About Us

Establishing a performance tradition in new communities

Soulfire Theatre was set up to create theatre in those communities that don’t have a strong theatrical voice or tradition. It is particularly aimed at the Bangladeshi British community, young people and children in Tower Hamlets and other places.

Soulfire Theatre is about experimentation and innovation since the communities involved don’t have a definitive voice or style to communicate their stories. Soulfire Theatre therefore is in the process of creating an aesthetic that also expresses what it is to be Bangladeshi British. It is about exploring the British Bangladeshi sensibility which needs to find various forms of expression, in particular, finding its manifestation in theatre. Boldness and imagination are required.

Soulfire Theatres aims to create avenues, through performance and drama, for new people to act, direct, write and produce for the theatre. The aim is to give opportunities to those that would not normally get them due to obstacles related to poverty, racism, gender, religion and culture. The company believes that overcoming of these obstacles through the creative arts creates opportunities to bring out stories that explore society and identities of those that are still seeking a place in British society while Britain is trying re-position itself in the ever-changing world.

History

Soulfire Theatre was set up in 2006. Already it has established itself as a force for artistic innovation, challenging many of the preconceived notion and perceptions of the local community, from outside and inside. This is despite the company being small and having limited resources. It is the vision that is the most important drive behind the company - to create a new theatre aesthetic and practice to share with the wider world. The energy of those involved has to be released by the vision of working and collaborating with mutual cultural and individual respect.

Since its inception Soulfire Theatre has created activities and performances that are challenging and different - developing a creative process that is related to cultural, social and political processes, and that do not compromise the power of art and its quality. The company and the community is at the most exciting phase of development - the most difficult and challenging phase: the very beginning.

People involved

Artistic Director - Hussain Ismail

Hussain Ismail is playwright that has lived all his life in the East End (Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets). He set up Soulfire Theatre in 2006 to create a theatre culture in the community, especially among young people. He believes that Bengali culture (his parents culture) and English culture are potent forces for creativity. It is the interface between the two - the gap in the middle, the void, some might call it - where all the excitement lies. The best creation comes from the void between cultures - the energy comes from filling the void with life as you see it or want it to be. He brings this unique philosophy and ambition to the creative process as a result of his cultural, social and political experience growing up in Tower Hamlets, and living in Italy for fives years and Bangladesh for a year.

In his writing he is evocative, surreal and poetic. His plays reflect his concerns for the world and his place in it. But it not merely individual concerns but social, cultural and political concerns, all mediated by aesthetic concerns.