Tara Arts is an award-winning theatre company in London committed to connecting cultures, audiences and countries. Tara hosts a plethora of shows including comedy, theatre and music.
Abdul Shayek was recently appointed as the new Artistic Director & Joint CEO of Tara Arts. His focus in the coming weeks will be meeting the local Wandsworth community, listening to the needs of artists and establishing a space for debate and action to address the burning issues of today.
Shayek’s first piece of work, A Final Farewell, will explore how the people of Wandsworth say a proper goodbye to loved ones lost during Covid-19. Audiences will hear the stories of community members, whilst tracing their steps on journeys across the borough. The event will culminate in a celebratory finale at Tara each night.
He is also inviting leading thinkers, artists and community leaders to exploreurgent global questions around race relations, the climate emergency and class in a series of curated panel discussions. The first of these will be a direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Abdul Shayek, said: “Tara Arts was born in response to the racist murder of a young man. Over 40 years later, in response to yet another murder, we find ourselves asking the same questions about our society, both here in the UK and across the world. Historic injustices and the distorting of narratives have led us to a point of unequivocal consensus on the need for change. As we move into this next chapter, Tara Arts will honour what came before, whilst throwing ourselves into the future and opening our doors wide. We will listen to those who have been affected most by this current crisis to tell us how best we can serve them. We understand our sector and society is in the midst of challenging times. We will rise to this challenge. We will seize this moment of opportunity to listen to the needs of our sector, our community, our audiences, our artists and we will support and nourish them. We will serve our local, national and global communities, develop new audiences through the work we make, challenge what theatre can be, who is making it and most importantly who has access to it. Now is the time for change.”
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