Everything London

The debut of 5 writers hit the Kiln stage tonight. Each 15-minute play dealt with issues of our time: identifying as transgender, Hindu grief rituals and a painful realisation of the deceased double life, of Irish related, cultural identity in Kilburn, OCD or germ fallout from the pandemic, and mental illness. A call had been made for 16-30 year olds to submit their plays, from across the ‘borough’ although it wasn’t clear if it was Camden or Brent, and the best 10 writers were selected and offered the paid opportunity to develop their writing and have it develop and produced into tonight’s offering, and 5 others earlier in the week. The 6 actors reading the scenes, changing roles for each play, and an actor reading directions, ensured the sparse stage was filled with talent, from the drama and sometimes great humour from the writers, all in the professional delivery from the actors. It was free for locals to attend, at The Kiln in Kilburn, London.

We're facing the third lockdown, and I don't know about you but after books and reading, I've probably watched as much TV, Netflix and Prime as I can take. Then scrolling through Twitter last month- a habit I have incurred during the pandemic - I saw The Kiln theatre offering tickets to see " The Invisible Hand" a live-streamed, rehearsed reading. Written by a Pulitzer Prize winner Ayhad Aktar, it consists simply of four male characters. A kidnapped American broker set in Pakistan, and three of his captors. As you'd expect there are power dynamics, yet there are nuances within it which reveal so much more. The banking / financing system, the disaffection of UK born Pakistanis. A particular line struck me hard - the young very angry captor shouts at his prey, offloading experiences of why he was made to feel different and unable to be accepted into Hounslow- the part of London where he grew up - right by the airport, and that they- white English "made hi...