CAMDENWALLA Will Bring Real Stories of Camden's Bangladeshi Community to the Stage

Set in the very building where the real events took place, CAMDENWALLA comes to Camden People's Theatre from 17th June - 4th July, shining a light on an overlooked chapter of London history, telling the story of the Bengali community who refused to be intimidated, and the volunteers who kept each other safe when no one else would. 

CAMDENWALLA is set over one night in 1994 inside the Camden Monitoring Project -  a community-led organisation founded to document racist violence in North London and provide safe transport home for local Bengali workers facing harassment and attack. Emerging in the shadow of racist murders including Altab Ali, Richard Everitt and Stephen Lawrence, the organisation operated at a time when such violence was routinely ignored, dismissed or underreported by authorities, forcing communities to organise for their own protection.  Volunteers answered emergency calls, recorded testimonies, and organised lifts home for those at risk after late-night restaurant shifts, making their work a vital act of protection, solidarity and resistance.

The play follows Muhammad (played by Bhasker Patel, best known for playing Rishi Sharma in Emmerdale and a veteran of the UK stage, having performed in dozens of shows at renowned institutions like the Royal National Theatre and Donmar Warehouse)  a first-generation Bangladeshi immigrant volunteering through the night, and Alima (played by Nusrath Tapadar whose stage credits include at Tara Theatre, Hope Theatre and Omnibus Theatre) a British-Bangladeshi teenager reluctantly drawn into his world. As calls mount and tensions rise, the pair are forced to confront the gulf between generations, competing ideas of activism, and what it means to care for a community under pressure.

Exploring inherited responsibility, migration, identity and the unseen labour that helped shape modern multicultural Britain, CAMDENWALLA is a powerful new work rooted in resistance and solidarity. As conversations around racism, belonging and community self-organisation continue across Britain, the play highlights the grassroots networks of care that have long existed beyond official recognition and the ordinary people who carried extraordinary responsibility. 

Founded by community activist Nasim Ali, who would later become the UK's first Bangladeshi and Muslim Mayor, the Camden Monitoring Project played a vital role in supporting Bengali communities across the area. Drawing on archival research and real testimony from local residents, particularly members of Camden's Drummond Street community, the play brings these lived experiences and overlooked histories to the stage.

Written by Jonny Khan (The Shitheads, Royal Court - Olivier Award nominee,  A Thousand Splendid Suns, Birmingham Rep, Statues, Bush Theatre) the production is staged at Camden People's Theatre, which is situated at the same address where the Camden Monitoring Project was once based, transforming a former site of community organising into a space of remembrance, reflection and live performance. 

Alongside the production, Camden People's Theatre is working with the Drummond Street Traders and Euston BID to host a festival day celebrating the Bengali history and culture of Camden.

Jonny Khan said: ‘I'm incredibly proud to share a story that brings together the rich history of the local community and the legacy of the building now home to Camden People's Theatre. It has been a real privilege to meet and interview members of the community, listening to their lived experiences and the stories that have shaped this area. This show is an ode to our parents and grandparents - their resilience, sacrifice and determination laid the groundwork for everything we're able to create today. Without them, this work wouldn't exist. It's also a call to the next generation: the children of immigrants who have inherited these histories. This is our moment to take the reins, to honour what came before us, and to shape what comes next.'