IN A NUTSHELL
A poignant and important commemoration of the life, and untimely death, of Altab Ali in 1978.
GO ON…
This heart-breaking story about the death of Altab Ali oscillates between a village in Sylhet, Bangladesh and a flat in East London and dramatises the historic moment in 1978 when his mother is given the devastating news. Altab regularly writes letters to his family back home with descriptions of life in a foreign land but everything changes with the arrival of an ominous envelope from one of Ali’s friends. This senseless murder is the catalyst for a mass anti-racist movement from the Bengali community; the first ever seen in Britain, culminating in a demonstration of 10,000 people marching to Downing Street via Hyde Park with his coffin. Though airmail letters are no longer a primary means of communication, the anger conveyed ‘par avion’, and the impact of this senseless murder live on, both for his family and the community at large.
Image credits Rehan Jamil.
WHAT TO EXPECT
A story about the East End you haven’t heard before, told by a local female Bengali writer.
This play is based on a true incident.
WHO’S INVOLVED
The Swadhinata Trust – a London based secular Bengali community group that works to promote Bengali history and heritage amongst young people.
Julie Begum – writer and chair of Swadhinata Trust
Mukul and Ghetto Tigers
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
‘It is thought provoking, beautiful and sensitively put together. There were so many layers to it that I think everyone left taking something different from it.’ – Dr Delwar Hussain, audience member