Tara Theatre’s artistic director Natasha Kathi-Chandra has unveiled her inaugural season, with a focus on continuing the venue’s focus on championing South Asian artists and experiences.
Highlighting stories full of joy, contradictions and complexities. The work is political and humorous, focussing on themes of climate crisis, immigration, forbidden love, illness and the conflict between freedom and duty.
The season begins with A practical guide on how to save the world when no one f***ing else is, presented by the Tara Theatre Young Company, directed by Tara Theatre’s associate director Gavin Joseph and written by Nicole Latchana. It explores Western apathy to the climate crisis as young activists seek reparations for those affected in the Global South.
The play will be performed by Tara Theatre’s Young Company which is a paid programme for 18-25-year-olds looking to develop as theatre makers, launched by Natasha Kathi-Chandra in 2022.
Hunia Chawla’s Permission asks us to consider what liberation looks like between two Pakistani friends, the respectable Hanna and activist Minza as they explore the trope of ‘the oppressed Muslim woman.’ It is directed by Neetu Singh.
I Dream of Theresa May is written by Vivek Nityananda and directed by Natasha Kathi-Chandra. Exploring what it means to be a model British citizen, Nikhil a gay Indian man, accepts the mentorship from the UK’s previous Prime Minister Theresa May to secure his right to remain.
Finally, presented in coproduction with the Bush Theatre is Sweetmeats by Karim Khan, which explores the unlikely and forbidden love sparked between two South Asian elders Liaquat and Hema who meet at a type 2 diabetes workshop.
Here’s the full line-up:
A practical guide on how to save the world when no one f***ing else is
Directed by Gavin Joseph, written by Nicole Latchana
April 15-19, 2025
A ragtag climate action group meet every Tuesday in a crumbling community hall. When their leader vanishes, tensions rise as they are left to decide between peaceful protest or eco-terrorism. Caught between fighting themselves and fighting the system, the group must navigate what it means to fight together.
Permission
By Hunia Chawla, directed by Neetu Singh
May 30 – June 7, 2025
Leaping between a Heathrow immigration line and a rooftop in Karachi, Hanna navigates her political and sexual autonomy by embodying the image of a respectable Pakistani woman. Her best friend, Minza, has little time for respectability politics. Their tender friendship, set against the relentless backdrop of Karachi, is put to the test when Hanna moves to London to pursue freedom and independence, while Minza remains in Karachi to fight for freedom on the picket line. Through their journeys, the play casts a questioning eye on the trope of ‘the oppressed Muslim woman’; and the link between patriarchy, protest and the global political order.
I Dream of Theresa May
November 17-29, 2025
A new play by Vivek Nityananda, directed by Natasha Kathi-Chandra
In 2013, Nikhil, a gay Indian man living in London, is desperate to find a way to stay in the UK. He finds an unlikely mentor when his nemesis, Theresa May, appears at his flat with an offer to help – if he meets her standards.
Sweetmeats
By Karim Khan
2026 TBC
South Asian elders Liaquat and Hema meet each other in a Type 2 diabetes workshop where they learn to count carbs and manage their metformin, but find themselves navigating the sparks of a new forbidden love. Dates are to be announced.
Further details: www.taratheatre.co.uk
Top image: A practical guide; Persuasion; I Dream of Theresa May – all photos credit Mathushaa Sagthidas (supplied)