The Letter Alif
A mainstay of the last five weeks has been our festival, ‘MAKE SPACE!’ for which I have been interviewing the artists who, each week, come to make use of our rehearsal room and create a play for a work-in-progress performance on Fridays. (By the way, if this is your first time reading one of my interviews, you should totally go and check out all of them. Yep. Every single one.)
Our fifth and penultimate show comes from Imran Ahmed, who brings us ‘The Letter Alif’, a tale about a south Asian father and son. When the blind and suicidal Naz’s neurodivergent son returns into his life, he takes it upon himself to reconnect and redeem himself. The play centers around their dynamic and invites us to think about our own experiences with fatherhood, immigration, grief, love and acceptance.
Speaking of being invited to tables, Imran kindly allowed me to interview him both about his experience with rehearsing and creating at Bubble, and his personal creative journey with ‘The Letter Alif’.
Imran: “I found out about London Bubble through my friend who did one or two shows here, so he’s known about it.
He told me that they (Bubble) have a lot of opportunities for young people. One day he came up and said ‘the MAKE SPACE!’ festival is happening.’ So we agreed I would submit something and he would submit something, and let’s see if it gets picked, and then mine got picked. He’s directing the piece now.”
The ‘MAKE SPACE!’ festival has been about providing the next generation of theatre makers with the space and resources that they need to create plays and define who they are as artists through rehearsal and audience feedback.
As discussed with the cast of ‘CAMPitalsm’ last week, the chance for theatre makers to find space in which to get their work is a huge challenge, and our mission as London Bubble is to provide a space for everyone’s stories.
“I really enjoy the chill vibe. Bubble was just like, ‘come in, do whatever you want, we don’t mind, we’ll provide you with snacks, here’s a kitchen, here’s this, here’s that.’ They let me do whatever I want in the space and just leave me to it. There’s no pressure, not once have they said to me ‘The lighting or the sound need to be like this.’”
What’s more, it seems the expansive collection of props Bubble have acquired over the years have served as a catalyst for inspiration for Imran.
When I asked Imran how else he planned to use the space in the play, he gave me an answer I wasn’t expecting, but one I’m delighted about the prospect of either way:
“There is a dance sequence. It involves everyone getting up. It’s a flashback for two of the characters. It was originally going to be a prom setting, but it’s a wedding now. It’s their first dance and they call their guests (the audience) up to dance.”
‘The Letter Alif’ deals with themes such as suicide, neurodivergence, and South Asian heritage. However, the plot doesn’t wrap around these facts, and these facts never take the limelight from the story.”
“I think the biggest theme that we’re exploring here is loss. This is just a story and my characters just happen to be neurodivergent. Instead of promoting or focusing on it, I just wanted it to be a story, and this character just happens to be neurodivergent. A lot of stories these days make it all about these themes and make it so you have to sympathize with the character. It’s really important to just teach people to be nicer. I like to write about things that are often thrown on the side.”
At Bubble there are no restrictions on what the artists in Make Space! can choose to do with the rehearsal room (Well, obviously we won’t be getting an underfloor lift in), but there’s props, costume and seats galore, not to mention our fabulous lighting technician who has worked with every single one of the ‘MAKE SPACE!’ artists to bring their vision to life.
‘MAKE SPACE!’ a rare opportunity for both artists and audiences, to create stories ever told before and as Imran puts it “give the market something new.”
“I think young people are at the forefront of everything in society now. When there’s things like ‘MAKE SPACE!’, other theatres and companies should learn from Bubble and what they’ve been doing for young people, giving them space for six weeks. I think that’s a great initiative. It encourages other artists to do their own work. A lot of young people at the moment don’t have opportunities. We should come together as a community and help people out.”
This week, Imran may be at London Bubble, but in the future he sees ‘The Letter Alif’ taking life on the silver screen.
“I love screen, I love it. I think for me, when I write a script I like to think of it cinematically. At the end of the day I would love to see it (‘The Letter Alif’) as a film. I feel this story can be adapted, it can relate to people of different backgrounds and countries. You can take it anywhere, and I’ll look for other opportunities like ‘MAKE SPACE!’ to take it forwards!”
As long as you invite us to the premiere, Imran!
Thank you once again to the lovely Imran for letting me pick his brain on ‘The Letter Alif’, and what he makes of our ‘Make Space!’ initiative.
‘The Letter Alif’ will be taking place on Friday the 22nd of November at 7.30pm at London Bubble. Tickets are free as always, and the building is accessible. Doors open at 7:00pm!
Thanks again,
Gina
Click here to see the full line up of ‘MAKE SPACE!’ sharings!
Click here to find out more about our mission at London Bubble.