I have great respect for the past. If you don't know where you've come from, you don't know where you're going. I have respect for the past, but I'm a person of the moment. I'm here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I'm at, then I go forward to the next place. - Maya Angelou
Past Productions
Bhuchar Boulevard’s past productions are united in their examination of history, colonial connections, and cultural & personal inheritance. How looking at the past can illuminate our present lives and make us understand the ties that bind us together, wherein lies healing and connection. Seeing the political through the personal, these projects invite debate around blood and belonging, love, family and friendship, decolonisation and celebrate our rich cultural legacies.
Decolonisation: not just a buzzword…
A headphone verbatim theatre show presenting personal testimonies around the need to decolonise public spaces, the curriculum and institutional memory. Bhuchar Boulevard conducted a residency at SOAS to examine individual and institutional responses to decolonisation, looking at how SOAS is challenging its founding imperial purpose and delivering its vision to decolonise the education sector.
South Asian Heritage Month.
Bhuchar Boulevard was delighted to partner with the inaugural South Asian Heritage Month in 2020 and shared an archive recording of Sudha Bhuchar’s acclaimed play, Child of the Divide, which tells the story of the Partition through the experiences of children. Teaching resources and a recording of the panel discussion on how to include the Partition on the school curriculum are now available.
Retracing Our Footsteps.
A celebration of the rich canon of work by South Asian writers through readings of A Touch of Brightness by Pratap Sharma, Borderline by Hanif Kureishi and Blood by Harwant Bains- all plays that had their world premiere at the Royal Court, where the readings were held. Curated talks framed the plays within a public conversation about this cultural heritage with the playwrights, South Asian practitioners, and public audiences. Bhuchar Boulevard aspires that exposure to these works will accelerate the development of an Asian theatre archive
Child of the Divide.
Summer 1947 and 16 million people are on the move between India and the newly-formed Pakistan. Amid the violent political upheaval young Pali’s fingers slip from his father’s hand, and his destiny changes forever.
“A wonderful and mature play that uses the story of one child to explore the tragedy of many thousands…” Lyn Gardner, Guardian
Golden Hearts.
Sudha’s residency at St George’s Hospital, Tooting (2013) led to this evolving project- a personal and poignant look at the legacy of migration on the hearts of South Asian people. A fractured, fragmented narrative woven with iconic songs and verbatim testimonies shared by cardiology patients in St Georges and Guys hospitals, and communities in East London.
