Mud Stories at the Rum Factory

By DaedalusAdmin on Friday, August 16, 2024

We’ll be at The Old Rum Factory Festival, at Bow Arts’s Wapping studios, this Saturday, 17th August, with Mud Stories – a performance of stories and music from banks of the Thames.

Come down to the River Thames at low tide and join the mudlarks’ hunt for some very valuable objects that will tell us something unique about London’s history. But there is so much here, how do we know where to look? All we can see are mud, shells, stones, and rubbish! Maybe we can ask someone for help? Who’s this?

Here to guide us are East lead artists Shamim Azad and Sef Townsend, Daedalus assistant producer/director Tasnim Siddiqa Amin and Daedalus director/musician Paul Burgess.

Suitable for all ages but recommended ages 8+, it can be seen at 2pm and 4pm. And it’s free!

The Old Rum Factory Festival is centred on open studios, so you can see the work of the many incredible artists who are based there. But there’s lots else to see as well, including a whole programme of workshops. You can get all the details here.

We’ll leave you with a snap from rehearsals. Hope to see you there!

Events Participation

Dysbiosis: Creative Nature Exhibition

By DaedalusAdmin on Sunday, June 30, 2024

“Such beautiful conversations, and lasting connections made” – Exhibition Launch Attendee

Last month we launched the DYSBIOSIS: CREATIVE NATURE EXHIBITION in Rainham. Over four workshops, Rainham and Wennington locals of all ages came together to observe the nature around us and express their thoughts creatively and together. A selection of these artworks are now available to view as you ascend the stairs at the Royals Youth Centre.

Here is an extract of a poem written by Wennington resident and Change Maker Laurence:

Events Participation

Call Out for East Music 2

By DaedalusAdmin on Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Musicians! You’re invited to East Music: Song and Tune Exchange Session at Poplar Union on Saturday 6 July

Reserve your free space here

After an incredible pilot session, we are thrilled to be back at Poplar Union for a Summer Edition this July.

Bring your instruments and voices along with songs or tunes from across the world to play, sing and share. There may be an opportunity to play to a live audience later in the evening.

This is a free, friendly and inclusive session for players of all levels of experience. Global Majority* and LGBTQ+ music makers are particularly welcome. The session will be led by one of our East musicians.

Date: Saturday 6th July 2024

Time: 4-6.30PM

Duration: 2.5 hours including a 30 minute break

Location: Poplar Union

Ages: 18+

Events Participation Partners and Collaborators

Callout: East Music – a new project

By DaedalusAdmin on Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Musicians! You’re invited to East Music: Song and Tune Exchange Session at Poplar Union on Saturday 23rd March, 4PM-6.30PM

Reserve your free place here

Bring your instruments and voices along with songs or tunes from across the world to play, sing and share.

This is a free, friendly and inclusive session for players of all levels of experience – Global Majority* and LGBTQ+ music makers are particularly welcome. The session will be led by East musicians Andy Bannister, Michele Chowrimootoo and Paul Burgess.

This is a new strand of our East Storytelling project, and we hope to extend it to further sessions. All being well, there’ll also be an opportunity to share the results with a live audience later in the year.

Events Major Projects Participation

DYSBIOSIS: Creative Nature Workshops – call for participants

By DaedalusAdmin on Monday, January 29, 2024

Calling all Rainham and Wennington residents!

Our latest community programme is now live for DYSBIOSIS: Creative Nature Workshops.

Join Daedalus Theatre Company for some fun and relaxed drop-in workshops and contribute to a collaborative artwork that will be displayed at Rainham Royals and Queens Theatre Hornchurch. Sign up via Google Forms here. If you need support with the form email tasnim@daedalustheatre.co.uk or if you prefer to do it on the phone, call Tasnim on 07942 476053

Sign up here!

Location: Rainham and Wennington, East London

Dates:
Session 1. Saturday 24 February 2024, 11AM-2.30PM
Nature Walk at Rainham Marshes, Purfleet
Meeting point: Rainham Library, 6 Celtic Farm Road, Rainham RM13 9GP
Session 2. Friday 1 March 2024, 6-8.30PM
Creative Workshop, Royals Youth Centre, Viking Way, Rainham, RM13 9YG
Session 3. Friday 8 March 2024, 6-8.30PM
Creative Workshop, Royals Youth Centre, Viking Way, Rainham, RM13 9YG
Session 4. Friday 15 March 2024, 6-8.30PM
Creative Workshop, St Mary & St Peter’s Church, Wennington Road, Wennington, RM13 9DX
Meeting point in Rainham for those who need transport to Wennington TBC.

Plus follow-up sessions later in the year!

You do not need to attend every workshop.

Be part of a fun and relaxed project to explore how we relate to nature and the natural world. Havering is one of London’s greenest boroughs! It’s rich in nature and history. For example, did you know that 400,000 years ago, the Anglian ice sheets reached as far as Hornchurch, forcing the Thames into its present course, or that if you’re lucky, at low tide, you can see the remnants of an ancient forest from the Neolithic age?

This is an opportunity to explore your creativity with the support of interdisciplinary arts professionals from the Dysbiosis project. You’ll be guided through the process of making a personal creative response to the theme, then work with the rest of the group to make an installation that combines everyone’s work. The work will then be showcased at Rainham Royals and Queens Theatre Hornchurch. No experience necessary.

Who is it for? All residents of the Rainham and Wennington area are welcome. Aimed at adults but children are welcome if supervised by an adult.

Sign up here!

For more information, email Assistant Producer/Director Tasnim at tasnim@daedalustheatre.co.uk or call 07942 476053

Organised by Daedalus Theatre Company in partnership with Havering Changing and support from Queens Theatre Hornchurch and Arts Council England.

Check out the Daedalus website and sign up for the Daedalus newsletter for more about the project Dysbiosis, the company and the latest Dysbiosis project updates or follow us on Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Facebook.

Creative workshops at Poplar Union, Tower Hamlets, for a previous project: Mobile Incitement

Events Participation Partners and Collaborators

Ten Years East: a huge thank you!

By DaedalusAdmin on Monday, December 4, 2023

Massive thanks to our wonderfully supportive audience, to Ruksana Begum and all at A Season at Bangla Drama, to Jack Birch, John Anthony and the rest of the Rich Mix Team, to Maeve O’Neill at Rua Arts, to our sponsors and funders, and of course to all our incredible artists.

The show was filmed by Marble Sinew and photographed by A Season of Bangla Drama regular Rehan Jamil. But first, let us share the wonderful reel made by Nabeela Zaman:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Daedalus Theatre Company (@daedalustheatre)

Next, the official pics from Rehan:

Here’s the video of the show, filmed and edited by Marble Sinew:

Finally, some photos by Jonathan Chan and Kanatip Soonthornrak, and a picture, again by Rehan, of Shamim and Paul being presented with an award for being part of the 20th year of A Season of Bangla Drama.

Events Major Projects Participation

Announcing the lineup for Ten Years East!

By DaedalusAdmin on Saturday, November 18, 2023

Paul Burgess, Andy Bannister and Michele Chowrimootoo. Image credit: Tasnim Siddiqa Amin

As part of A Season of Bangla Drama, Sunday 19th November 2023, 5:30PM we return to the iconic East London venue Rich Mix, where the East storytelling started in December 2013.

We have an exciting evening of stories and live music for you, and are thrilled to announce the incredible talent that will be taking the stage this Sunday. Farah Naz makes a return to EAST with the story of ‘The Queen of Sheba and Solomon’, we will hear the tale of ‘Rochael the Gossip’ from John Heyderman, Andy Bannister of The Black Smock Band singing ‘The Water is Wide’ and a reimagining of ‘The Sultana’s Dream’ from EAST newcomer Tasnim Siddiqa Amin. We’re also joined by musician and singer Hasan Ahmed and percussionist Michele Chowrimootoo.

Events Major Projects Participation

Daedalus November Newsletter

By DaedalusAdmin on Saturday, November 18, 2023

Dear friends,

Welcome to our November newsletter.

Image credit: montage by Paul Burgess using photos by Simon Daw and Rehan Jamil

Ten Years East

With A Season of Bangla Drama nearing its halfway point, and our next show, Ten Years East, just over a week away, we’d like to tell you more about the exciting line-up we have brought together for you.

Farah Naz is a poet and Deputy Director of The British Bilingual Poetry Collective. She was part of the original East group, and some of her stories can be seen on our East Archive, as can John Heyderman’s remarkable story of his father’s escape from Nazi Germany: Two Gold Rings. John will be sharing a Jewish story, and Farah will tell a tale from the Muslim tradition.

Our two lead storytellers, both of whom have been at the heart of the East project since the start, will also be performing. Shamim Azad is a highly celebrated writer, poet and storyteller here in East London and in Bangladesh, while Sef Townsend, an internationally acclaimed storyteller, has told stories around the world, from refugee camps to festivals. They will be joined by Tasnim Siddiqa Amin, Daedalus’s assistant director and producer. Tasnim is a theatremaker, critic and artist, and has a script-reading of one of her own plays later today as part of the festival programme: Knotted.

Events Participation The Company

Daedalus October Newsletter

By DaedalusAdmin on Saturday, October 28, 2023

Dear friends,

Welcome to our October newsletter.

Ten Years East – tickets now on sale!

Join us for a relaxed evening of compelling stories and unforgettable songs from across the diverse cultures of East London.

Ten Years East is a celebration of love as a language that crosses borders and breaks boundaries, that remembers lost homelands and dreams of new frontiers. After a decade of performances, workshops and gatherings, the East storytelling project now presents an exciting lineup of musicians and storytellers in this family-friendly event.

With material spanning the globe to reflect the rich cultures of our East End, from English folklore to Bengali tales and Jewish songs, you are warmly welcomed to celebrate Ten Years East.

Events Major Projects Participation

Ten Years East at the SBD Sharing Day

By DaedalusAdmin on Friday, October 27, 2023

Part of this year’s A Season of Bangla Drama, Ten Years East celebrates a decade of our East storytelling project, with an evening of stories and songs. We have lots more to tell you about it over the next few weeks, but first we want to share a clip from the Season of Bangla Drama sharing day.

One of the great things about this festival is that all the companies involved get together for a day a month or so before the opening night to meet each other and learn about each other’s projects. It’s always a lovely event, and is part of what makes A Season of Bangla Drama such a fundamental part of our local arts community here in East London, and indeed the wider Bangla arts community in the UK. The photo above, by the ever-brilliant Rehan Jamil, is the official group photo.

This year, each company’s intro to the rest of the group was filmed by Seema Khalique and edited into a 30-second mini-film by Marble Sinew. Here’s ours:

If you’d like to come and see the show, it’s at 5:30pm on 19th November at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green. You can find out more and book your tickets here:

Book now for Ten Years East