THE OLYMPICS OF THE EVERYDAY
meanings suggested by its day-to-day use, and we’ve incorporated both visual arts and the young people’s storytelling ideas. We’re responding both to our own theme, the Olympics of the everyday, and what each space is used for.’ If the rooms have a surreal quality, the characters in those rooms are even more absurd, almost as if they had walked in from a Monty Python sketch. ‘One of our young performers dresses as a i sherman and plays badminton with a i sh,’ says Aslam. ‘We have housewives doing the ironing while wearing boxing gloves.’ One young performer, 16-year- old Connor (a member of Glasgow youth theatre company Ignite), says it is ‘great fun’ being part of the show; not least because he performs the role of ‘a postman who plays cricket’.
For Aslam, the key to creating quality theatre with young people is to have an excellent creative team. ‘We have a group of world-class artists supporting the production,’ the director comments. She is referring to an impressive group of creatives, which includes musician and sound designer Daniel Padden, of The One Ensemble, acclaimed theatre designers Kai Fischer and Ricardo Pardo, and playwright Jodie Marshall. Also part of the team, in a number of roles, is acclaimed Scottish beatboxer Bigg Taj. ‘I worked with Ankur before, so I knew this was going to be a big, successful project,’ he says.
In addition to performing as a beatboxer, Taj is also a youth worker. Ankur asked him to assist in recruiting the young people who will perform the piece, as well as helping to create the show and performing in it himself. He was delighted to embrace this series of roles. ‘I was happy to be working with the team again,’ he tells me, ‘and taking part in the
performance, helping recruit the young people and running workshops to develop the script and the characters. All of these things attracted me to join the project.’ In the show itself, Taj will perform as a sort of compere, introducing elements of the production and playing a supporting role to some of the young performers. For example, at one point in the show he will beatbox in accompaniment to young singers, rappers and musicians. ‘We’re just going to be hosting it,’ he says of himself and his fellow compere, ‘but it’s the young people who are going to be holding the whole thing together. It’s a very diverse show. There’s dance and music; there’s funny parts and serious parts. The young people are very much to the fore.’
For director Aslam, The Olympics of the Everyday is a perfect expression of Ankur’s artistic outlook. ‘It’s cross-generational in the sense that we have a collaboration between an adult creative team and the young people who are performing,’ she says. ‘However, many elements are from the youth culture of the young people themselves, rel ecting their experiences here in Scotland. They are also migratory experiences. Ankur is about bringing together culturally diverse communities, and we have a range of young people from different cultural backgrounds in the project. ‘We’re mixing people from different communities, whether they like it or not,’ she adds, with a laugh, ‘because the usual gym users will be there during the performances.’
The Olympics of the Everyday is at Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Glasgow, Thu 9–Sun 12 Aug, £2.50, 0141 559 4935. For further information see ankurproductions.org.uk
9–16 Aug 2012 THE LIST 103