Artistic Director Abdul Shayek Announces His First Season For Tara Theatre

Abdul Shayek has today introduced his 1st programme for the freshly rebranded Tara Theatre. Tara Theatre is the UK’s longest founded Asian, Black and ethnically diverse led theatre organization. Shayek was appointed in August 2020, beginning a daring new chapter at a moment that has led to unequivocal consensus that issues urgently require to transform.

About forty a long time given that Tara Theatre was established in 1977, in reaction to the racist murder of 17-year-previous Gurdip Singh Chaggar, the sector and broader society is even now grappling with a absence of illustration, equity and equality and systemic constructions that have a detrimental influence on men and women from Asian, Black and ethnically varied backgrounds. Shayek has established out his intention for Tara Theatre to be an agent for this a great deal needed change, addressing the widespread absence of diversity and inclusivity in the theatre sector and over and above.

Tara Theatre ideas to return to its activist roots, with politically billed, progressive theatre on phase. All over the South Wandsworth building they will create a modern and democratic space the centre of a group of artists of all ages from all backgrounds. It will perform throughout the British isles, focusing on spots with huge South Asian diaspora communities, which includes Better Manchester, Leicester, Coventry, Birmingham, Derby and Leeds.

The to start with season will winner South Asian artists and amplify their voices. The programme consists of Last FAREWELL, an outdoor audio journey conceived and directed by Abdul Shayek and published by Sudha Bhuchar checking out how we say a correct goodbye to those missing in the pandemic, culminating in a celebratory finale at Tara Theatre each night. The year will also function 2020, 12 new monologues from Hassan Abdulrazzak, Shahid Iqbal Khan, BBC Terms finalist Amina Atiq, Erinn Dhesi, Reginald Edmund, Carlo Kureishi, Hanif Kureishi, Asif Khan, Yuqun Supporter, Abhishek Majumdar, Sumerah Srivastav, Sonali Bhattacharyya (Winner of Theatre Uncut Political Playwrighting Award) and Shreya Sen-Handley (not long ago introduced as the initially Indian girl to pen an international opera). The new will work are directed by Gitika Buttoo, Iqbal Khan (lately declared as affiliate director at Birmingham Rep) and Pooja Ghai and Abdul Shayek. The developing will reopen with Outside of LOCKDOWN, a project doing the job with a nearby university, capturing students’ hopes and desires for the long term, placing young men and women centre phase.

Abdul Shayek, Inventive Director mentioned: “Tara Theatre will be a catalyst and agent for improve in just the Uk theatre landscape, addressing the widespread deficiency of range and inclusivity and altering our sector. Our work will explore the complexities of our planet by means of a South Asian lens, championing contemporary South Asian voices and artists, figuring out new narratives, new thoughts and new types and offering a far more equitable and agent house.”