A PLAY exploring migration and addiction will come to Hexham on a national tour.
Welcome to the Jungle, a new play by Stockton-on-Tees-based artist Umar Butt, tells the story of how two women with wildly different life experiences – one a migrant, and the other struggling with the weight of caring for her terminally ill mum – find out they have more in common than initially meets the eye.
The play is informed by Butt’s own experience as a first-generation migrant from Pakistan, who grew up in Glasgow after arriving in the UK as a child, before moving to Stockton as an adult and embedding himself as part of the community.
Butt had conversations with people from migrant communities, those experiencing homelessness, and those with addiction issues throughout the country, but especially from the Tees Valley where the play is set, to make sure the representation of these themes impacting so many people’s lives are considered and represented.
Described by Butt as “a love letter to humanity”, Welcome to the Jungle seeks to help neighbours understand each other better – their experiences, their points of view, their hopes and their values.
“We’re telling a global story about connection and family” Butt said, “but it’s about you and your neighbour as much as it is about global issues that we’re facing. But while dealing with those issues, it will be fun, and exciting, and full of warmth and heart.”
Tour dates:
- Tuesday, March 5: Webster Memorial Theatre, Arbroath
- Wednesday, March 6: Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
- Thursday, March 7: ARC Stockton Arts Centre, Stockton on Tees
- Saturday, March 9: Storyhouse, Chester
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