Leicester’s Curve will mark the 50th anniversary of the Ugandan Asian exodus with a community production in summer 2022—and community members are invited to take part.
In August 1972, Ugandan President Idi Amin ordered the country’s Indian and Pakistani communities to leave within 90 days. Many of those displaced were British citizens and, as a result, about 27,000 people emigrated to the UK, with thousands settling in Leicester.
Finding Home—Leicester’s Ugandan Asian Story at 50 will feature three new short plays by writers whose families arrived in the UK from Uganda.
Chandni Mistry, Ashok Patel and Dilan Raithatha will explore the impact of the Ugandan Asians’ exodus, their journeys to Leicester and their contributions to the city over the past five decades. The plays will be directed by Leicester-based Mandeep Glover who trained at Curve as resident assistant director.
Mistry said, “I’m so excited to have the chance to tell the stories of British Ugandan Asians who, like my family, have made a home in Leicester. These stories aren’t told in schools and so it wasn’t until I was older that I understood what my own grandparents had experienced.
“I’m really looking forward to creating a new piece of children’s theatre to help younger generations understand and connect with their own family history.”
Glover added, “I’m so honoured and proud to be a part of such an amazing project with a theatre that’s putting the heart of the Leicester community on stage. I believe that theatre spaces should share stories from under-represented groups that aren’t commonly heard from and this is what Curve is doing.”
Anyone interested in performing, sharing their experiences or getting involved in the project can do so through the Curve web site or by e-mailing [email protected].
Finding Home—Leicester’s Ugandan Asian Story at 50 will run at Curve from Friday 29 July until Saturday 6 August.