Karak Chai| Batch no.1 Celebrating all things Theatre, Film, Series and Podcast. I have curated a collection of hidden gems to watch and listen to-- all whilst sipping on your first or fifth Karak Chai. This is batch No.1 of many more to come. I hope you enjoy and do let me know which one was your favourite and also, this is the the first time I am putting this type of episode out. So, please do give me some feedback innit. The Projects in the episode are as Follows: Theatre An Adventure by Vinay Patel & Kash Arshad at Octagon Theatre An Adventure follows three decades tale of a couple who meet in post-partition India in 1954, marry and move first to Nairobi then 1970s England. Cast: Esh Alladi, Saba Shiraz, Daon Broni & Jessica Kaur. Period Party by Gayathiri Kamalakanthan at Hampstead Theatre with Kali Theatre Period party tells a story of a South Asian non-binary Queer teen. Who through this journey and celebration of a period party is going on a journey of discovering who they are. Concha by Carly Fernandez & Manisha Sondhi at Brixton House Concha is a semi-autobiographical show following our lead who is queer and trans, on discovering they have chlamydia, and how they must now inform their recent sexual partners. Cast: Carly Fernandez. 10 Nights by Shahid Iqbal Khan & Kash Arshad at Bush Theatre with Tamasha Theatre 10 Nights about our lead character Yasser who decides to take part in itikaf, which is sleeping and fasting in the mosque for the last ten nights of Ramadan. And how that experiences pushes him to deal with certain things in the past. Cast: Zaqi Ismail, Safyan Iqbal & Sumayya Si- Tayaeb. After The End by Dennis Kelly and Lyndsey Turner at Theatre Royal Stratford East After The End tells a tale about a city under attack from a nuclear blast. As the dust settles, Louise wakes to find herself in a fallout shelter with Mark, the colleague who has saved her life. They have enough water and food to last two weeks. Now they just need to find a way of surviving each other. Cast: Nick Blood & Amaka Okafor. Our Streets by Beth Kapalia & co at Tara Theatre Our Streets explores through film and live performance, a group of 14-18-year-old women and non-binary people of Wandsworth will take the audience on an adventure through the city, all while never leaving the theatre. Delving into a variety of themes, including recent events and discussions around women’s safety in London, Our Streets will open up the conversation of what Wandsworth could and should look like if we all played a part in designing and imagining our local urban landscapes. Cast: Hania, Leona, Issy, Charly, Shania, Anousha, Violet, Daniella & Blu. The Hen-nah Party by Amani Saeed at Richmix The Hen-Nah Party is all of the joy of a henna night without the stress, gender norms, and aunties at the wedding. Featured Artists: Amrit Kaur, Amani Saeed, Sanah Ahsan and Meral Alizada. Rouge by Marion Motin by Rambert Dance Rouge is about finding our real selves: our instinct and nature, rather than our culture. It’s about leaving the artificial world to just live, to connect with real bodies and real people Cast: Daniel Davidson, Juan Gil, Liam Francis, Miguel Altunaga, Aishwarya Raut, Simone Damberg Würtz &Guillaume Quéau. Film Stalling it by Jemma Moore & Caroline Ward Stalling It follows five toilet stalls, three bridesmaids, one pregnancy test, one nosey neighbour - zero ideas of what to do next. The 1980's an era of female independence, sexual freedom, experimentation, self expression and style. Sometimes. It's 1988, Sammy, Bethan and Jo are bridesmaids at their best friend's wedding. Their outfits are fabulous, their hair do's are huge, the nuptials have been made and the drinks are now flowing. We join our bridesmaids in the midst of the time honoured female tradition...the joint bathroom break. Cast: Sophie Hopkin, Jemma Moore, Caroline Ward & Sacharissa Claxton. Little Sky by Jess X Snow Little Sky follows the journey of SKY, a Chinese-American pop star who returns to the city they were raised in to find their estranged immigrant father. Haunted by their childhood memories, SKY risks their non-binary identity to end the cycle of violence in their family. In the confrontation, SKY discovers something that changes how they feel about the people they love. Cast: Wo Chan, Kyoko Takenaka, Fenton Li, Yiging Zhao, Austin Deng, Bruce Liu & Tao Qiu. How To Raise a Black Boy by Justice Jamal Jones How To Raise a Black Boy follows four boys as they journey through a fantastical world of black boyhood, queer identity, and fraternity in a modern reimagining of the fairy tale genre. Cast: Maiya Blaney, Rodney Chrome, Christian Coston-Payne, Emperor Kaioyus, Eric Payne, Rayceen Pendarvis, Justin Smith, Nicklaus Vallie & Cory Walkers. Yaha Waha by Sarah Li Yaha Waha follows a South Asian DJ and a performance artist use their platforms to celebrate their heritage. Cast: Almas Badat, Anthony Pius (...