Having created a much needed space for the first hand experiences of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers within the UK to be heard, PSYCHEdelight have presented a series of crucial works placing these stories centre stage. Currently presenting Mohand and Peter, drawing on company member Mohand Hasb Alrosol Abdalrahem’s real life experience of leaving his native Sudan to seek asylum, the devised piece, created by fellow company member Peter Pearson and artistic director Sophie Bertrand Besse blends clowning and visual poetry to explore explore cultural identity and the traumatic effect of long-term exile as well as celebrating refugee home countries. Ahead of the production, showing at the Southwark Playhouse from the 9th March until 9th April, Mohand and Peter tell us more about exploring this pertinent story, what it means to have a platform such as PSYCHEdelight to tell these stories and how the team have approached creating the show.
A tale inspired by her very own grandmother’s story of being ostracised for her African spiritual retentions, award winning performer Julene Robinson presents The Night Woman, a culmination of folklore, poetry and songs drawing from her native Caribbean heritage. Initially due to play at this year’s VAULT Festival, which was sadly cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic, the production receives its much deserved debut at The Other Palace Theatre from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th 2022 as part of their VAULT Fest 2022 transfer season. Ahead of the production, Julene tells us more about the show’s two year development journey, exploring her grandmother’s legacy and what to expect!
Courtesy of Stuart McClymont.
Formed in 1985 by the Theatre Peckham Company, the theatre troupe would go on to found what we currently know as Theatre Peckham in 1991, it’s initial incarnation a single story building located next to the Peckham Town Hall. Fast Forward to 2014 whereby the company would relocate to the 2nd floor of Peckham Library before settling on Havil Street in 2016, its focus of reflecting the lives of its local community a through-line that to this day powers what they do. With a continued commitment to further its reach, both on a local and wider scale, Theatre Peckham have recently announced a new appointment to their board, Dr Anni Domingo bringing with her a wealth of experience in the fields of academia, law and the arts. Having recently had their first board meeting, Anni reflects on what needs to be done to achieve the venue’s aims of reaching wider audiences!
Having received its UK premiere at the Orange Tree Theatre last year, Michele Lee’s award winning Australian drama Rice explores the interweaving worlds of Nisha – a highflying executive of Golden Fields, Australia’s largest producer of rice and Yvette, a cleaner at the company fuelled with ambition herself, however faced with challenging circumstances as her daughter faces court after participating in a protest. An observation on ambition, family, gender and cultural heritage, RICE offers a rich narrative placing the experiences of a company’s first Indian female CEO and a chinese migrant to the fore. Currently on a UK tour, the show’s next stop is at Stephen Joseph Theatre from Friday 4th until Saturday 5th March, before playing at the Crucible Theatre (7th to 9th March), Unity Theatre Liverpool (17th to 19th March), Theatre Royal Bath (24th to 26th March) HOME Manchester (29th to 30th March), Northern Stage Newcastle (1st to 2nd April) before concluding at York Theatre Royal (13th to 14th April). Taking on the role of Nisha – Anya-Jaya Murphy and Yvette – Angela Yeoh, both performers tell us more about starring in the production.
Announced during the height of the pandemic, Theatre503’s International Playwriting Award winner Pravin Wilkins would have been due to have had his pertinent play Moreno staged shortly after. However, due to the unpredictability of what was happening globally at the time, would have to wait for this to finally happen. Nearly two years post the announcement, Moreno receives its much deserved debut – a piece following American footballer Luis Moreno’s struggle to overcome injury whilst battling whether to use his platform to take a stand post Civil Rights Activist Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 monumental decision to do so on the world’s stage. Ahead of the production, which will be staged from 1st March at Theatre503, Pravin tells us more about how it feels to have won the playwriting award, his inspirations for the play and his hopes for the future!
Published 25 years ago now, Eileen Browne’s well loved storybook Handa’s Surprise continues to inspire imaginations. Set in East Africa, Kenya, the book’s lead takes on a soon to be memorable journey to visit her best friend Akeyo in a neighbouring village. The book, a fun, humorous tale with a heartwarming message of friendship, generosity and the element of surprise and unpredictability has currently been adapted for the stage by Marleen Vermeulen and starring Rujenne Green and Hannah Akhalu at the Little Angel Theatre until Saturday 16th April. The family show is a lovely addition to the children’s theatre genre, and a great way to spend half term and the upcoming Easter Holidays. Currently available to book now, Eileen tells us more about her inspiration for the book, the book’s theatrical adaptation and celebrating the story’s longevity.
Renowned for showcasing the work of diverse artists across a multitude of disciplines, arts development organisation Certain Blacks continue on with their mission as they present their latest eclectic line up in their upcoming Shipbuilding Festival. A week long event exploring ‘what it is to be British and diverse in these challenging times’, post pandemic, Brexit and Black Lives Matter. Marking the conclusion of their year long development programme, the festival will present four different works, one of which including a performance from dance duo Alleyne Dance, consisting of identical twins Kristina and Sadé Alleyne. Acknowledged for their fusion of a range of dance styles, from West African dance to Kathak, originating from India performing to create resonant sequences – their latest work, A Night’s Game will be performed on Friday 18th February and seeks inspiration from stories of imprisonment, escape and fighting for freedom. Ahead of their performance, the duo tell us more about exploring these themes further, what it means to take part in Certain Black’s pertinent showcase and what they’ve taken away from working on the piece!
First published 110 years ago in 1912, celebrated author Kahlil Gibran’s novel Broken Wings is noted for its progressive stance on the rights of women – the novel’s central narrative, a tale of ill-fated love set in 1920s New York, as an ageing Gibran narrates a tale transporting us back two decades to turn of the century Beirut influenced by Kahlil’s own life journey. Adapted for the stage by Katy Lipson for Aria Entertainment with Bonnie Comley and Stewart F Lane, with a Middle Eastern score by duo Nadim Naaman and Dana Al Fardan, the team craft the novel into a romantic resonant musical for our times. Graduate of the Guildford School of Acting Lucca Chadwick-Patel takes on the role of Young Khalil Gibran, the show’s lead protagonist. Currently showing at the Charing Cross Theatre, Lucca tells us more about what drew him to take part in the production, how he’s approached preparing for the role and what it’s meant to him to be a part of Broken Wings!
Originally due to showcase Swiss based work in August of 2020, Pro Helvetia were forced to postpone their Swiss Selection Live showcase due to the impact of the pandemic. Fast forward to 2 years on from the original due date, and they return with a trilogy of works – Trân Tran with Here & Now, Ntando Cele with Black Off and Alan Alpenfelt with Binaural Views of Switzerland. Ahead of this year’s event, which takes place at Brixton House from the 8th until 12th March 2022, Project Lead Ruby Glaskin tells us more about what to expect!
Our upbringings shape who we are, our localities central to how we navigate our lives. Now more than ever it is crucial, post pandemic to help build a brighter future. A future where multiple voices from various communities are platformed and heard. Uniting the nation, and addressing its colonial past, Artistic Director of Tamasha Theatre Fin Kennedy and Founder of Holy Mountain Boz Temple-Morris present The Waves, an audio drama series spanning the isle and highlighting the impact of the past within our present. Consisting of 5 audio dramas from some of the UK’s promising talent, The Waves has started to air weekly on Resonance Radio and 26 local radio stations. Fin and Boz tell us more about curating this very important series!