Tag Archives: Tower Hamlets

Artist Spotlight: Tasnim Siddiqa Amin

Tell us about yourself and your creative practice.

I’m Tasnim, a queer Bangladeshi-British woman from East London and I am a visual artist, theatremaker and writer. I am Assistant Producer/Director for Daedalus Theatre Company. 

What does queer ecology mean to you?

I don’t do very well with long words haha but after spending a week unpacking and consistent Googling I would say queer ecology describes a critical, intersectional and decentralised approach in the way we look at how people, plants, animals and smaller organisms interact with their environment, both locally and globally.

What did you discover about yourself and the way you work during the Dysbiosis R&D week?

I discovered that I really thrive in pressured creative environments bouncing ideas of creatives from different disciplines. It dawned on me that to pursue a project you don’t need to have it all figured out, having an idea is good enough. I never knew I could work with venues this way, the way Paul was doing, to say hey I have an idea and I want to bring along a bunch of people that I’ve never met from different creative disciplines in a rehearsal room at your theatre and see what happens. 

In case you missed it, our latest newsletter…

Welcome to this quick roundup of news from Daedalus Theatre Company.

If you’ve been stuck in London these past few weeks, there’s not been much of a summer. But with September around the corner, we’ve been busy brewing some exciting projects and plans.

Ten Years East at A Season of Bangla Drama – save the date!

We’re really thrilled to announce that East Storytelling Project has been selected for this year’s A Season of Bangla Drama, with an evening of stories and songs from across the diverse cultures of East London. In line with the festival’s theme for 2023, we’ll be exploring love in its many forms. It’s also ten years since we started East, so we have a line-up of tellers and singers from across the decade. We’ll also be performing at the venue where it all began: Rich Mix in Bethnal Green.

Here’s a summary of the festival programme and for now, please save the date! Our show, Ten Years East, is on the evening of 19th November.

Artist Spotlight: Kathryn Webb

Can you help us?

Hi everyone,

We’ve created street theatre with local teenagers. We’ve taken our queered, musical version of English radical history to venues ranging from Latitude Festival to Tower Hamlets. We’ve created a performance with primary school kids to share their ideas for a better world. We’ve been part of Eid celebrations, the Tower Hamlets Boishaki Mela and A Season of Bangla Drama. We’ve worked with students at our local uni, Queen Mary. Our storytelling project East has brought together people from across the amazing diversity of East End heritages, including Bengali, Jewish, Somali and Vietnamese, to learn stories and songs from each other. We’ve created opportunities for deaf and hearing storytellers to collaborate and share skills. We’ve given refugees a voice, and we’ve made safe creative spaces for queer artists. We’ve given hundreds of people from all walks of life a chance to develop their creativity, and thousands of people a chance to watch, listen and participate in arts projects.

Could you be a Trustee?

Daedalus Theatre Company is on the lookout for new trustees. We need people who believe in the value of the performing arts to celebrate diversity, connect communities, foster understanding and explore big ideas. Might this be you?

The trustees’ role is to provide oversight and advice to the artistic director and ensure the company meets its legal requirements, such as reporting to the Charity Commission. The core part of the role is attending four meetings a year, currently via Zoom, and checking the annual report. There’s occasionally some additional paperwork, and some trustees also choose to provide advice on their areas of expertise outside of formal meetings. The role is voluntary. 

Protest Song Exchange

When?

11:30am-1pm, Sunday 6th February 2022

What?

This is an exciting opportunity for musicians and others with an interest in current and historical protest to get together and share songs, music and knowledge. Hosted by Daedalus Theatre Company and The Black Smock Band as part of the Mobile Incitement project, and also connected with the storytelling project East, the session offers an open, creative space for cultural exchange and collaboration, and to develop new skills and ways of working.

This is paid professional development opportunity, not a public event. Places are limited. That said, do get in touch if you’re interested in taking part.

East Voices – now live!

The title says it. The East Voices digital series is now live, and you can watch here:

With stories both true and traditional from countries as diverse as Vietnam, Poland and Mauritius, and from voices that include first-time storytellers alongside experience professionals, the East Voices digital series truly reflects and celebrates the diversity and cultural richness of East London and beyond.

Do also keep coming back – there are more stories to be added. And please feel free to talk to us if you have a story to tell.

Congrats to all for an amazing festival!

We had a great time performing Mobile Incitement at the Freedom and Independence Theatre Festival, with some amazing audience feedback. We feel deep gratitude to the many people who made it happen but especially Kazi Ruksana Begum, Tower Hamlets Arts Development Officer, who is an absolute force of nature, making amazing things like this festival happen on tiny budgets, while calmly dealing with the Herculean task of coordinating lot of artists and companies, both professional and amateur. Big thanks also to Mushahed Ahmed, Jules Deering, Ali Campbell and everyone else.

Welcome to Guest Artist Saida Tani

We’re very excited to be joined by Saida Tani for our performances at Freedom and Independence Theatre Festival. Normally, at each place we visit with the project, we work with local people to create a bespoke version of the piece that reflects the radical history of the area. But here, well, we’re back in East London, our home territory. We’re the locals. So why not work with a locally much-loved star?

Make sure you get to see this! You can get your tickets here:

Hope to see you there!

Mobile Incitement on Channel S

Our artistic director, Paul, was on Channel S last night to talk about bringing Mobile Incitement to Freedom and Independence Theatre Festival, along with representatives from some of the other companies involved. You can watch it on Facebook here:

You can book your tickets for Mobile Incitement here:

We hope to see you there, for a unique combination of gig, theatre and celebration!