A MULTI-ethnic play set in a Manchester community centre is touring the north-west in August before heading to Edinburgh Fringe.
The Community Centre!, written by Manchester-based actor Nicola Gardner, is a funny and hard-hitting play which tackles the problem of a lack of ethnic-minority roles in the arts.
Directed by John Klark, the show also addresses the recent Windrush scandal, shown through four African Caribbean pensioners affected by the political scandal, where British citizens were wrongly detained, denied legal rights and threatened with deportation.
Sixty-three people were wrongly deported from the UK by the Home Office before a huge public outcry forced the government to address the problem.
Through comedy, Gardner has taken the opportunity to tell audiences just how the victims of the deplorable Windrush scandal are feeling.
She said: “The Community Centre! comedy show is far more than just wonderful entertainment. This ethnic minority theatre group is not afraid to highlight important social injustice. The show criticises Theresa May and Boris Johnson as it examines the effects of the Windrush scandal on BAME communities.
“The Conservative government’s dreadful handling of the crisis will never be forgotten by the BAME community – the repercussions are far too damaging to simply be brushed under the carpet by the bestowing of a token Windrush Anniversary Day.
“As far back as Ancient Greece and Shakespearean drama, theatre has been a crucial channel by which playwrights and performers communicate important messages concerning social and political upheaval.”
HILARIOUS
Created as an immersive experience where audiences are visitors to the community centre, it also highlights the unfair predicament of people who have lived and worked in the UK for decades and are now being shown that they are unwanted and undesirable.
The hilarious comedy also celebrates Manchester’s rich cultural diversity.
It will tour in August with dates in Manchester and Preston before heading to the prestigious Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre in Edinburgh from August 22-24.
The lack of diverse roles in theatre, film and television has become a major issue in recent years, both domestically and internationally.
As an established performer who has appeared in TV dramas Coronation Street, Emmerdale, The Royal and Brookside, Gardner has first-hand experience of the problem within the British media industry, which ultimately led to her writing The Community Centre!.
The Community Centre!, which has a cast of eight, is touring the UK with a view to producing a TV pilot. Gardner added: “Not since Channel 4’s Desmond’s has there been a regular comedy series featuring black people.
The BBC’s The Real McCoy was back in the ‘90s and didn’t last long. “We aim to change all that with The Community Centre!.”