I was introduced to Faith by Dancehall artist Cindy Claes, whom I had interviewed for Jendubbz some time ago during her run at Breakin' Convention. Cindy got me straight down to the set of The Den last September (for which she was the movement director) to see how Swan Wharf in Hackney had been transformed ready for the immersive, heart swelling performances that were to take place that week.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Gbemi Ikumelo and saw her in action, directing a scene with such intention and presence. I felt blessed to have been invited, and one year later, I can see many others have been blessed by Gbemi too (to see the interview and post about The Den, please click the links at the bottom of this post.)
A full house of returning actors, performers, directors and writers turned up to Stratford Circus Arts Centre last night to celebrate 10 years of Faith Drama. Theatre Madness 2016 is in fact the third festival of its kind held by Faith and this year saw four hand picked writer-directors who were given the challenge of writing a ten-minute play, for a cast of five actors in a very short space of time.
Each writer-director met with their cast at Stratford Circus on August 5th this year and were given a secret word as their stimulus which was revealed last night. The prize at stake being a commission of £2000 and support to create a full-length production for Faith Drama's 2017/18 season.
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| The cast and writer-directors |
“In 2012 the prompt was for local people to create a short piece inspired by the Olympic values” says Artistic Director, Gbemisola Ikumelo.
“But the festival’s identity changes each time we do it because the challenge changes. Our last challenge was for new Theatre companies to create a play for a space we gave them. People created plays in a kitchen, a church tower and even a toilet cubicle! This year we want to see challengers write and direct something never seen before. We also want to see how they respond to working with restrictions, hence our secret word but they will also be given a cast to write for, which will immediately inform the stories they tell”
In-between upbeat hosting, were short films shown to illustrate the unique relationships and special history that many people had shared in Faith Drama before revealing the secret word for each short play. In order of appearance:
Megan Fellows: Holnap House (secret word: Tomorrow)
Daniel Draper: The Lost and Found (secret word: Party)
Kerri McLean: Reality Check (secret word: Black)
Isaac Tomiczek: Baptazia (secret word: Faith)
Each play was performed by the same cast (Luke Wilson, William Frazer, Charlotte Chinn, Veronica Lewis and Mark Ota) which made the event even more intriguing. The same tools, paints and canvas for every artist to display their work. Each performer gave truthful, quality performances, and Frazer must be commended for his ability to extrovert in every play to the sound of full- bellied laughter from the audience.
Holnap House had a voice screaming for London and was not apologising for it. Moreover it centred on the issues right in the heart of East London where we were sitting. A housing crisis. An identity crisis. People wondering what the future may hold for them with government decisions about what must be bought and built and where council residents should move to.
The Lost and Found centred around the clearing up of a party; the dialogue of contrasting characters reminiscing and bantering around a controlling and pregnant senior who had different ideas about what 'societal' rules were needed in life.
McLean's Reality Check gave the audience just that. By far the most hard-hitting play of the four, the #blacklivesmatter campaign was spotlighted, and McLean cleverly used the characters to accent the many different facets of the issue and actions surrounding it. I felt the structure of this play was a step ahead, and loved the marking of the moment with moving image, lighting and song. Powerful and moving.
Finally, humour and big characters were the two champions of the final piece Baptizia where we were forced to reconcile with the idea of true voice through our forgotten musical heroes and musical culture of today.
Reality Check took the winning spot of the evening through audience votes and judging, however a special mention went to Megan Fellowes who had been on a huge journey to produce her piece. We all know that personal journeys can be a reward in itself, and Faith Drama is an arena which celebrates that (watch out Denzel Washington, I've got some more lines where that came from!)
More than anything, the evening to me, and many others was a celebration for Gbemi herself. She opened with a spoken word piece that she had written called 'The Hustle'. Every single person in that room felt what she was saying; the struggles of living as a performer, touring, scraping by, living from month to month with your dream to keep you going. But Gbemi is Faith Drama, and although she wanted to spread her love and commendations to the people that have come under her wing over the past ten years, it is clear that she is a very powerful catalyst for truth, change, inspiration and is a real provider.
She has provided love, encouragement, learning and support to so many over the years, and seeks to tell the best, most authentic stories in the most compelling way. I will always remember this night, and Gbemisola Ikumelo goes onto my heroes list.
The Den post
Interview with Gbemi
Gbemi is currently working with Urbain Hayo and Tom Wainwright to raise money for a full-length production of a play, Custody. To see why this is such a worthy cause, check the video, and you can donate via the link below.
