An East London Headphone Verbatim Project

East London, 2022

Co-created by Neela Doležalová and The Young Company 

Co-directed by Kristine Landon-Smith and Neela Doležalová

Produced by Charlotte Everest

Creative consultancy by Oliver Carruthers

Generously funded by Arts Council England this project was a four month theatre programme using the headphone verbatim tool to elevate the representation of young Global Majority voices in the arts. 

Phase 1 saw the creation of a headphone verbatim theatre piece with young people from Tower Hamlets in partnership with Global Learning.

Headphone Verbatim theatre is an intimate storytelling method, allowing the audience to enter into other people’s worlds. The technique allows every breath, every utterance, every idiosyncratic detail of the speaker to be brought into the room by the performer. Performers listen simultaneously to the original recordings through headphones as they perform.

We worked with Year 9 students from Oaklands School in Bethnal Green to capture stories from their local communities, asking: what is it to be thirteen? From over 20 recorded interviews, a performance was created to platform these often unheard tales of the teenage experience. The students with professional actors performed this piece called Wild, Wild Things at Rich Mix Arts Centre on the 25th July 2022.

Phase 2 was a headphone verbatim training programme for emerging Global Majority creatives. Participants learnt the technique from start to finish and developed a piece of work that was showcased on the final day of the course. Participants left with all the skills required to make their own work going forward.

Actors: Divian Ladwa, Dani Moseley

Young Actors: Hafsa Aden, Buzurgmehr Majidiy, Elena Mirzaeidarehmoradi, Tharah Rahman

Assistant Technician in rehearsals: Bryan Stival

Stage Design: Hanifa Begum, Hesan Choudhury, Moulee Chowdhury, Inaya Islam, Rayan Kabir, Zahra Khayer, Semanur Ozkurt, Thaniya Robbani, Jamila Soares Da Graca Ferreira, Halima Uddin

The Young Company (Year 9 students from Oaklands School)

Hafsa Aden, Yamin Al-Hasan, Hanifa Begum, Hesan Choudhury, Moulee Chowdhury, Ammar Daoud, Inaya Islam, Rayan Kabir, Fiza Kamal, Zahra Khayer, Buzurgmehr Majidiy, Elena Mirzaeidarehmoradi, Semanur Ozkurt, Tharah Rahman, Thaniya Robbani, Jamila Soares Da Graca Ferreira, Bryan Stival, Halima Uddin, Kiara Watson-Bedaisi-Akhtar

A huge thank you to Constantina Kleanthous (Teacher in Charge of Drama, Oaklands School) without whom this project wouldn’t have been possible. 

Thank you to the project’s funding body, Arts Council England, and our partners Rich Mix, Poplar Union and Global Learning London.

And most importantly, to everyone who let us interview you for this project, and allowed us to share your stories!