Under The Mask

by Shaan Sahota. Directed by Sita Thomas

A Tamasha and Oxford Playhouse co-production. Supported by Sennheiser

– How do I live with myself if someone gets hurt because of my mistake?

– How do you live with yourself if you walk away?

In March 2020, hundreds of final year medical students finished their studies early, and started work on the frontline of the Coronavirus pandemic. This is the story of one of them, a newly qualified doctor, Jaskaran.

On her first day at work, Jaskaran is deployed to her hospital’s Covid Intensive Care Unit. Nothing prepares her for what she finds. 

Rows of intubated patients, the rhythmic hiss of ventilators, the screech of alarms indicating abnormal vital signs, the constant rolling of paralysed bodies to prevent bed sores, the pain and blisters of wearing full PPE for 12 hour shifts, and the crying relatives saying goodbye via Skype…. 

This burden was carried alone by a generation of young doctors and nurses, who couldn’t even get a hug from their parents, in case they passed the virus on. 

New writer Shaan Sahota is a junior doctor who lived this experience. She is also a member of the 2020 Tamasha Playwrights group. 

UNDER THE MASK is Shaan Sahota’s extraordinary debut, part recorded on location in hospital wards using fully immersive, 360-degree binaural sound. Audiences listen through headphones, whilst seated on stage and individually lit, giving a doctor’s perspective on the pandemic and putting you, the listener, into their shoes uncovering a remarkable story of fortitude and hope.


Portrait by paper collage artist Rosalind Freeborn www.paperface.co.uk


We are grateful to The London Community Response Fund (City Bridge Trust) for supporting Tamasha to deliver our digital programme and professional development programme for London-based artists during this time.

 

We are grateful to the Culture Recovery Fund for supporting Tamasha, especially during these unprecedented times.

 

Also supported by

Dates

Theatre Peckham

221 Havil St London SE5 7SB

13 Jun — 18 Jun

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Theatr Clwyd

Raikes Lane, Mold, CH7 1YA

30 Jun — 03 Jul

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Liverpool Playhouse

Williamson Square L1 1EL

08 Jul — 10 Jul

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Oxford Playhouse

Beaumont Street, Oxford, UK, OX1 2LW

12 Jul — 15 Jul

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Rose Theatre

24 – 26 High Street, Kingston Upon Thames, London KT1 1HL

21 Jul — 25 Jul

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Creative

Written by Shaan Sahota

Directed by Sita Thomas

Sound Designer Farokh Soltani

Lighting Designer Ashley Bale

Dramaturgy Fin Kennedy

Production

Technical Stage Manager Kieran Enticknap

Cast

Aysha Kala

Stacy Abalogun

Neil D’Souza

Amerjit Deu

Lourdes Faberes

Balvinder Sopal