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| Immersive play in east London school to explore motives of radicalised youth | Immersive play in east London school to explore motives of radicalised youth |
| (7 days later) | |
| A theatre company has begun work on a production that aims to delve into the motives of radicalised teenagers like the three east London schoolgirls believed to have travelled to Syria in February. | A theatre company has begun work on a production that aims to delve into the motives of radicalised teenagers like the three east London schoolgirls believed to have travelled to Syria in February. |
| A cast of 113 young actors will take over a school in Bethnal Green – less than a mile from the academy attended by Shamima Begum, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase – for two weeks in August. | A cast of 113 young actors will take over a school in Bethnal Green – less than a mile from the academy attended by Shamima Begum, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase – for two weeks in August. |
| The immersive play, titled Homegrown, is being created by by director Nadia Latif and playwright Omar El-Khairy, and will be developed with their cast, exploring how young people become radicalised and misconceptions about Muslims in the UK. | |
| Paul Roseby, the artistic director of the National Youth Theatre, which commissioned the piece, said: “When the story of the missing three in Bethnal Green happened it struck us that this would be an interesting topic to explore because it directly concerned young people. | Paul Roseby, the artistic director of the National Youth Theatre, which commissioned the piece, said: “When the story of the missing three in Bethnal Green happened it struck us that this would be an interesting topic to explore because it directly concerned young people. |
| “It is not going to be an immediate retelling of that story because we don’t know all the facts. Instead, what Nadia and Omar are drawing on is the fears and misconceptions around Islam in this country and the obvious racism that is happening as a result of the actions of Isis, and so they are working on this piece with the idea of redressing the balance.” | “It is not going to be an immediate retelling of that story because we don’t know all the facts. Instead, what Nadia and Omar are drawing on is the fears and misconceptions around Islam in this country and the obvious racism that is happening as a result of the actions of Isis, and so they are working on this piece with the idea of redressing the balance.” |
| Roseby said the decision to stage it in a borough central to the story of the three schoolgirls and to use a cast mostly aged 15-17 would give the piece a “rare honesty and poignancy”. | Roseby said the decision to stage it in a borough central to the story of the three schoolgirls and to use a cast mostly aged 15-17 would give the piece a “rare honesty and poignancy”. |
| Rather than sitting down in chairs facing a stage, the audience will be able to walk through the school and observe different dramatic moments and conversations about radicalism and racism happening in classrooms and hallways. A central narrative will bring all the strands together. | Rather than sitting down in chairs facing a stage, the audience will be able to walk through the school and observe different dramatic moments and conversations about radicalism and racism happening in classrooms and hallways. A central narrative will bring all the strands together. |
| “It will be a production asking why are these young people so fascinated about going to either become jihadi brides or fight for Isis, or both,” Roseby said. “And I genuinely think that’s a question only a person that age can really understand and begin to answer. We’ve got this wealth of resource here because young people know what’s going on and can tell the story first-hand in a way older people may never have previously considered. | “It will be a production asking why are these young people so fascinated about going to either become jihadi brides or fight for Isis, or both,” Roseby said. “And I genuinely think that’s a question only a person that age can really understand and begin to answer. We’ve got this wealth of resource here because young people know what’s going on and can tell the story first-hand in a way older people may never have previously considered. |
| “I think it is our duty as a young company to commission new work and tell stories that are on the edge that divide opinion. Perhaps the end result theatrically will also divide opinion – it was ever thus – but I think it is worth the risk because theatre is a very powerful medium to explore those issues that can make people feel uncomfortable.” | “I think it is our duty as a young company to commission new work and tell stories that are on the edge that divide opinion. Perhaps the end result theatrically will also divide opinion – it was ever thus – but I think it is worth the risk because theatre is a very powerful medium to explore those issues that can make people feel uncomfortable.” |
| Homegrown will also feature interviews with people in Bethnal Green, conducted by the cast and creative team. | Homegrown will also feature interviews with people in Bethnal Green, conducted by the cast and creative team. |
| The major casting has yet to be announced but the actors are all members of the NYT, a theatre company for 14- to 25-year-olds, who have to audition to join. Notable NYT alumni include Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Colin Firth and Daniel Day-Lewis. | The major casting has yet to be announced but the actors are all members of the NYT, a theatre company for 14- to 25-year-olds, who have to audition to join. Notable NYT alumni include Dame Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Colin Firth and Daniel Day-Lewis. |
| Roseby said the the play’s sensitive subject had already raised interesting questions. “One of the actors in development said: ‘Because I’m Asian, does that mean I’m going to play a bad Muslim?’ I thought that was very revealing about how the younger generation are made to think and feel. And I think it is important to say with this piece that racism is not just an older-generation issue. | Roseby said the the play’s sensitive subject had already raised interesting questions. “One of the actors in development said: ‘Because I’m Asian, does that mean I’m going to play a bad Muslim?’ I thought that was very revealing about how the younger generation are made to think and feel. And I think it is important to say with this piece that racism is not just an older-generation issue. |
| “We are not the Bugsy Malone company, we’re the complete antithesis of that, so what else do you do with young people? Well, this is happening to young people, it is a subject that is certainly not going away and therefore I think it is fascinating, challenging and apt to explore it using a young cast.” | “We are not the Bugsy Malone company, we’re the complete antithesis of that, so what else do you do with young people? Well, this is happening to young people, it is a subject that is certainly not going away and therefore I think it is fascinating, challenging and apt to explore it using a young cast.” |
| • This article was amended on 8 June 2015. An earlier version misdescribed Nadia Latif and Omar El Khairy as “two young Muslim playwrights”. |