Family Theatre

Family Theatre

Project Partner: Stratford Circus Arts Centre/Kala Sangam
Location: (Bird in the Window): Bradford, Basingstoke, Bath, Hexham, Newcastle, Sheffield, Stockton; (Jabala and the Jinn): Bradford, Birmingham, Exeter, Ipswich, London, Poole, Wolverhampton.
Programme: Part of Amal Programme 2019

To help address the lack of Muslim representation in family theatre, three play commissions were developed in seed residencies coordinated by Stratford Circus Arts Centre. Delayed by SCAC’s closure and Covid, the project was taken over by Kala Sangam in Bradford which supported Jameela Khan and Umar Butt to stage Bird in the Window in Bradford and on a six-location national tour. School children in Bradford with no previous experience of theatre also engaged in pre-performance workshops with Jameela. A second play, Asif Khan’s Jabala and the Jinn, was also developed and toured nationally. The plays’ reach into Muslim and non-Muslim communities allowed some to see themselves represented on stage while challenging the perceptions of others.