The past is a very dangerous place' Two people, united by blood and separated by time, weave the tapestry of their lives. Loretta arrives in Victorian England as a wide-eyed young Ayah for two children. Her dream is to earn enough money to pay for a ticket back to her beloved Indian homeland. However fate intervenes leaving her destined to a controversial, colourful life in Victorian London. A century later, Loretta's great great grandson Kalil leaves his East African homeland to start a life in England. He dreams of respect and the good life for his family but, as it did for his ancestor, fate intervenes.
Nirjay Mahindru's witty first play takes its audience on a thrilling flight of fantasy to India. As his Queen gives birth to an heir, King Mandragora's kingdom is plagued by a terrifying series of omens. Flying fish and fiery peacocks can be explained but who are the alien creatures with chalky white skin and what do they want? This new play creates a vivid world, populated by kings, soothsayers and clowns, threatened in a clash between old and new civilisations. Mandragora is the most inventive new play since Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children hit the bookshops, audaciously running rings round the accepted western view of the early encounters between the English and Indians.
When dreamer Ravi inherits a stinking run-down cafe in the back end of Kings Cross, he genuinely believes he's up on his luck. Calling on his two best friends, Suresh, a small-time enterpreneur, and Irvin, an out of work actor, Ravi proudly dreams of opening a chic new joint to entice in the posh crowd. But their fun and friendship are rapidly brought to a devastating climax with the unexpected visit from a quirky local called Ken, and a surprising discovery… Dark, punchy and wickedly entertaining, this brilliant black comedy thriller rips apart the sensibilities of three British Asian Londoners striving for definition, as they tumble into a nightmarish sequence of frighteningly bizarre events and behaviour.
‘The original reason for creating the concentration camps was to keep there such people whom we rightfully considered enemies of the State’ Herman Goering, Nuremberg Trial, 1946 Three British Asians are incarcerated in an unfamiliar land. Guilty or innocent? The journey of five characters is explored at their point of intersection. All is not what it seems. Truth and deception, reality and fabrication are woven together in this powerful tale that explores one of the most controversial aspects of modern day counter-terrorism. Inspired by the Guardian dossiers of interviews at Guantanamo Bay, this illuminative and daring new play looks at how the global ‘war on terror’ has rocked our perceptions of national and religious identity. Mixing fact and fiction, horror and dark humour, The Hot Zone boldly addresses the political abuse of human rights today.