NT Racism Protest & Eid Milad-Un-Nabi: I began work on Saturday 21st March 2009 outside the National Theatre . A protest by East End artists and community activists was calling for an open debate at the National Theatre over a play there which they say was racist. I then went to Tooting where I had been invited by the Sunni Muslim Association to photograph their annual Eid Milad-Un-Nabi celebrations.
Love Theatre Hate Racism Protest NT Play
National Theatre
A small group of East End artists and community activists protested outside the National theatre calling for an open debate on the play ‘England People Very Nice‘ which was being performed there.
They say the play, set in Bethnal Green and covering three centuries is anti-Bangladeshi, anti-Irish, and Islamophobic, and in February East-End playwright Hussain Ismail and teacher Keith Kinsella had walked on stage during a talk by the play’s author to make their views clear, interupting the talk for around 10 minutes before they were removed by security.
And National Theatre security tried to stop this protest on a public walkway in front of the theatre too, telling the protesters they could not protest there and a cameraman who was videoing the event that he was not allowed to take pictures. But the protesters refused to leave and we kept videoing and photographing and after a few minutes he left.
I’ve not seen the play, though I did read a number of reviews and it certainly caused a great deal of distress, and the publicity over this made it a box office hit for the NT who extended its run. As I commented in 2009, I think it is a proper part of the NT’s remit to be controversial, but it should also – as the protesters were demanding “provide a proper forum to explore that controversy. I very much support the protesters who challenge what they see to be racism and the motives of the playwright and the NT in putting on this work.”
The link to the Institute of Race Relations article from May 2009 gives a good indication of why this play became so controversial.
Love Theatre Hate Racism Protest at NT
Eid Milad-Un-Nabi Celebrations
Sunni Muslim Association, Tooting
I was pleased to have been invited by the Sunni Muslim Association to photograph their Eid Milad-Un-Nabi celebrations to mark the anniversary of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.
It was publicised as a a community event to which all – Muslim and non-Muslim – were invited, although unfortunately few non-Muslims took the opportunity to attend. I think many more would have enjoyed it.
The personal invitation came after I had photographed a couple of their annual processions and had attended an earlier cultural event by the SMA at Tooting Leisure Centre, run by the London Borough of Wandsworth.
As I commented, “It was a very friendly event and although much of the first half was in Urdu or Arabic, there were some fine voices to listen to in the recitations. There was also a very well-produced exhibition about Islam.”
But many outside of the Muslim community would have found the second half more enjoyable. A Sudanese group give some fine performances of religious songs, Muslim comedian Prince Abdi was extremely funny and the Whirling Dervishes were just amazing.
Their dance is “a kind of spiritual rebirth, with their tall hats representing the ‘tombstone of the ego’ and the wide white skirt it’s shroud. The right arm lifts towards the sky to receive God’s blessings and the left palm on which he directs his gaze is turned towards the earth… And they do whirl and whirl, making me dizzy just watching them.”
Photographing them was something of a challenge as the lighting was low and there was a delicate balance between freezing the movement with flash and allowing a certain blur to indicate their movement. I didn’t always get it right.
On My London Diary I list the other performances that follow with my comments. I particularly enjoyed an a capella performance about life in Gaza by Muslim convert rap poet and activist Spitz, but all were excellent.
As I concluded, “It was a fine night’s entertainment – and one that showed (unlike some religious events I’ve attended in the past) that being profoundly spiritual doesn’t mean not being highly talented or not having a good time.”
Among others invited to the event were Sadiq Khan, then MP for Tooting who spoke at athe event and several of the neighbourhood police, one of whom as on the jury of four which awarded the prize for the evening’s entertainment to the two remarkable Afro-Caribbean women from East London, ‘The Pearls of Islam’, drumming and performing their own poetry and songs.
More about the event and many more pictures on My London Diary at Eid Milad-Un-Nabi Celebrations.
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