Voila! Festival 2025, Bangla Drama, New Work nights, ‘Red Oleanders’ (Tagore), ‘Porn Play’ (Ambika Mod), ‘I Dream of Theresa May’, more theatre listings…
November has three theatre festivals and acv brings you a selection from these, along with focus on new writing and classic work. There is a lot to enjoy…
WE BEGIN with Voila! Festival 2025. This is a pan-lingual series of shows that can be seen across eight venues in London and www.asianculturevulture.com has highlighted some Asian shows.
It began in 2012 and is a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural festival, celebrating the best of British and international emerging artists. The festival has started (this Monday) and ends on November 23.
Mendaki – climbing and belonging (pictured above)
ARTIST Faizal Abdullah presents ‘Mendaki‘ (to climb) a new solo show on identity, race and belonging. This Muslim –Malay Singaporean performer uses poetry, storytelling, a power point presentation and stand-up, to share a powerful personal exploration of his own identity challenging colonial and reductive narratives.
https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/mendaki/
Mendaki is on at the Cockpit theatre with one performance left tomorrow (Saturday November 8) at 5pm.
Dead Letter – moving meditation on migration
A boy writes a letter to his mother who will never read it – this is a bilingual Bengali and English solo performance about memory and migration. It is on for one night only. Tuesday November 11 at 7pm -8pm Etcetera Theatre.
https://www.etceteratheatrecamden.com/events/dead-letter2
Hansal and Geetal – clowning around in class
Sachin Sharma and Shreya Parashar are a clowning duo from Toronto, who blend clown, improve and perform Indian classical dance.
‘Hansal and Geetal’ is about two class clowns who are forced to face their greatest fear: sharing their jokes with the whole class.
This interactive clown-comedy show take you through the journey of being mischievous and misunderstood. Relive your school days nostalgia and be a part of their world, because the teacher is on a break!
November 14, 15, 20, 21 & 22 times vary
https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/hansal-geetal/
A Season of Bangla Drama – community theatre, culture talks
CREATED to explore and examine themes of identity, culture, language and belonging, there are a range of productions to see. The programme ranges from free events and panels on theatre and performances of plays in Bangla and English.
Some highlights of FREE events
Theatre in Conflict: Theatre of the Oppressed as an Anti-fascist Weapon
This is a talk by Geo Britto from Escola de Teatro Popular (School of Peoples Theatre). He will share his insights into and experience of ‘theatre in conflict’. The school is a space for social movements that develop culture as a tool for political discussion. November 10 at 10am (see link below).
There is also a theatre workshop with writer, Ruby Kitching exploring plot and characters in a new British Bangladeshi play. November 15 (2pm-4pm).
Both are at the Brady Arts & Community Centre – 192-196 Hanbury Street London E1 5HU
Ticketed events include:
Beshura: Out of Tune
This is a thought provoking comedy drama about the life of young people in London, presented by Mitali Arts Group. Presented in Bengali /English
November 9 at 7.30pm Brady Arts and Community Centre (see above for address).
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beshura-out-of-tune-by-mitali-arts-group-tickets-1743861579929
A Jute Lascar Story
A journey of a jute farmer who becomes a lascar (sailor). His life at sea spans continents, colonial hardship, lost dreams, and quiet resistance. Presented by Arts Without Borders and Stepney Community Trust – see the link for dates.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-jute-lascar-story-by-stepney-community-trust-arts-without-borders-tickets-1747108772369
For more information on A Season of Bangla Drama check out the link below…
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/a-season-of-bangla-drama-2025-lb-tower-hamlets-7313572131
New Work Festival – theatre platforms rising stars
BRINGING you bold and new voices and part of Bradford 2025 is the New Work Festival at Theatre in the Mill, Bradford.
From experimental performance to radical comedy and powerful theatre, each night showcases artists from our development programmes, with a focus on global majority voices and risk-taking creativity.
Highlights include the Untitled 4 showcase (November 13) , New Act comedy night (November 14) , and the work-in-progress premiere of ‘Pen Portraits’ by Sudha Bhuchar (pictured right), commissioned by Bradford 2025 on November 15.
New Work Festival takes place from November 13-15
https://estore.bradford.ac.uk/product-catalogue/theatre/theatre/new-work-festival
University of Bradford BD7 1DP
Red Oleanders – resistance and rebellion in landmark work
POPULAR and one of my favourite plays by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, ‘Red Oleanders’ (‘Raktakarabi’) is being presented by Baithak UK in a new production directed by Sangeeta Datta (pictured right).
It is Tagore’s critique against Totalitarianism and covers the man versus machine debate. The plot features an invisible king who asks his subjects to mine for gold, and the protagonist is a beautiful woman, Nandini who loves to wear red oleanders and challenges him.
‘Red Oleanders’ is a celebration of resistance and freedom and it is on for one night only on Sunday (November 9) at Hampstead Town Hall.
While it is being shown as sold out, look out for future performances in the spring.
https://www.ticketsource.com/baithak-uk-red-oleanders/red-oleanders/e-ereoxk
Hampstead Town Hall Centre, Belsize Park, London NW3 4GP
Porn Play – unsettling show about addiction
ANI IS A DAZZLING young academic with a secret addiction to violent pornography.
In between receiving awards and delivering lectures on ‘Paradise Lost’(John Milton 1667), her career and relationships begin to unravel as she struggles to confront her uncontrollable desires. Funny, unsettling and honest.
The full cast includes Will Close, Lizzy Connolly, Asif Khan, and Ambika Mod.
The play deals with adult themes of sexual addiction, pornographic content, self-harm. Check the content guidance on the website.
‘Porn Play‘ runs from November 6 to December 13. Ticket availability is Mondays because those tickets are only sold from 9 am on the day, otherwise it is being displayed as sold out.
https://royalcourttheatre.com/events/porn-play
Royal Court Theatre, 50-51 Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS
I Dream of Theresa May – Unlikely hero
SET IN 2013 IN THE WAKE of the UK’s ‘hostile environment’ (anti-immigration) policy, ‘I Dream of Theresa May’ is a political satire that has been developed by Tara Theatre through its NOVA new writing commission – a writer programme to expand the canon of South Asian voices in theatre.
This is a new work by Vivek Nityananda, and directed by Natasha Kathi-Chandra, artistic director of Tara Theatre.
It tells the story of ‘Nikhil’, a gay Indian man living in London who is desperate to find a way to stay in the UK.
Dr Nityananda, who moved to the UK from Bengaluru works, as a Senior Lecturer at Newcastle University and told Tara followers on Instagram that he loves insects and researches them for a living. How wild is that?
His short play, ‘The Big Welcome’ was produced by Live Theatre, Newcastle in 2021. He is also a published author and has written a non-fiction book on overconfidence called ‘Beyond Doubt’.
‘I Dream of Theresa May’ was supported through a seed commission in 2022 and a full commission in 2024. The play runs at Tara Theatre from November 17- 29 with a post-show Q&A on November 26 with entrepreneur Mishti Ali & DJ Ritu.
https://taratheatre.com/whats-on/i-dream-of-theresa-may
Tara Theatre, 356 Garratt Lane, London SW18 4ES
How do I find the words? Real voices, real stories
DIRECTOR and educator Kristine Landon-Smith is the maestro of headphone verbatim theatre.
She has honed this expertise over time and her shows using this format has won her many admirers. She argues that it is a format which allows many voices to be heard and it democratises theatre.
“In headphone the long form interview is used to collect unique and distinctive personal stories. Once interviews have been completed, the chronological edit looks for the ‘real’ story in the interview: the subtext if you like.
“Artists then perform edited interviews whilst listening to them at the same time through headphones: hence ‘headphone verbatim’,” she explained.
In this show, ‘How Do I Find the Words?’ Landon-Smith worked with three sets of community groups in three cities and focussed on the stories behind words that shape who we are – words that can help, heal, hurt and hold meaning. The result is a shared intimate community experience.
Three performances at three venues, Bristol (November 24) Nottingham (November 25) and Bolton (November 29). See link below for more…
For details and tickets visit https://kristinelandonsmith.com/events
