This year’s Playreading Marathons will centre on neglected, never published plays from Black and Asian performance history in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Over two Saturdays in July participants will come together to read the plays or hear them read – we aim for everyone who wishes to to have the chance to read and discuss the plays, and to give feedback.
Audience responses will contribute to Unfinished Histories decision as to which plays to take forward to full staged readings later in the year as part of the Events programme linked to our major FYFFI 3 exhibition Radical Rediscovery 3 More details soon… and linked Symposium on Fri 27th November (at King’s College) and Sat 28th November (at London Performance Studios)
The Project
The plays chosen depend first and foremost on our having been able to locate a script. We are very keen to hear from produced and unpublished writers, as well as actors, designers, directors about work dating from 1970 to 2000 with suggestions of plays we ought to include in these or future playreading events – and where we can find the scripts. We are happy to add physical copies or scans to our collection.
Microgrants
Playreading Marathon participants will have the opportunity to apply for Microgrants to create new work in response to this important history. Further details on how to apply at the Marathons or here. Work-in-progress funded by the Microgrants will be shared with audience as part of Saturday’s events at the Symposium in November.
Playreading Marathons 2026
Please note that we reserve the right to change the programme and order of scripts if circumstances require.
We also have additional scripts on a reserve list, if time allows.
We will post any planned changes to the programme here in the run-up to the events.
Attendees can choose to read or listen.
Scripts are in some cases photocopies of manuscripts with stage directions written in etc so may occasionally be hard to read.
If you need access to a large print version please email us contact@unfinishedhistories.com
There will be lunch and tea breaks. We aim to provide some refreshments on site. but there are also cafes and supermarkets nearby both venues and a cafe in Canada Water Library itself.
On Saturday 18th July at Hackney Archives, Dalston CLR James Library, Dalston Square E8 3BQ from 11.00 to 21.00.
On 18th we will aim to read:
Mercy by Gloria Hamilton, Royal Court Young Writers, 1983
Vigilantes by Farrukh Dhondy, Asian Cooperative Theatre
One of Us by Jacqui Shapiro and Meera Syal, National Student Drama Festival, 1983, Red Ladder, 1988
Glory! by Felix Cross, Temba 1991
Madhuri I Love You by Parminder Sekhon
The venue is next to Dalston Junction Overground station on the Windrush line and a short walk from Dalston Kingsland Overground on the Mildmay line and on the 38, 56, 30, 488, 242, 243, 149, 67, and 277 bus routes. The event is FREE (though donations are encouraged to help with our future work) and you can book with Eventbrite here
On Saturday 25th July at Canada Water Theatre, Canada Water Library from 11.00 to 21.00 we will aim to read:
Bhangra Girls by Nandita Ghose, Red Ladder, 1989
Slipping Into Darkness by Jamal Ali, Black Theatre Co-op, 1988
Take Back What’s Yours by Jacqueline Rudet, Croydon Warehouse, 1989
OR God’s Second in Command by Jacqueline Rudet, Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, 1985
The Carver Chair by Tyrone Huggins, Contact Theatre Manchester, 1993
Papa was a Bus Driver by Parv Bancil, Arts Depot, 1997, revised 2000
The venue is opposite Canada Water station on the Jubilee and Windrush lines and the Canada Water bus station. The event is FREE (though donations are encouraged to help with our future work) and you can book with Eventbrite here
For further information on individual plays see here
We are also producing a massive Chronology of work from this period across most of the groups Naseem Khan included in her 1976 report The Arts Britain Ignores: the Art of Britain’s Ethnic Minorities including African and Caribbean, South East Asian, East Asian, Greek, Cypriot, as well as Egyptian, Iranian etc and other work by writers based in Britain. The information we need is play title, author, company, venue and year. Plus if the play was published – where, when and by what publisher.
Any plays we discover not included in the Black Plays Archive at the National Theatre will be added and we are also gathering information and material towards an Asian Plays Archive.
Plays also includes live art and experimental performance texts that challenge the form of the play, as long as publicly produced.