writernet are working with Pursued by a Bear as Part of Hydroponic.
Footprints in the Sand - two new plays explore the dreams and aspirations, loves and losses of African refugees to Britain.
For One Night Only by Oladipo Agboluaje is a warm hearted comedy about economic migrant Bode and asylum seeker Eddie who meet at Gatwick Airport. Both seek a better life. Their hilarious adventures take them from Didcot to Dover, from Milton Keynes to Crawley, evading the authorities in a quest to fulfil their dreams. A witty and heartfelt piece For One Night Only tugs at the heartstrings and entertains as much as it provokes.
“We live like the sea, in ebbs and tides, walking lightly in case the ground takes our footprints and hands them over to immigrations…”
Letting Go is a haunting love story set in Dover focusing on the relationship between a Liberian Asylum Seeker and a British Asian teacher. Both are imprisoned by their pasts, unable to move forward until the intervention of the mysterious Raza. An atmospheric and evocative piece, Letting Go deals with the anguish of leaving those you love and the terrible choices that some of us must face..
Footprints in the Sand will tour nationally in Spring 2008
Oladipo Agboluaje is one of Britain’s best young writers, “an exciting, vital new voice” (Time Out). He was writer in residence of the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. Recent plays include the critically acclaimed West African adaptation of Mother Courage And Her Children (Nottingham Playhouse and tour), British-ish, (New Wolsey Youth Theatre), The Trials of Brother Jero (adapted from Wole Soyinka’s original stage play, BBC World Service Radio), and Early Morning (Oval House Theatre), and most recently to critical and popular acclaim The Estate (Wolsey Theatre & Tiata Fahodzi). Dipo is currently attached writer at Soho Theatre.
Rukhsana Ahmad (Letting Go) was the Co-founder and Artistic Director of Kali Theatre which she ran for eight years and for whom she wrote Song for a Sanctuary, (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith & National Tour), Black Shalwar (Oval House & National tour) and River on Fire (Lyric Theatre & National Tour). In 2001 River on Fire was nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award “Ripe with tensions and once it is fired up, it crackles with them, a drama that stays with you.” Time Out. Rukhsana has been widely commissioned by companies as diverse as Tara Arts, Monstrous Regiment, Alarmist Theatre, LIFT, Worcester Arts, Birmingham Rep and Derby Playhouse as well as writing and adapting numerous plays for Radio 4 and The World Service. Her play for the Vayu Naidu Company Mistaken...Annie Besant in India is currently touring nationally
Previously writernet collaborated with Pursued by a Bear in 2002 on Out of Context, a day for writers working in applied contexts / social fields / the third sector.
Pursued By a Bear was established in 1999. Since its inception, Pursued by a Bear has sought to ground its work in a sense of community. To this end it has toured to community venues and festivals and used writers and other artists to encourage unheard, marginalised communities to write their lives on the stage. Both their theatrical process and product have at their hearts a notion of community and participation: our work bridges the culturally marginalised and the mainstream. Their core audience is the non-traditional theatre-goer in London and the South East, to whom we offer affordable and accessible artistic excellence.
http://www.pursuedbyabear.co.uk/
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