30 years OF TARA
From our patrons...
Over the years Tara has proved itself a uniquely seductive British theatre company. Its blend of East and West continues to inspire an alluring vision of modern Britain.
Hanif Kureishi
Tara’s work is a terrific synthesis of east and west.
Sir Richard Eyre
Tara has had an extraordinary journey from passionate student work inspired initially by a racist murder in Southall to its present settled position firmly embedded in the British national theatre scene. In the process they interrogated themselves and challenged the theatre sector and both have been changed in the process. They have brought another sensibility onto the scene, stretched British cultural life and helped to make those of us with different origins visible to both ourselves and others. May their next 30 years be as illuminating.
Naseem Khan, OBE
On July 4th 1976, Gurdip Singh Chaggar, a 17-year old Sikh boy living in Southall, fell victim to a racist murder. Out of the inferno surrounding his death, an Asian public presence emerged in Britain, with a variety of Asian Youth Movements springing up in all the major British cities... and Tara.
Tara’s three decades of making cross-cultural theatre began on 25th August 1977, with an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s anti-war play, ‘Sacrifice’: this was chosen in part as a response to Gurdip Singh Chaggar's death and in part as a reflection of injustices within Asian communities. Tara's mission was clear: to reflect contemporary British realities and experiences through adaptations of classics.
In Autumn 2007, Tara produces an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’: one of the most eloquent explorations of colonialism - where Prospero finally recovers for himself and Caliban their shared humanity.
The table below sees Tara's 30 years through the prism of major events in society.
| YEAR | EVENT(S) | TARA PRODUCTION |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Queen's Silver Jubilee. |
Rabindranath Tagore's 1917 anti-war play, Sacrifice @ Battersea Arts Centre, London 25-26 August |
| 1978 | Anna Ford makes her TV debut. |
Tara's first devised new play, Fuse: a young immigrant's experiences of school in England. |
| 1979 | Shah of Iran flees into exile; Ayotollah Khomeini returns to form new government. |
Playing the Flame - the story of a young Asian woman's resistance to marriage. Yes, Memsahib - an exploration of the betrayal of Indian pioneers to East Africa by the British Raj |
| 1980 | Mrs. Gandhi wins landslide victory. |
Inkalaab, 1919 - the story of the Amritsar Massacre in 1919, counter-pointed by the riots in contemporary Britain. |
| 1981 | Gunmen shoot Northern Ireland civil rights campaigner Bernadette McAliskey. First London Marathon. Attempted assassination of President Ronald Regan. Brixton Riots. Pope John Paul II is shot in Rome. Charles and Diana marry. Mystery disease kills homosexuals. |
Vilayat or England, Your England |
| 1982 | Judge holts 'obscenity' trial brought by Mary Whitehouse against Michael Bogdanov's production of 'Romans in Britain'. |
Scenes in the Life of... - Lions Raj Sapno Kay Ruup |
| 1983 | BBC wakes up to morning TV.
|
Ancestral Voices The Passage Shikari Meet Me |
| 1984 | Torvill and Dean win Olympic Gold |
A Cabaret for All Seasons Chili in your Eyes Miti Ki Gadi
|
| 1985 | Gorbachev becomes Soviet Leader. Live Aid concert makes millions for Africa. Air India jet crashes killing 329. Boris Becker wins Wimbledon at 17. Riots in Brixton after Police shooting. |
Anklets of Fire Strange Fruit Crawl Sepoy's Salt, Captain's Malt This Story is Not for Telling |
| 1986 | Challenger space shuttle disaster.
|
The Little Clay Cart Salt of the Earth The Broken Thigh Tejo Vanio |
| 1987 | Hurricane winds batter Southern England. Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie sentenced to life. Fire at Kings Cross station kills 27. Margaret Thatcher wins record third term |
1919, An Incident New Constitution Exile in the Forest The Refugee Bicharo |
| 1988 | Paddy Ashdown elected first leader of new Social and Liberal Democrat party. English players denied visas for Indian cricket tour. Edwina Curry provokes fury over egg salmonella claim. Lockerbie air disaster kills 270. USSR pleadges to leave Afganistan |
Vengance Black Shalwar Hayavadana Bhavni Bhavai Theft of a Smell |
| 1989 | Salman Rushdie issued with Fatwa for writing 'The Satanic Verses' on St Valentine's Day. Football fans killed in Hillsborough disaster. Massacre in Tiananmen Square after democratic uprising. Guildford 4 released after 15 years in jail Fall of the Berlin Wall. |
The Government Inspector Roundheads and Peakheads Danton's Death Chameleon Karna |
| 1990 | De Klerk dismantles apartheid in South Africa. Nelson Mandela freed from prison after 27 years. Anti-poll tax riots. Margaret Thatcher resigns as Prime Minister. |
Umbrellas South-Side Story/Radha Tartuffe @ The National Theatre Marriage of Convenience |
| 1991 | Operation Desert Storm - Iraq Birmingham 6 freed after 16 years in jail Rodney King beaten to death in LA. First Briton in space. John McCarthy freed in Beirut. Freddy Mercury dies from AIDS. Break up of the Soviet Union. |
Oedipus the King The Little Clay Cart @ The National Theatre |
| 1992 | Maastricht treaties make EU official. South Africa votes for political change. Bill Clinton wins US presidential election. Church of England votes in favour of women priests. Fire in Windsor Castle. |
Heer-Ranjha Antigone Heer & Romeo Jackal's Cackle |
| 1993 | Oil tanker runs aground off the Shetland Islands. |
Monsters & Minotaurs
|
| 1994 | Rwandan genocide escalates. |
Trystan & Essylt
|
| 1995 | Microsoft Windows launches PC revolution. Oklahome bombing kills 168. British forces sent to Sarajevo. OJ Simpson found "not guilty" of murdering wife. Nigeria hangs human rights activists. Clinton is first serving US President to visit Northern Ireland. "Rogue Trader" Nick Leeson jailed for bringing down collapse of Barings Bank. |
Cyrano @ The National Theatre Sniffer Ganesha Pinnochio Goes Asia |
| 1996 | First GM food goes on sale in UK. |
Bottom's Dream |
| 1997 | Dolly the sheep is cloned. Labour wins landslide election victory. IRA declares ceasefire. Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash. Mother Teresa dies. Scientists confirm link between BSE-infected meat and vCJD. |
O Sweet Sita Dance Like a Man Crazy Horse Nagwanti |
| 1998 | World fury at Pakistan's Nuclear testing. UN warns of famine in Sudan. Northern Ireland peace deal reached. 29 killed in Omagh bombing. President Clinton admits Lewinsky affair. Thousands flee fighting in Kosovo. |
To the Dogs/Erpingham Camp Exodus The Ramayan |
| 1999 | Britain gets first minimum wage. |
Genesis Genesis Stories Diwaali Stories |
| 2000 | New millennium celebrated. |
Revels in the West Adventures of Dum Revelations |
| 2001 | Cattle culled in Foot and Mouth crisis. Thousands die in Gujarat earthquake. 9/11 World Trade Centre terror attacks. US declares "War on Terror" |
2001 - A Ramayan Odyssey |
| 2002 | The Euro is launched. Queen Mother dies. Bali nighclub bombing kills 202. Riots force 'Miss World' competition out of Nigeria. |
Journey to the West: a Migration Trilogy |
| 2003 | British and American troops invade Iraq. Anglican church approves gay bishop. Idi Amin dies. Arnold Schwarzenegger elected Governor of California. Concorde decomissioned. England win Rugby World Cup. Saddam Hussein captured. |
A Taste for Mangoes |
| 2004 | 170 die in Madrid train bombings. |
Mandragora When the Lights Went Out |
| 2005 | Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans. London wins 2012 Olympic Games. Suicide bombers target London. Battle of Trafalgar bicentenary celebrations. England win back the Ashes. George Best dies. |
The Genie of Samarkand The Merchant of Venice When the Lights Went Out |
| 2006 | Terrorists bomb trains in Mumbai |
The Genie of Samarkand An Enemy of the People When the Lights Went Out The Marriage of Figaro |
| 2007 | HotBed: Tara Studio Season Nowhere to Belong The Tempest |