the Monologues
On 3rd June Anjum Malik, scriptwriter, poet and MMU Writing Fellow showcased her monologue, Nahid to a very appreciative audience of Year 9 students from the Academy. The monologue, telling the story of Anjum's own experience of coming to England from
Pakistan, aged 12 in the 1970s and her life from then until she was 19. It was beautifully performed by actor Thushani
Weerasekera and, judging by the enthusiastic response and questions posed by the pupils afterwards, everyone enjoyed it and found
it relevant to their own experiences.
A smaller group of Academy students then took part in a writing workshop with Anjum, where they explored some of their own stories and monologues. Some fantastic ideas emerged. It turns out that everyone has a story to tell.
The monologue was first commisioned by People's History Museum for performance as part of the museum's history. It remained with the museum for five years and was later commssioned by David Blunket, department of Education and Sport to be taken into schools.
It is now being developed as an education resource by Anjum Malik with MMU and we will be taking it into schools and community groups in the autumn term. We were pleased to give the Academy a sneak preview.
Following on from Anjum Malik's workshop, director David Deamer and assistant director Sidra Akram (MMU English & Film) have produced ten short films.
Each of the films features one student from Manchester Academy telling their story in their own way. The films are intimate reflections of the performer and the performance, each exploring a moment in a diverse universe of experiences.
These students prepared their Moss Side stories by attending writing, poetry and performance workshops with lecturers and artists from Manchester Metropolitan University. In this way, each monologue is not only a personal story, but an exploration of the possibilities of telling a story.
- Jeylani Jeylani tells the story of a day out as a young child, and how excitement can turn into fear.
- Liam Kelly explores this theme through the excitement of leaving primary school, and how it soon turns into fear of the future at high school.
- Wycliffe Chilowa and Herman Fikhter tell of coming to the UK, of settling in at the Academy and living in Moss Side. Tosin Adeybe and Jane Andelakun look back to times before they came to Moss Side, back to their lives in their first countries.
- Ivy Makhoha and Nisha Hinds tell of the impact of their mothers’ pregnancies on their lives. Yussuf Farrah also focuses upon his family with a dreamlike story of sibling rivalry.
- Ryan Maguire tells the tale of an encounter with a football coach and a chance to shine on the pitch…
Some are melancholy, some funny, some in verse, some conversational. All are unique.
