Tamasha Directors: Care and Connection in Crisis

Tamasha Directors is a year-long pilot programme, led by Sita Thomas, focused on the professional and artistic development of Directors of colour, who are at the beginning to mid-stages of their career, and who demonstrate exceptional promise.

This year has been a year of change and so after just one ‘in-person’ session and a certain ‘rona getting in the way, we moved our directors group online.

It felt like a useful moment in time to develop digital skills and we decided to initiate a directing audio project loosely inspired by Sita’s direction of Tamasha’s binaural audio-drama UNDER THE MASK by Shaan Sahota.

Our talented directors created and directed their own audio pieces responding to themes of care and well-being, as well as what is happening in the world today. 

From a conversation between cousins dealing with a sick family member, to an invitation to sit and reflect, our Tamasha directors have created six audio dramas using the skills learned on this course. 

Tap the MEDIA tab (up top) to listen to all six dramas now. 

About the audio dramas

THIS PLACE by Brigitte Adela

This Place is an invitation.
An invitation to take your phone and a pair of headphones and find a space in your home.
Take a seat on the sofa, your chair or bed, anywhere.
Just somewhere at home.
Open the file and press play,
Close your eyes and I’ll meet you in this place.

THEY CAME by Eileen Bellot

They came
They heard a calling from the Mother
They told them
That she was their Mother
That they could thrive and grow
In this nurturing mothers arms
So they came.

Between 1950-60’s hundreds of thousands of Caribbean’s left their homeland to set sail for the ‘Motherland’. Only to find a mother that was not always kind to them.

THEY CAME is an evocative audio drama featuring poems and verbatim interviews from those who came, interwoven with stories of loss and transition.

As they begin to wither, what happens to the generation that the winds rushed across a malevolent Atlantic Ocean?

HELLO, IT’S ME by Gavin Joseph

Pandemic, quarantine, panic, apocalypse, end of days, isolation. A voyeuristic peek into the conversations between two Londoners that have manifested out of lockdown ranging from the truly mundane to ones filled with hope.

ECHO CHAMBER by Omar Khan

Systemic neglect, a lack of care, poor social mobility, misinformation, ‘cancel culture’, social media algorithms. All these have warped our perceptions of each other as a society. We currently find ourselves living in non-identical realities, each one distinct from our political counterparts. Echo Chamber explores how this polarisation leads to isolation, anger, and ultimately, violent acts of extremism.

DIFFERENT BOOK COVERS by Tian Brown-Sampson

The world has slowed down.

People have started watching. Listening.

Caring?

Maybe they would if they knew of the stories beyond the ones they tell of us. If they knew that our stories are filled with pride, love, joy – just as theirs are.
If they knew that to truly see us, they also had to see themselves.

A young man invites you into his home.
You’ve come to hear a story.
Thankfully, this house has plenty.

PAREIDOLIA by Sonny Nwachukwu

Two things will bring a family back together: a holiday gathering or someone in the hospital – and this time, it is the latter. When Nnamdi and Chidiebere are forced to confront the issues that led to their not-so-peaceful parting, can their resentment make way to allow for a renewal in their familial relationship?

Tap the MEDIA tab (up top) to listen to all six dramas now. 

Sensitivity warning: please note these audio clips may include strong language, reference to severe illness, isolation & extremism. At times pieces may also include brief moments of overbearing noise.

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