Plymouth to host Europe’s first-ever Undokai event

Barbican Theatre has announced that Plymouth is hosting the UK and European premiere of the Future Undokai Project, which will be known as Plymouth Undokai 2023, with events and games running across the Spring.

The project will culminate in two weekends of games at the end of April, including the final ‘Plymouth’ version of events taking place at Brickfields Sports Centre.

The Future Undokai Project is a groundbreaking Japanese initiative exploring the future of intergenerational community sports and how communities might design new multi-player physical games. And Plymouth is home to it’s UK and European premiere!

The Plymouth Undokai project is all about bringing people together to have fun and play games. Participants will get to play traditional Undokai games - similar to what might be played at a school sports day, fair or carnival but with a twist and a bit of tech mixed in - and also create and play brand new games just for Plymouth!

Creating and playing your own games that fuse traditional sports with future tech is a unique aspect of Undokai and organisers can’t wait for Plymouth to get involved.

There will be two main ways of taking part in the Plymouth Undokai:

As a Player - someone who plays the traditional games and the new games made in Plymouth (for ages 8-88). This is ideal for:

• People who want to have fun and play games

• People who like mixing with lots of different people

• People who really enjoy sports day at school

• People who like beach or park games

• Groups such as football clubs, scouts, guides, cubs, brownies, boys brigade, girls brigade, young carers, home school groups, Duke of Edinburgh groups.

As a DeveloPlayer - someone who helps cocreate the new games and events in Plymouth and then joins in with the players to play them! This is ideal for:

• Community Leaders

• Dancers/choreographers/movement artists

• Sports Coaches

• Teachers

• Students

• Tech whizz kids

• Gamers

Plymouth Undokai will take place over two weeks in April with three main ways to get involved:

PLAY IT: JAPANESE STYLE

April 15 and 16 at YMCA Centre in Honicknowle Play traditional undokai games designed and led by the team from the Undokai Association who are coming over from Japan. They’ll include games such as tug of war, relay races, long rope jumping, centipede racing and more fun activities. They will also mix in a little bit of tech in the afternoon! For: ages 8-88. Tickets: pay what you decide; on sale now at barbicantheatre.co.uk

DEVELOP IT: CO-CREATE THE PLYMOUTH GAMES

April 21 at University of Plyouth and April 22 and 23 at Brickfields Sport Centre As a DeveloPlayer people get to rewrite the rule book! This is a seriously cool opportunity for them to design and create a new series of games with the Undokai Association team from Japan while they are in Plymouth. Students and leaders from University of Plymouth’s Arts Institute and i-DAT who are working on Games Design and Games & Experience Design, will be on hand to incorporate their innovations and tech ideas into the games as well. Then on the final day 200 people will be at the centre to play the games created by the DeveloPlayers.

April 21 at University of Plymouth - an ideas lab where all particpants will meet and run through ideas and maybe do a few testers.

April 22 Brickfields Sport Centre - the main DeveloPlayer day. Get stuck in and co-create six to eight games for people of all ages and abilities to play the day after. It’s a hackathon with a twist!

April 23 at Brickfields Sport Centre - PLAY IT

Plymouth style. The final day of Plymouth Undokai when 200 people will come together to play the games developed over the two previous days For ages 10+ Tickets: Tickets: pay what you decide; on sale now at barbicantheatre.co.uk

PLAY IT: PLYMOUTH STYLE

April 23 at Brickfields Sports Centre

Get into teams and play the new games developed in the DeveloPlayer sessions and be the first ever players to try them out! It’s going to be so much fun and is as much about taking part as winning (although there will be medals and awards at the end of course!)

For: ages 8-88. Tickets: pay what you decide; on sale now at barbicantheatre. co.uk

Plymouth Undokai is hopefully the first annual event. In Japan, there are 70,000 Undokai events a year - with 10 million people taking part.

Laura Kriefman, chief executive and artistic director, Barbican Theatre, Plymouth said: “Why can’t we, as a city, invent our own sports? Imagine inventing, here in Plymouth, the next ‘football’ or ‘curling’! I am so excited to be able to bring this amazing project to our city and see what games Plymothians want to make, to play together. We have our fingers crossed that this is the first year of many for Plymouth Undokai. I look forward to the laughter and the amazing games we invent.“

A number of taster ‘play days’ have been in held in communities across the city in January, February and March (at University Of Plymouth, Keyham and Devonport) in the lead up to the main events in April when teams from Future Undokai Association in Japan will be in Plymouth. Barbican Theatre will also be holding a conference and conversations event at Plymouth University as part of Plymouth Undokai (more information on the conference to be published shortly).