New play on arranged marriage is funded by the Arts Council
A BRAND new play about ‘Asian Arranged Marriages’ will premiere this week at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham.
‘Love Match’, written by Alice Jolly, has been funded by The Arts Council of UK and will open at the Everyman Theatre on Tuesday February 14th.
The play will run nightly at 7pm until Feb 18th.
Written by Alice Jolly, the Arts Council funding was put in place to develop the script in co-operation with the Everyman, Cheltenham Borough Council and the Bangladeshi community of Cheltenham.
The play centres on the issue of arranged marriages, comparing the Eastern approach to the Western love match. The theme was suggested by a Cheltenham-based Bangladeshi women’s group and in writing the play, Alice used ideas and stories provide by the group.
Director Binda Singh said: “Alice has written a timely and thought provoking piece which I am sure will interest many people of all backgrounds.”
The plot revolves around Abdul and Mumtaz and their doubts about arranged marriage. Trish and Dave believe in romantic love but their relationship also has its own uncertainty. What do both couples really know about each other and anyway, who cares when England is playing cricket against Bangladesh!
This is a world premiere and Alice hopes to tour the show nationally over the next 18 months.
The cast includes Rob Leetham, Ali Zaidi, Sanita Sims and Kim Baker.
Alice said: “I really enjoyed working alongside the Bangladeshi community of Cheltenham and I’m looking forward to seeing their response.”
For more information on Love Match log onto http://www.amritsa.com/lovematch.htm
Details on how to buy tickets can be found at http://www.everymantheatre.org.uk
