responding directly to the show via their mobile phones alongside the audience in Indonesia, as well as participating in a cross-audience virtual post-show discussion facilitated by the team.
Alex Hell, Head of Drama for Plume Academy said:
“We are delighted to be part of this exciting project, and it will also serve as an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to our students how to use technology in a responsible and engaging way which facilitates the teaching and learning process. This is certainly one example of how, in a controlled environment, technology can support learning and create a flexible, collaborative learning environment for students which enables them to share their views and communicate with an audience in Indonesia on the topic of empathy.”
We are so excited (in case you hadn’t already guessed) and will be sharing our stories, insights and behind the scenes look into this very extraordinary tour, when we will finally take Feel Me to Indonesian audiences and meet our very special collaborators in person for the first time – Do keep an eye out on our socials!!
Feel Me is made in partnership with Theatre Centre. A co-production with New Wolsey Theatre. Supported by Padepokan Seni Bagong Kussudiardja (Indonesia) and The Point Eastleigh.
Empathy Spaces was supported by The British Council.