Partners and Collaborators

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

Dysbiosis: Call for Creative Practitioners

A paid opportunity to be part of an exciting new project!

We’re seeking a range of creative practitioners – from performers and theatre-makers to artists and filmmakers – to be part of making our next production. This is an opportunity to join the research and development process for a new theatre project exploring our relationship with nature. Dysbiosis (working title) will examine topics including the language we use to speak about nature, the Global North’s relationship to the natural world and queer ecology. It will also investigate greener ways of making theatre, partly building on the ideas of Ecostage.

We’re looking for practitioners to join us at Queens Theatre Hornchurch for part or all of the week of 27th March. We particularly encourage people from Outer East London and South Essex to apply. We’re interested in people from all backgrounds and at all stages of their professional careers, though experience in devising would be beneficial. We can pay artists £175 per day pro rata up to a maximum 5 days.

Express Yourself Through Stories

Do you like stories? And do you want to improve your confidence and communication? We’ve once again teamed up with the brilliant Sign For All, this time for a one-off session on storytelling for younger people. It’s a fun introduction to storytelling for BSL users and learners aged 14-18, taking place on Saturday 5th March 10.30am – 12 noon via Zoom.

The workshop will be facilitated by John Wilson, whose wide breadth of experience includes extensive work as a guide in museums, and Sef Townsend, an internationally celebrated storyteller. It will explore how we tell stories, not just with words but with our bodies, gestures and BSL.

Get in touch with Sign For All for more details.

We hope to see you there!

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!

Mobile Incitement returns to East London

After having its tour cancelled due to the pandemic, Gerrard Winstanley’s True & Righteous Mobile Incitement Unit is back! And not just that – it’s returning to Daedalus’s home turf: London’s East End.

The show, made in collaboration with The Black Smock Band and Rua Arts, with funding from Arts Council England, been invited to open the Freedom and Independence Theatre Festival with a bespoke version of the show, featuring guest artist Saida Tani. Who is amazing. It’s all quite an honour, frankly. It’s next Friday and Saturday at the Brady Centre in Whitechapel.

You can find out about the festival and download the brochure here – there are lots of great shows and other events. Do have a look.

You can also jump straight to buying a ticket for Mobile Incitement (as we call it for short) here on Eventbrite.

We hope to see you there!

East on BBC London

Sef just did a fantastic interview on Jeanette Kwakye’s BBC London Radio show. You need to listen! It includes a clip from Michele Chowrimooto’s story, and some really brilliant observations from Sef about the role of storytelling, the importance of sharing stories across cultures, how the East Voices project works, and how to approach sharing your personal story for the first time.

Jeanette’s shows are great, but if you want to jump straight to Sef’s interview you can start at 01:36:38.

Go to East Archive for Michele’s story and many others.

You’re invited! East Voices Digital Series Online Launch Event

Stories and songs from London’s East End communities and beyond. This online event celebrates the launch of East Voices Digital Series.

Since June, Daedalus Theatre Company, in partnership with Numbi Arts, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro and Rua Arts, has hosted workshops and collaborated with East Londoners and a host of guest artists, to gather stories and music. We’re excited to now launch a series of storytelling videos hosted on the East Archive.