Migration Plays: Four large cast ensemble stories for teenagers

This collection of plays explores immigration to and emigration from the UK, featuring four new plays written and devised in collaboration with secondary school children. The plays address complex issues surrounding migration, such as border control, cultural identity, and the search for a better life. Through their creative process, the students have the opportunity to develop their understanding of migration and to counteract the often negative narratives surrounding it.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 136 pages
Publication date: 08 August 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Immigration to and emigration from the United Kingdom are explored in this collection, which includes four brand-new plays that were written and devised in collaboration with groups of secondary school students. A theatre-in-education initiative was coordinated by the Tamasha theatre company and The Migration Museum, in which children engaged in activities intended to improve their knowledge of and attitudes toward migration. A professional playwright then incorporated the children's reactions into a play that the students subsequently performed.

These plays are accompanied by the original exercises that served as their inspiration. The plays include:

Nothing to Declare by Sharmila Chauhan: This play follows three precious keepsakes and the stories attached to them as their owners are stopped at a hostile border.

Potato Moon by Satinder Chohan: This play focuses on the potatoes buried in a share allotment. They become people's memories in a magical realist Southall, and when they start to go missing, schoolgirl Mira sets out to find out why.

Wilkommen by Asif Khan: This play follows 11-year-old Ammar on the most dangerous journey of his life, from a war-torn country across the sea and land, to take up the offer of a new life in Europe.

Jigsaw by Sumerah Srivstav: This play tells the story of how three angels, horrified by mankind's cruelty, prepare to wipe them out until they find an unlikely friend who changes their mind.

This collection is an invaluable resource for teachers who wish to address the sometimes tricky issues surrounding migration. It provides students with the opportunity to create and, in doing so, counteract and humanize the narratives they hear in the media and society as a whole. The plays are engaging, thought-provoking, and relevant, and they offer a unique perspective on the experiences of immigrants and emigrants.

In conclusion, this collection is a must-have for teachers and students who are interested in exploring the complexities of immigration and emigration. It provides a powerful platform for students to express their ideas and emotions about migration, and it offers teachers the tools they need to facilitate meaningful and engaging discussions about this important topic.

Weight: 148g
Dimension: 213 x 140 x 11 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350090415