The Show!
4 female actor/writers were given a brief – to create a solo piece on the theme of ‘Food and Empowerment'.
They could interpret how they wish; their stories, their voice, on their terms.
Following a week-long development programme at Tara with Anjali Mya Chadha, the ideas will be turned into new solo performances and premiered as works-in-progress.
The actor/writers include Bushra Laskar, Medhavi Patel, Gita Gupta and Rema Chandran.
Feed me your love by Gita Gupta is a story about the bond between a mother and daughter and how a daughter's life changes when the tables are turned unexpectedly.
Based on the true story of Indian activist Irom Sharmila, Bushra Laskar's Rice from My Mother's Hand asks the question 'What compels an ordinary woman from a small town to take on the might of the Indian army?'
Medhavi Patel's Life's Flavour is about the journey of a girl whose love for life and food changes as she becomes a woman, wife, mother and more.
In Where Lovers Meat, Rema Chandran gives voice to Shree, a self-confessed dating disaster who can't live without meat, and what happens when she meets strict vegetarian Jai.
This event is part of 'I'll Say It Again! A season of work by women artists'. This is a month-long festival of events including theatre, music, poetry and dance, celebrating the centenary of women's suffrage in the UK.
CREATIVES
Rema Chandran Writer / Performer
London girl Rema Chandran is a marketeer by trade and guest contributor on publications including Brown Girl Magazine, Asiana and Burnt Roti. Having caught the writing bug, she started doing the ‘writer thing’ – cocooning herself within the familiarity of coffee shops, laptop in hand, where she started dabbling with short script ideas and plays. Tackling real subject matter through drama and comedy is what gets her going, and so that’s what you’ll see in her work. 2018 will see the release of her first short film.
Medhavi Patel Writer / Performer
Actor and writer Medhavi Patel is keenly motivated to develop her skills in creative writing. She has an avid passion for people and all that is weird and wonderful. She loves storytelling and encouraging escapism and emotions in her audiences, whatever age they are. She trained at The Brit School of Performing Arts and Technology and has just finished a much-acclaimed UK-wide tour of ‘We Are The Lions, Mr Manager’ by Townsend Productions.
Her credits include:
Theatre: We Are The Lions, Mr Manager (UK Tour), Tales of Birbal (UK Tour), Trident Moon (The Finborough Theatre), Fragile Land (Hampstead Theatre)
Television: Doctors, Holby City
Film: Kidulthood
Radio: Together, Bombay Talky and Romeo and Juliet In Southwark
Gita Gupta Writer / Performer
Since graduating from East 15 Acting School in 2006, Gita has worked across the spectrum of acting genres, both in front of the camera and on stage. She has featured in Ain't It Funny Being Coloured? For Channel 4, as well as a wealth of commercial work. Her most recent stage production was the world premiere of Trident Moon, by award-winning playwright Anusree Roy, at The Finborough Theatre.
In her spare time, Gita runs workshops and classes and enjoys teaching others about the value of meditation and mindfulness.
Bushra Laskar Writer / Performer
Bushra Laskar is a London-born playwright. Her work has been developed by Paines Plough, Kali Theatre Company, Old Vic, Ovalhouse and New York Theatre Workshop, where she was awarded an Emerging Artist of Colour Fellowship. Bushra's first play, Blindspot, was presented at the Tristan Bates Theatre as part of Kali Theatre’s Giving Voice Festival and her second play Clock & Compass was longlisted for the 2009 Bruntwood Prize. Following a month-long Script Accelerator programme at Park Theatre, Sanguine Night, directed by Vanessa-Faye Stanley and produced by experimental theatre company Boileroom, was performed in 2017 as part of the RADA Fest and Cambridge Junction's Hotbed Festival. Bushra trained at LAMDA and The Stella Adler Studio and is currently part of the Tamasha Playwrights programme.
