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The Seefr Project
Professionalisation
of Asian Language
Theatre
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
A zeroculture
initiative in
association with
Collage Arts and in
partnership with
John Laing, formerly
CIP (LBH Hounslow’s
Leisure service
provider) to
professionalise
Asian language
theatre and to make
it more visible
within the
mainstream theatre
infrastructure,
BRIEF BACKGROUND to
the Project
Theatre of the Asian
vernacular languages
has a long history
in UK. From the
seventies, various
drama groups have
performed in local
community centres
and schools halls to
packed audiences.
Mostly working in a
non-professional
infrastructure, and
mostly working on
texts from the
Indian
sub-continent, they
flourished in the
margins in an ad hoc
way, invisible to
the mainstream arts
sector, particularly
the funding bodies.
Real progress came
in the nineties when
the Waterman’s Asian
Theatre Development
Programme, concerned
with vernacular arts
activity building
insular communities,
brought them out of
ill equipped venues
into professional
theatre spaces and
provided them with
development support
to their artistic
practice such as
working with
professional
directors; writers
went through
dramaturgy sessions
with professional
writers.
This resulted in
strong work -
companies like
Punjabi Kalamunch
and Shivam Theatre
were established.
Assistance with
national touring to
other professional
spaces like
Leicester Haymarket
helped to build new
audiences. Between
them, the two
companies produced
over a dozen plays
in seven years.
Asian language
theatre is
distinctive - the
use of vernacular
language allows it
to explore character
more rooted in the
community, which
Asian Drama in the
English language
often struggles
with. In this way,
topical, strong
social issues are
part of the feature.
What happens in the
community is
reflected back on
stage. Such work has
a crucial role in
contrast to the
other available work
for the audience
base - Asian Cable
Channels, mainstream
arts/media,
Bollywood films or
Asian (English)
theatre.
Furthermore, the
challenge that faces
Asian work,
particularly in the
communities is the
issues of
integration with the
other new emerging
communities. Working
with Asian language
theatre there is
more scope to break
insularity and get
audiences out of
‘ghetto’ culture.
However, Asian
Language Theatre
suffers an inferior
status amongst
British Asian
theatre
practitioners - it
is regrettable that
they have not valued
it integral to the
development of the
sector, resulting in
the further
marginalisation of
it.
DEVELOPMENT
STRATEGY
The overall
intention to the
meaning of
‘professionalising’
Asian language
theatre is to make
it visible and shed
off its ‘community’
tag, thereby build
it into the
infrastructure of
Asian theatre.
The Project aims to
build a fully
resourced production
facility that will
allow a programme of
a touring production
every year for each
company, alongside
an extensive
education and
training programme
in addition to a
community outreach
objective.
The development
support is in two
key areas
The Companies:
the Project will
enable support in
writing, production
and touring – this
will involve working
with experienced
professional
directors, writers,
production team and
tour managers.
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The Work:
The project aims to
make the work more
visible - it will do
this by advocacy and
interfacing with
established Asian
theatre practice -
making the heart of
the work cross over,
for instance through
co-productions.
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CASE STUDY
The Seefr Project
facilitated a
professional
development
programme for Shivam
Theatre at the Lyric
Hammersmith as part
of their In the Mix
programme. This was
co funded by Collage
Arts through the
North London
Creative Network.
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Script
development: The
Project
worked with Shivam to
develop a
new script –
Lottery,
Lottery –
through
dramaturgy
support and
idea
development
with Hardial
Rai, Bhasker
Patel and
Claire
Hicks. The
script went
through
workshops
with actors
at Lyric
Theatre.
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Rehearsal:
A
partnership
with Harrow
Arts Centre
secured
rehearsal
space and
further
workshop
spaces for
directing
consulting
work with
Bhasker
Patel,
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Production:
Partnerships
with Lyric
Hammersmith
and
ArtsDepot
helped to
secure set
and lighting
design with
Natasha
Chivers.
A further week with
Chris 0’Connel of
Theatre Absolute and
Jatinder Verma of
Tara arts explored
making vernacular
language theatre
accessible to a non-
Gujarati audience.
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Touring:
The
show toured
extensively
from summer
of 2006
through
spring of
2007 autumn.
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The Seefr Project is
seeking partners
from venues and
promoters who work
in strong
concentrated Asian
communities.
Contact us at:
projects@zeroculture.co.uk
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