Hear Me Now

THE HEAR ME NOW PODCAST is a new initiative from Tamasha and Titilola Dawudu, that follows the success of the book, Hear Me Now Audition Monologue for Actors of Colour published by Oberon Books, and the 2019 festival, Hear Me Now presents: LoveSexIdentityAmbition, at Theatre503.

Conceived in 2016 by Tamasha and writer-producer Titilola Dawudu, the book of short monologues brought together playwrights and actors in creative workshops to generate better audition material for ethnically diverse actors than the largely stereotypical characters currently on offer. Hear Me Now Audition Monologues for Actors of Colour was published in October 2018 and by December of the same year, was Oberon’s biggest selling book.

The HEAR ME NOW podcast hopes to continue the pathways and opportunities that the book successfully managed to create for, by bridging the gap for underrepresented artists. Hosted by Dawudu, guests will include Winsome Pinnock, Endy McKay, Shiv Jalota, Heather Agyepong and Jumoke Fashola. 

Each podcast episode promises to ignite honest and open conversations ranging from the current state of the creative arts industry, to race, identity and balancing mental health issues whilst delving into creative pathways.

Titilola Dawuda, writer-producer and co-creator of HEAR ME NOW said:

I wanted to have conversations in the comfort of our own homes and spaces to talk about issues that we are currently going through. How the pandemic is affecting us in terms of our creativity, employment and mental health. We have a range of people on the podcast who were so open and candid about the future of the industry, our place within it and how integral our work is now more than ever.

Debo Adebayo, Lead Producer of Tamasha said:

From the first moment Titi told us about her idea for a book of monologues we knew this was  a project we had to collaborate with her on. Since its release, it’s become so much more than a book. It now represents a movement, creating opportunities, new writing and safe spaces for people to come together to speak, discuss and perform. The Hear Me Now Podcast is part of its natural evolution and the seven episodes are urgent, enlightening and deeply engaging. There will be something for everyone in this series. We cannot wait for people to hear it.

The HEAR ME NOW: PODCAST series is in partnership with Afridiziak – the UK’s only website dedicated to celebrating African-Caribbean theatre, and is supported by The London Community Response Fund. It will feature seven episodes with the first two episodes releasing in mid-January 2021. 

TAMASHA THEATRE COMPANY

Causing a commotion since 1989 

Tamasha has been causing a commotion in British theatre since 1989. We tell stories crafted by emerging and established artists, celebrating the lived experience of communities nationwide. Our founding emphasis of championing British Asian talent has broadened, with our mission to create a home for a new generation of artists of colour, enabling them to shape the most powerful stories to move, provoke and inspire people across the UK.

We support theatre makers in gaining the skills, knowledge and creative community to create innovative, new work. Tamasha Developing Artists includes masterclasses, showcases, training programmes and networking opportunities, informed by and responsive to the evolving demands of the creative industries.

We collaborate with partners to commission and produce an artistic programme interweaving live and digital productions, such as audio dramas, walking adventures, magazine-style podcasts and annual touring productions. All staged beyond traditional spaces.

We work with schools to deliver participatory models to nurture cultural awareness and discussion between teachers and students, and dedicated outreach programmes to facilitate conversations within communities inspired by our work.

Tamasha is especially grateful to The London Community Response Fund for supporting us to deliver our digital programme and professional development programme for London-based artists during this time.

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TITILOLA DAWUDU

Titilola Dawudu is a writer and editor and trustee for Theatre Centre and on the advisory boards of Beyond Face and Creative Leamington.

She is part of the Black Womxn in Theatre team behind the iconic #WeAreVisible photoshoot of over 250 black womxn at the Globe Theatre in July 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Black Womxn in Theatre partnered with Eclipse Theatre and Bush Theatre in creating #AllOfUs campaign and #HearToStay a 4-week redundancy recovery care programme. This saw 50 Black, Asian and ethnically diverse people who were made redundant or were at risk of, come together and receive financial, mentoring and job support.

She co-created and edited Hear Me Now Audition Monologues for Actors of Colour with Tamasha, published by Oberon Books. In February 2020, Titilola curated and produced a one-week festival, taking 16 monologues from the Hear Me Now book and creating a platform where stories about Black and South Asian women were not Centre around trauma. LoveSexIdentityAmbition at Theatre503 saw an all Black and South Asian cast and crew open up conversations and provocations about the stories that are on the theatre stages for women of colour.