On July 7th 2021 I walked into a studio at the Watford Palace Theatre with a few lines of my monologue in hand. Just a few minutes past 10am, 7 more writers joined me at the large table and we sat listening attentively to our mentor on this writing journey. All 8 of us had previously been selected as part of the Rifcoarts Associate Programme.
Thus began our writing journey, the growth and development of our monologues, with the theatre equipping us with the tools to take our words to the next level. A process which started in March 2021 took us to a showcase night at the Bush Theatre in 23rd March 2022.
Along the way I made 7 new friends for life who are very talented in their craft. Now we heard each others monologue’s many times over in rehearsals, but to feel that raw emotion on the night was incredible. And those raw emotions are connected to history, to family and to being South Asian in a world which still holds so many preconceptions about our culture. Something I didn’t expect from such a young group of writers, but I was happy to be proven wrong.
It was so refreshing to know that the future of South Asian representation within the arts looks strong, however the challenge is still around getting the platform to showcase our voices. Rifco Theatre are doing to fantastic job in trying to get voices to the masses, but more needs to be done by other mainstream production companies, only then will perceptions begin to change.
Short video talking about the Associates Journey
Some memories from our journey:
Potato Sandwich 
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