Tamasha and The National Archives announce A story told three times and still unfinished, a one-off audio drama exploring the hidden stories from the Windrush generation and the associated trauma of sharing such stories.
The story that goes so deep and wide that stretches whole continents and whole generations backwards and forwards. It’s about us all.
Written by playwright, screenwriter and novelist Mel Pennant and directed by Anastasia Osei-Kuffour, the audio drama was created using The National Archives’ collections relating to the Empire Windrush crossing and inspired by the stories and testimonies of members of the Caribbean communities of London and Bristol. The play is premiered as a live online listening event including a Q&A with Mel Pennant.
When aspiring 30-something playwright, Teanna Wright, is finally commissioned to write her first play, life couldn’t be sweeter. Her brief? Windrush 75. Despite the apprehensions of older sis, Glory, Teanna decides she wants to tell the story of her Aunty Delores, one of the first-generation nurses who came over in the 1940s.
Unable to find anything on Delores in the archives, and against the advice of big sis, Teanna decides to ask her mum. But will she get the answers she needs, or will she get more than she bargained for?
Tamasha was commissioned by The National Archives to develop a creative project exploring The National Archives’ collections relating to the Empire Windrush crossing. A story told three times and still unfinished is the fourth audio project created by Tamasha under commission by The National Archives over the past six years, following Loyalty and Dissent in 2017, Once British Always British in 2020 and A Stranger in a Strange Place in 2021.
Valerie Synmoie, CEO, Tamasha: “We are delighted to be partnering with The National Archives again, this time for the 75th anniversary of Windrush. This project could not be more relevant than it is right now, exploring how our colonial past never leaves us – still resonating and impacting on life in the UK today. Accessible to all as an online listening event, this is another fantastic opportunity for Tamasha and The National Archives to reach new audiences, by bringing relevant stories to living rooms across the country.”
Iqbal Singh, Regional Community Partnerships Manager, The National Archives: “It’s a delight to work with Mel and Tamasha as they help us once again bring the archival record to life in such sensitive, lyrical, and affecting ways. This piece to mark the 75th anniversary of Windrush traces so well the efforts we are making to explore the intersection between archival records, family and community memory and the entry points into intimate and personal experiences.”
Mel Pennant, writer: “It’s been a privilege to once again be working with the National Archives, Tamasha and Anastasia Osei-Kuffour on this project. I can’t thank enough all those who participated in the workshops for what they brought and were willing to share. It has made the project incredibly rich. Thank you so much.”
