A 21st century urban love story from Tamasha Theatre
love ain’t something you just say
just this word
it’s something you do
Caneze meets Sully in the college canteen. The heat rises over triple chilli sauce in Nando’s. She makes her move in the sweet smoke of a shisha bar. A touchpaper is lit… but neither of them bargained on the lengths to which her brother would go to keep them apart.
Set among a Midlands Pakistani community, Blood is sparky, funny and heart-wrenchingly honest. A timely and contemporary story, this play cuts through political agendas and goes straight to the heart. It lets us into a world governed by links to family and clan, as much as fiercely individual wants and desires.
“After the 2011 riots, I felt frustrated over the myopic portrayal of working class young people. It was important to me to write a play which captured the complexity of their lives and the brave, sassy way they negotiate their identity in a wider context.”
Emteaz Hussain
Tamasha Artistic Directors Fin Kennedy and Sudha Bhuchar today announce the cast Emteaz Hussain’s Blood, the centrepiece production of their 25th anniversary year.
Esther Hussain will direct Krupa Pattani and Adam Samuel-Bal in the co-production with the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. It will open in Coventry in March (press night 31 March) before visiting theatres around the UK including Soho Theatre, Birmingham REP and Tron Theatre in Glasgow. Blood reunites Tamasha with playwright Emteaz Hussain following their 2008 production of Sweet Cider at the Arcola Theatre.
Blood is part of a programme of ongoing work which furthers Tamasha’s ambition to give a voice to theatre created by and about the UK’s culturally diverse communities. Tamasha’s 2014 touring production, My Name is… was adapted for Radio and aired on BBC Radio for this Monday and in development this year is Taxi Tales, an experimental site-specific community project in which Co-Artistic Director Fin Kennedy will support playwright Ishy Din to work with real-life minicab drivers in Stockton-on-Tees to develop monologues to deliver to customers in the backs of their cabs.
Cast: Krupa Pattani (Caneze) and Adam Samuel-Bal (Sully)
Director and Dramaturg: Esther Richardson; Designer: Sara Perks
Lighting Designer: Aideen Malone; Composer and Sound Designer: Arun Ghosh
Blood Tour Dates:
The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
27 March – 11 April
Box Office: 02476553053
www.belgrade.co.uk
Nottingham Playhouse
23 – 25 April
Box Office: 0115 941 9419
www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
Soho Theatre
28 April – 17 May
Box office: 020 7478 0100
www.sohotheatre.com
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
19 – 23 May
Box office: 0121 236 4455
www.birmingham-rep.co.uk
Bradford Theatre
28 – 29 May
Box Office: 01274730077
www.freedomstudios.co.uk
Redbridge Drama Centre
1-2 June
Box Office: 020 8708 8800
www.redbridgedramacentre.co.uk
Pegasus Theatre, Oxford
5 – 6 June
Box Office: 01865812150
www.redbridgedramacentre.co.uk
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
9 June
Box Office: 01204 520661
www.octagonbolton.co.uk
Tron Theatre, Glasgow
11 – 13 June
Box Office: 0141 552 4267
www.tron.co.uk
Derby Theatre
19 – 20 June
Box Office: 01332 59 39 39
www.derbytheatre.co.uk
Luton Hat Factory
24 June
Box Office: 01582 878100
www.lutonculture.com/hat-factory
Curve, Leicester
26 – 27 June
Box office: 0116 242 3595
www.curveonline.co.uk
