Tara Theatre has announced casting for 2020, 12 new stories from 12 writers (3 international and 9 from across England) responding to the challenges of 2020 and 2021, but from a completely local perspective.
2020 features in Abdul Shayek’s first programme as Artistic Director for the newly rebranded Tara Theatre. Tara Theatre is the UK’s longest established Asian, Black and ethnically diverse led theatre company. The 12 pieces will be presented in three collections of four, each with a different director.
Full casting includes; Sharan Phull (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie); Manuuv Thiara (Line of Duty); Carmina Bernhardt (Polarity); Nicholas Khan (The Kite Runner); Moe Bar-El (The Jungle); David Webber (Barber Shop Chronicles); Safiyya Ingar (Hobson’s Choice); and Stephanie Street (Quiz).
The new works come from writers Hassan Abdulrazzak, Shahid Iqbal Khan, BBC Words finalist Amina Atiq, Erinn Dhesi, Reginald Edmund, Carlo Kureishi, Hanif Kureishi, Asif Khan, Yuqun Fan, Abhishek Majumdar, Sumerah Srivastav, Sonali Bhattacharyya (Winner of Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award) and Shreya Sen-Handley (recently announced as the first Indian woman to pen an international opera). The stories are directed by Gitika Buttoo, Iqbal Khan (recently announced as associate director at Birmingham Repertory Theatre) and Pooja Ghai and Abdul Shayek.
Collection 1 is directed by Gitika Buttoo and includes LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONA written by Hassan Abdulrazzak (Baghdad Wedding) and performed by Sharan Phull; NEVER BEEN AWAY by Shahid Iqbal Khan (The Wildman of the West Indies), performed by Maanuv Thiara; BACKBENCHER by Amina Atiq (Unheard Voices), performed by Sharan Phull; CHANGE, written by Erinn Dhesi (Wigs Snatched, Perceptions Destroyed) and performed by Maanuv Thiara.
Collection 2 is directed by Iqbal Khan and Tara Theatre Artistic Director Abdul Shayek and includes: A NEW AMERICA by Reginald Edmund (Southbridge), performed by David Webber; LOCKDOWN & ALL THAT written by Carlo Kureishi (Ackley Bridge) and Hanif Kureishi (The Buddha of Suburbia) and performed by Nicholas Khan and Moe Bar-El; THE MONSTER INSIDE by Asif Khan (Combustion), performed by Nicholas Khan and Moe Bar-El; and TALES OF THE PAST by Yuqun Fan (Royal Court’s Living Newspaper), performed by  Carmina Bernhardt.
The final set, Collection 3, is directed by Pooja Ghai and includes: NAJMA NAMAÂ by Abhishek Majumdar (The Djinns of Eidgah), performed by Safiyya Ingar; BOXEDÂ written by Sumerah Srivastav (The Good Karma Hospital) and performed by Safiyya Ingar; GOOD TROUBLEÂ by Sonali Bhattacharyya (White Open Spaces), performed by Stephanie Street; QUIET by Shreya Sen-Handley (Memoirs of My Body), performed by Stephanie Street.
The stories will explore a range of issues as far ranging as Trump’s America to Liverpool winning their 19th Premier League, looking for love in lockdown and the PPE scandal for care workers.
Collection 1: performances from Tuesday 15th June – Saturday 19th June
Collection 2: performances from Tuesday 22nd June – Saturday 26th June
Collection 3: performances from Tuesday 29th June – Saturday 3rd July
