A selection of bame plays.
1. SPLIT / MIXED Ery Nazaramba
A thought-provoking quest to find a singular voice. The genocide in Rwanda shocked the world. Back then, Ery Nzaramba was only 15 years old and his family’s escape to Europe turned him into a ‘survivor’. How should he now respond to questions about who he is and where he comes from?In this autobiographical one-man play, performed to acclaim on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the author revisits his Rwandan childhood. With the help of a cassette player, he brings to life nearly a dozen characters, exploring memories of kinship, cultural attitudes and personal identity.
2. BIG FOOT Joseph Barnes Phillips
With grime music and Guyanese folk stories, Joseph Barnes- Phillip’s semi-autobiographical story is a comic, tragic and honest portrayal of becoming a man. We follow Rayleigh as he negotiates the tensions of growing up and taking responsibility. When the highs of teenage life in south London collide with his mum’s terminal illness, all Rayleigh wants to do it watch anime in his pants and eat indomie. Love, life and masculinity meet head-on as Rayleigh tries to find his feet, torn between the new girl in his life and being there for his mum, while trying not to make the same mistakes as his dad.
3.THE TROUBLE WITH ASIAN MEN – S. Bhuchar, K. Landon-Smith and L. Wallinger
Macho men or metrosexual guys? Mummy’s boys or blokes under their missus’ thumbs? Pukka professionals with their Mercedes Benz lives and designer-clad wives; husbands, sons, uncles, brothers and fathers… From the award-winning theatre company that brought us East is East, a revealing verbatim comedy that has played to sellout houses internationally.
4. DARE TO DO Mark Norfolk Shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2014.
Meet ‘The Bear’. A wealthy trader, a family man, a success story. But his world is about to come crashing down when he loses his job, his wife and his self-respect. But he has plan, one that takes the tried and tested rules of the corporate finance world to the streets.
Inspired by the true story of the infamous city trader, Kweku Adoboli, who ran up the biggest loss in British banking history, the play delves into the world of finance and its relationship with the people it owns.
5. COMBUSTION Asif KhanBradford, in the month of Ramadan. Shaz, a local garage mechanic, is trying to keep his business going despite the terrible scandal of Asian men involved in grooming young girls for sex
in the area. Racists plan to march through the city in protest
and Samina, Shaz’s sister wants to make a speech at a counter- demonstration. Shaz just wants a quiet life so that his prospective in-laws will let him marry their beautiful daughter, but as the city gets swept up in the protest, his world gets turned upside down.
6. THE DIARY OF A HOUNSLOW GIRL Ambreen Razia
A comic coming of age story as seen on Channel 4 tv. You’ve heard of an Essex Girl or even a Sloane Ranger but what is a ‘Hounslow Girl’? ‘Hounslow Girl’ has become a byword for confident, young Muslim women who are grappling with traditional values, city life and fashion. From the joys of Pakistani weddings to fights on the night bus, this is a funny, bold, provocative play highlighting the challenges of being a teenage girl in a traditional Muslim family, alongside the temptations and influences of growing up in and around London.
7. UNDER THEIR INFLUENCE Wayne Buchanan
A gripping, moving and funny journey through the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic. Randoulph is in hospital, a convicted murderer. His doctor unravels the incidents leading to the murder and his mental collapse. The play questions the way black people are treated in the mental health system.
8. MISTAKEN… ANNIE BESANT IN INDIA Rukhsana Ahmad
Explores the incredible story of Annie Besant’s relationship with India and the boy who went on to become one of India’s greatest teachers and thinkers – Krishnamurti.
9. THE ALGEBRA OF FREEDOM Raman Mundair
A taut political drama that asks questions about identity, faith and compassion in a society waging a war against terror. Tony, a policeman, wishes he could turn the clock back. Jack knows that what’s done is done. Parvez, a young Asian man, can’t believe that Sara is back from beyond, and this time she seems to have all the answers. How do we live today?
10. WOMEN OF ASIA Asa Palomera
Questions the myths which underpin the continuing oppression of women in Asia. Inspired by true stories, this critically acclaimed modern play explores the everyday abuse and exploitation of Asian women and their struggles to obtain freedom. The play has been performed internationally on three continents including theatres in New York, Melbourne, Bangkok and Singapore.
11. THE CURIOUS LIVES OF SHAKESPEARE AND CERVANTES Asa Palomera
Published to mark the 400th anniversary of the deaths of two of the world’s most famous authors: Shakespeare and Cervantes. This comic romp charts the influences of these literary giants on the modern world and contrasts the fortunes of two contemporaries whose countries – England and Spain – went from alliance to enmity in a short space of time.
12. THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER OF KOREA Asa Palomera
When Mina’s father dies, she returns to Korea to visit a family she barely knows, looking for some answers. But her mother is reluctant to discuss the past, especially the war, or the reasons that Mina was sent so far away as a child, to America. Her younger sister seems unable to grow up and it doesn’t help that their nosy neighbour is always on their doorstep. Secrets and lies divide them all irrevocably. When the truth is finally revealed, it is both shocking and redemptive, allowing Mina and those around her to see themselves anew and break free from years of pain and guilt.