Guest Blog: Abdul Shayek On Taking Tara Theatre In New Directions

Abdul Shayek was announced last year as the new artistic director and joint CEO of Tara Theatre (formerly Tara Arts), the British Asian company founded in 1977 in direct response to a racist attack on a Sikh teenager. Based in southwest London, Tara Theatre is the only building-based South Asian theatre company in the UK and is marking its new directorship with an ambitious and provocative new season as outlined by Shayek below.

When we sat down and began to plan and work through what this next chapter for Tara Theatre would look like, many questions were asked by us and of us, helping us shape what our work will explore and aim to accomplish. It has been a joy to talk to so many local, national and International Artists, freelancers and audience members to gain insight and understanding of their needs during these difficult and complex times, allowing us to interrogate our response and think about how we can be a catalyst for much needed change in the industry.

Our Disproportionately Affected season offers a clear indication of what we want to achieve and how we want to position the company as we move forward. The three projects that form this much-anticipated season have taken inspiration from those to whom we have spoken and offer a unique space for what we believe has been missing from the sector for so long, by bringing together the future, present and the past.

The first production, Beyond Lockdown, which reopened our theatre earlier this month, captured the voices of the younger creatives we want to identify and support. We worked with students from Southfields Academy to create a joyous and inspirational performance capturing their hopes and dreams after what has and will continue to be such an incredibly difficult time to be a young person.

The second project, 2020, is a selection of brand new stories from a diverse range of British and international writers, some established and some at the early stages of their career, responding to the challenges of 2020 and 2021, but from an entirely local perspective. The stories 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. The third project, an audio journey entitled Final Farewell, uses theatre and the act of communal gathering to explore how we respond to grief both personally and collectively as a society, examining the healing process after the last 18 months. A contemplative, collaborative and celebratory work, Final Farewell brings together peoples' memories of their loved ones, celebrating these individuals and bidding them a final farewell.

It was such a pleasure to step back into the building recently, to see people back in the space using it to be creative and collaborative again, from world-class dance companies and young people to professional creative teams. Seeing people from myriad and diverse backgrounds coming together to tell stories which matter and give us meaning was incredibly heart-warming and joyous.

One of the biggest priorities we identified when mapping out Tara Theatre was supporting freelancers; they are such a backbone of this industry and have had very little access to government support during this time. We want to make freelancers feel valued again by making sure we employ as many as possible, which in turn will mean we retain as many as possible. I am excited by our proposition and strength of voice; unapologetic, refreshing and urgent. The feedback we've received so far from not only the sector but the wider public and beyond has been overwhelmingly positive. Our new chapter at Tara Theatre will see us working both in and out of our building, across the UK with both professionals and non-professionals, making work which holds onto the best of what we have discovered in the last 18 months and leaving behind what clearly wasn't working.

What has been truly amazing and very humbling is hearing how everyone who has come along and engaged with us and the building thus far have all felt as though they are welcome and very much a part of the Tara Theatre family, and how safe they have felt, which of course is of utmost importance to us. I am now itching to be back in rehearsals working with a brilliant company of people, bringing more vital stories on your headphones, through VR headsets, or, of cours, live.

Photo of Maanuv Thiara in 2020 Collection 1, c. Jan-Willem Olthof

2020 is running until 3 July, Final Farewell runs 8-31 July