Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

Your guide to London's culture and transport news and events taking place across the city.

Once British, Always British: A live audio-play experience

This event has finished Took place on: Thursday, 29th Apr 2021

 Free

This is an online video event, please check the organiser for details about how to watch.

Online Audio Play

Once British, Always British is a collection of two 30-minute audio dramas exploring migration to British port cities by Yemeni and Indian sailors during the 1920s. Each story is inspired by real material uncovered during a writing residency at The National Archives.

Play One: The Fireman by Hassan Abdulrazzak

When Sahar's grandmother Rose asks her to investigate the truth about her Yemeni father Ali Abdul, and his early days in the UK, Sahar rather unwisely finds herself on a train from South Shields to London, just as the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic is taking hold. With a nationwide shortage of her bipolar medication, Sahar arrives at The National Archives in a confused state, with the institution about to close in response to a national lockdown. As time runs out and the pressure mounts, Sahar experiences more than she bargained for in the eerie basements housing Britain's imperial past. Fantasy, reality and true life history converge in this startlingly imaginative new play from acclaimed playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak.

Play Two: Steam Rises by Satinder Chohan

After months of abuse at sea on board a merchant navy vessel, 'fireman' Buhur - one of the many Indian men employed to shovel coal into the ship's furnace below decks - illegally jumps ship with no papers and no money in 1920s Liverpool. Befriended by a landlady of a local lodging house, he soon finds his feet in this strange new land, and an unexpected romance at odds with the longing letters from his wife back in Karachi. But when the toxically racist culture Buhur has stepped into finally gets to him, a single impulsive act brings everything crashing down around him. A true story from the Archives' files, brought shockingly to life by the author of Tamasha's 2017 hit Made in India, Satinder Chohan.

A Tamasha Theatre Company production in association with The National Archives.

This online listening event includes a short interval and will be followed by a live Q&A with the writers.

Please note: this event is being recorded for distribution across The National Archives' channels. First names of attendees who ask a question during the live Q&A will be visible.

This online event will be presented on Zoom. You will be emailed an access link 24 hours in advance. Please ensure Eventbrite is added to your safe-senders list to avoid emails being directed into your Spam or Junk inbox.

Please note you will need a Zoom account to join this event.


Contact and Booking Details

This event has finished Took place on: Thursday, 29th Apr 2021

 Free

Booking details and information at this website.

Reserve tickets at this website

Disclaimer: All information given is correct at the time of compiling the listings. Any questions about the event should be directed to the event organiser. Photos and images used in this listing are supplied by the organiser.

2021-04-29 2021-04-29 Europe/London Once British, Always British: A live audio-play experience Once British, Always British is a collection of two 30-minute audio dramas exploring migration to British port cities by Yemeni and Indian sailors during the 1920s. https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/calendar/2021/04/29/once-british-always-british-a-live-audio-play-experience-251551 ,,,

This is an online video event, please check the organiser for details about how to watch.

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