Giving Voice
A series of classes for Asian women playwrights in Blackburn in partnership with Kali Theatre
Anjum Malik (front right) with members of the Giving Voice group
Kali is a London-based theatre company which is establishing an outreach programme in the regions, and this is the first of its kind in the North West.
The classes were tutored by Anjum Malik, a playwright based in Manchester who was appointed as Literary Associate by Kali at the end of 2008.
The course was based at the Audley Centre in Blackburn for a group of women participants, none of whom had previous playwriting experience. The aim was to help these women find a voice by stimulating and encouraging their writing. As part of the programme they saw a rehearsed reading of Anjum's own piece Nahid, had a guest tutor, Tanika Gupta (writer of Meet the Mukherjees, Sugar Mummies &c) and enjoyed a visit to a performance of the 'Bollywood' version of Wuthering Heights in Harrogate.
At the end of the six week course the writers had extracts from their work show-cased by professional actors and a director in front of an invited audience.
We are supporting another series of classes in Blackburn in Spring/Summer 2010 to further develop the Giving Voice writers.
Tanika Gupta and Anjum Malik examine scripts by participants in Giving Voice