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An Asian epic of our times

1/ 4/2002

'JOURNEY to the West' is a beautiful, thought provoking, and inspirational experience.

The poignant, seven-hour trilogy, now touring Britain after its premier at Manchester's Contact Theatre, is the story of the Asian migration to Britain. Five years in the making, the performance is a hybrid of dance and song from different cultures, based on interviews with Asians living here today.

Written by Jatinder Verma, Tara Arts artistic director, the epic is a fitting 25th anniversary celebration of the pioneering theatre group, which has given a voice to migrant Asians in Britain.

The nation-wide tour began in Manchester as part of the Commonwealth Games Spirit of Friendship Festival and the stage was shared with local schoolchildren and community groups, who gave a short performance before each play.

The whole event took nine hours which may seem daunting but this included two, one-hour intervals when the Contact Theatre was transformed into a Chandi Bazaar with mehndi painting. Indian dace and food was on offer too.

The actual drama was divided into three parts describing not just the physical journey West undertaken by Asians but the enormous cultural and emotional cost of seeking (but often not finding) security and prosperity in the UK. The scene shifts from the famine ravaged Punjab to the near slave labour of the Kenyan rail construction project during which 2,493 immigrant workers died under British control.

It moves to the present day via the Kenyan independence struggle which ironically threatened the lives of many Asians who opted for immigration to Britain only to taste the bitter pill of racism in the 'mother country', It ends in our times with the characters attempting to seek identity amidst the temptations and pitfalls of Western life.

It tells the story through the experiences of one family - many deeply harrowing. In one scene the mother, newly arrived in the UK proudly dresses in her best sari for her first day at the factory. But her attire is against regulation. The gaffer brutally unravels the sequinned cloth - reminiscent of a Bollywood rape scene.

Journey to the West contained some of the best acting I have ever seen. Using only ropes and cloth, the stage was transformed from the perilous Indian Ocean to the heat of Kenya and then to the cold of rainy Britain. I caught my breath as the actors climbed and hung from the high ropes, each actor a chameleon changing from male to female role, Asian to white, cockney to native Kenyan.

Special commendation should be given to Dina Mousawi, making her debut with Tara Arts. Singer Najma Akhtar who provided the background music was sensational as well.

Journey to the West is food for thought. The performance asked - where are we now and with David Blunkett proposing "citizenship tests" for immigrants, I sadly realise how little our society has progressed.

But with groups such as Tara Arts acting as a voice for multi-culturalism, I feel there is hope for the future.

Journey to the West is showing across the country until June. A must see. For more information visit www.taraarts.com