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Dateline: 27th May, 2005
The British Asian Experience at Stratford East Well-known British Asian actresses Meera Syal, Shobna Gulati and Nina Wadia will headline Britasia!, an array of shows and events celebrating the British Asian experience and talent, which will be presented at Theatre Royal Stratford East between 21st June and 2nd July.
Britasia! begins its two-week run with Curry Tales (Tuesday 21st to Thursday 23rd June, where Rani Moorthy plays a succession of larger-than-life cooks who laugh, chat and cry while actually making mouth-watering curries on stage. From vengeful Trinidadian duck curry to life-saving Malaysian Laksa, the dishes are shared with the audience, proving that curry really is the sauce of life!
Then, Asian DJ’s Raj and Pablo play the Gener-Asian Game on Friday June 24. The two will present an evening of irreverent fun and frolics for all the family to enjoy, in an Asian spoof of the well-known TV game show, The Generation Game. Raj and Pablo currently host a popular programme on BBC Radio’s Asian Network.
It will be time for comedy on Saturday June 25, when Stratford East presents Stand Up Britiasia!, hosted by Paul Chowdhry, and featuring Ayesha Hazarika, Jay Sodagar, and Kevin Sherwani as the headline acts for this night of stand-up comedy with the best of British Asian comedians.
There are also activities for those of a more literary disposition. On Tuesday June 28 and Wednesday June 29, there will be The British Dream, which will feature readings of six short plays by established, emerging and new writers, such as Tanika Gupta, Wally Jiagoo, Samina Baig, Aileen Gonsalves, Alia Bano, and Ashmeed Sohoye.
Shobna Gulati, who plays Sunita in Coronation Street, and Nina Wadia, who starred in the hit television series Goodness Gracious Me, will take part in Britasia Blaggers, an hilarious improvisational comedy show with a difference, on Thursday 30th June and Friday 1st JUly.
Some of Britain’s leading Asian performers will be devising comedy sketches and songs with the help of the audience. Celebrities on stage will be totally exposed with just their wit, humour and experience to cover their blushes from the onslaught of an audience, who will be just waiting to get involved.
Britasia Blaggers will start at 7.30pm on both days. On Friday 1st July, before the second show, there will be a symposium at 3pm on the subject What Does the British Asian Identity mean in the Arts Today? The panel of the symposium will include Meera Syal, star of TV shows Goodness Gracious Me and The Kumars and author of Anita and Me. Entry is free.
Britasia! closes with a bang on Saturday July 2 with a Music Extravaganza Night, a night of breaks and beats, featuring artistes such as Sanchita Farruque, Niraj Chag, and Sam, a.k.a. State of Bengal.
One of the original pioneers of the British Asian music scene, Sam’s collaboration album with Paban Das Paul 04 was nominated as best global album by Song Lines, and voted number two by XLR8R in their global breakfast charts. Niraj was the composer of Baiju Bawra, which was staged at Theatre Royal, and he returns to Stratford East with Along a Dusty Road, music from his first solo album.
There will also be free music nights on Thursday June 30 and Friday July 1. On Thursday, budding DJ’s from the ADFED artistic development programme strut their stuff, while on Friday Aktarv8r presents sounds from urban global street cultures with hip-hop and Eastern vibes. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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