TRAVIS ALABANZA
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TRAVIS ALABANZA
Since We Last Kissed.
I grew up in Bristol. Hillfields to be exact. A forgotten estate on the outskirts of the city. I discovered so many new parts of Bristol at the same time as discovering my queerness. New partners, serious ones or serious one-night-stands, would lead me to new alley ways, or clubs or parks. When I recently moved back to Bristol, it felt like everything had changed, and also had stayed the same. It felt so familiar yet distant. So, I reached out to some people I have kissed, and we recreated that kiss at a spot of Bristol we cared about, and I asked them: “how has Bristol changed since we last kissed?”
I grew up in Bristol. Hillfields to be exact. A forgotten estate on the outskirts of the city. I discovered so many new parts of Bristol at the same time as discovering my queerness. New partners, serious ones or serious one-night-stands, would lead me to new alley ways, or clubs or parks. When I recently moved back to Bristol, it felt like everything had changed, and also had stayed the same. It felt so familiar yet distant. So, I reached out to some people I have kissed, and we recreated that kiss at a spot of Bristol we cared about, and I asked them: “how has Bristol changed since we last kissed?”
Travis is an award-winning writer, performer and theatre maker. Born in Bristol and recently relocating back to the city, Alabanza is fascinated by how the city is changing and about the things that will never change. Whether creating theatre, live art, or poetry, the performer’s work shows those with marginalised identities deserve to be both seen and heard.
Alabanza’s writing has appeared in the BBC, Guardian, Vice, Gal-Dem, in numerous anthologies including Black and Gay In the UK, and previously had a fortnightly column in the Metro. After being the youngest recipient of the artist in residence programme at Tate Galleries, Alabanza’s debut show Burgerz toured internationally to venues including The Southbank Centre, London, UK; Mostra Internacional de Teatro de São Paulo, Brazil; HAU Berlin, Germany; and the Edinburgh Fringe where the show won the Total Theatre award (2019).
In 2020, their theatre show Overflow debuted at the Bush Theatre to widespread acclaim and later streamed online in over 22 countries, and most recently their new show Sound of the Underground was staged by the Royal Court in London (2022). Their work surrounding gender, trans identity and race has been noted internationally, including talks given at the University of Oxford; Harvard University; and the University of Bristol. Noted for their distinct voice, in 2019 the Evening Standard listed them as one of “the 25 most influential under 25-year-olds”; as well as being listed in the Dazed100; The Guardian asking if ‘they are the future of theatre’, and recently listed in the Forbes “30 Under 30” List.
Travis is an award-winning writer, performer and theatre maker. Born in Bristol and recently relocating back to the city, Alabanza is fascinated by how the city is changing and about the things that will never change. Whether creating theatre, live art, or poetry, the performer’s work shows those with marginalised identities deserve to be both seen and heard.
Alabanza’s writing has appeared in the BBC, Guardian, Vice, Gal-Dem, in numerous anthologies including Black and Gay In the UK, and previously had a fortnightly column in the Metro. After being the youngest recipient of the artist in residence programme at Tate Galleries, Alabanza’s debut show Burgerz toured internationally to venues including The Southbank Centre, London, UK; Mostra Internacional de Teatro de São Paulo, Brazil; HAU Berlin, Germany; and the Edinburgh Fringe where the show won the Total Theatre award (2019).
In 2020, their theatre show Overflow debuted at the Bush Theatre to widespread acclaim and later streamed online in over 22 countries, and most recently their new show Sound of the Underground was staged by the Royal Court in London (2022). Their work surrounding gender, trans identity and race has been noted internationally, including talks given at the University of Oxford; Harvard University; and the University of Bristol. Noted for their distinct voice, in 2019 the Evening Standard listed them as one of “the 25 most influential under 25-year-olds”; as well as being listed in the Dazed100; The Guardian asking if ‘they are the future of theatre’, and recently listed in the Forbes “30 Under 30” List.
Alabanza’s writing has appeared in the BBC, Guardian, Vice, Gal-Dem, in numerous anthologies including Black and Gay In the UK, and previously had a fortnightly column in the Metro. After being the youngest recipient of the artist in residence programme at Tate Galleries, Alabanza’s debut show Burgerz toured internationally to venues including The Southbank Centre, London, UK; Mostra Internacional de Teatro de São Paulo, Brazil; HAU Berlin, Germany; and the Edinburgh Fringe where the show won the Total Theatre award (2019).
In 2020, their theatre show Overflow debuted at the Bush Theatre to widespread acclaim and later streamed online in over 22 countries, and most recently their new show Sound of the Underground was staged by the Royal Court in London (2022). Their work surrounding gender, trans identity and race has been noted internationally, including talks given at the University of Oxford; Harvard University; and the University of Bristol. Noted for their distinct voice, in 2019 the Evening Standard listed them as one of “the 25 most influential under 25-year-olds”; as well as being listed in the Dazed100; The Guardian asking if ‘they are the future of theatre’, and recently listed in the Forbes “30 Under 30” List.