Sunday 22 February 2015

A theatrical promotion



Of course, Radio 4's Sunday isn't always about Pope Francis. It's also about Muslims.

This morning's Sunday plugged a new play called Multitudes, being staged at the Tricycle Theatre in Bradford. It promotes a positive message about people converting to Islam in Bradford.

Sunday included an interview with its author, John Hollingworth. Here's a flavour of what he told Ed Stourton:
The Tricycle prides itself on telling unheard stories and I think that this is a good example of that. It's something that is going on and people don't know very much about it. And I do think we live in a sort of sadly intolerant and worrying time, and people regard Islam with undue suspicion.  
So it's as much about Bradford as it is about Islam and about converts. But of course I'd love people to come and see it because, leaving it, one would experience some of the peace of the religion and, hopefully, learn a bit more about it.
The BBC likes to help people to 'educate' us on such matters. 

Here's the theatre's own blurb for the play. See if it tempts you to go and watch it:
‘While we’re watching Saturday Kitchen Live and getting our bits from M&S and indulging down the gastropub, there’s an army of people – a growing army of people – shunning our lifestyle.’
Bradford.  On the eve of a Conservative Party Conference the country is in turmoil and one of its most multicultural cities awaits a visit from the Prime Minister.
Kash, a liberal British Muslim, prepares his address to politicians about the state of the nation. His girlfriend Natalie, a recent convert to Islam, cooks for anti-war protesters gathered at the Town Hall. Lyn, her mother, moans to anyone who’ll listen about the decline of her cherished England.  It’s all too much for Kash’s daughter Khadira, who begins to plan a radical intervention. As the nation questions immigration policies and military support in the Middle East, one family face their own internal conflict of faith, belonging, and who gets to call themselves British.
What's the betting BBC One adapts it for primetime TV in the not too distant future?

1 comment:

  1. Who's the "our"? Isn't that implicitly racist?

    ReplyDelete

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